Welcome to this first edition of FanDuel PGA Targets for 2019 from FantasyCPR.com. Here you will find players to target for this weekend’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.
In this article, I will present to you some players to consider from each price tier for FanDuel PGA Some plays will be geared toward cash games, and some for GPP tournaments. Some of course will also technically qualify as both. As we break each play down, I will be sure to specify which type of contests I am targeting that player in.
I will give two players to target from the $10K-$12K, two targets from the $9K-$10K range, and two from the $8-9K range. After that, I will offer a couple of long-shot GPP flyers below $8K. Last but certainly not least, I will end the article the ever popular sample lineup we like to do here at FantasyCPR.
The 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions:
This is my favorite event of the year to watch, and it is so for multiple reasons. If you are unfamiliar with the Sentry TOC, it is a no-cut event with a field comprised of only players who won an event in 2018. The field is 34 deep this year, and of course is star-studded as usual.
Watching as much of this event every year for the past four years is something I look forward to every year, after having the opportunity to play both courses at Kapalua Golf in Maui five years ago. It truly was the most difficult golf experience of my life as you can imagine, but the scenery was amazing, and being able to recall certain holes when watching is truly a favorite memory of mine.
Slow greens and wide fairways are most notable course factors to consider this week, along with wind and changing elevation. The course does not necessarily favor the bombers off the tee, but there is plenty of room to let it rip here. Putting will be key, as everything breaks towards the ocean it seems, but you are surrounded by it, which makes them among the most difficult to read on tour.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua is a Par-73, 7452 yard beast, that has been the home of the Tournament of Champions since 1999. Dustin Johnson destroyed the field here last year, playing out if his mind and beating runner-up Jon Rahm by eight strokes for his second victory here. Justin Thomas won here in 2017, and DJ and JT should be the most popular plays of the week.
The contests aren’t great this week, as it appears PGA almost snuck up on everyone with so much going on. However, with this awesome field and event, why not play some DFS right? Click the bar below to move on to the targets!
FanDuel PGA: Top Tier Targets: ($10,000 – $12,000)
Dustin Johnson – $12,000 – (Cash)
As 2019 begins, it will be interesting to see if DJ can win this tournament in dominant fashion once again like he did last year. He is the favorite to win this week, and should be a staple in your cash games with this soft FanDuel pricing. Johnson last played at the end of November, when he notched another top-10 with a 7th place finish at the Hero World Challenge.
For tournament play, I am going to go ahead and say DJ may be a solid fade, simply due to the fact that he will be chalk. If he wins again that won’t be the case, but if he stumbles anywhere below the top-10 and you don’t have him, you may be in good shape. I am not 100% fading Johnson in tournaments, but I will likely have a squad or two without him. Remember we have just 34 golfers and no-cut on a very difficult course. Anything can happen here.
Jon Rahm – (Cash/GPP)
Well after spilling my coffee on my new rug and causing a delay here, I am ready to tell you why I think Rahm is one of the best plays on the board. First of all, this price is too cheap, which seems to be the theme this week for anybody not named Johnson.
Rahm returns to Kapalua where he finished second here last year behind the impressive DJ victory. He is coming off of a victory in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge, where he himself had a dominant performance. Rahm won by four strokes, highlighted by a 9-under second round and 7-under final round. It was of course the windy ocean atmosphere at that one, so Rahm should benefit from similar conditions. I am going to mix in some Justin Thomas and possibly a Brooks Koepka here and there, but I may end up 100% Rahm.
***Also Consider: Justin Thomas $11,200 (Cash/GPP) – Webb Simpson $10,000 (Cash)***
FanDuel PGA: Mid Tier Targets: ($9,000 – $10,000)
Gary Woodland – $9,400 – (Cash)
Another pricing blunder here in my opinion, and the next target is just as bad in that sense, so let’s just get that out of the way. Woodland ended 2018 as possibly the hottest golfer on tour, notching four top-10’s in five events since the CIMB Classic in early October.
Known as a bomber off the tee for the early part of his career, Woodland’s short game and putting were spectacular in 2018. If he continues to play like he has been, 2019 should be a great year. I get that FanDuel had to spread out the pricing a bit to make it possible to even make rosters, but Woodland under $10K seems absurd. This could be the last chance we get him this cheap all season. This will be Woodland’s first trip to Sentry TOC in five years.
Another cash game staple for sure here, and likely chalk. Similar to DJ, this looks another decent tournament fade due to ownership purposes. I expect Woodland to get a lot of love in all formats, and rightfully so.
Marc Leishman – $9,300 – (Cash/GPP)
If you do any digging and research other than this article, you will see Leishman getting plenty of love around the industry. In fact, one of my favorite PGA writers Rob Bolton from PGA.com has Leishman ranked first overall in his power rankings this week. You can check those out here.
I don’t know if I quite agree with that #1 ranking for this one, but the fact that Leishman is a solid heavy wind player cannot be ignored. He finished 7th here last year, and has notched two top-20’s in the early season back in October. Leishman won the CIMB classic in windy conditions, scoring a massive 156.3 FDP en route to a 26-under, highlighted by a 10-under round two. He followed that with a T-18 finish at the CJ Cup. This is a great play in all formats as I fully expect a top-10 finish here. I will likely have him in all of my lineups.
***Also Consider: Paul Casey $9,700 (GPP) – Matt Kuchar $9,000 (Cash)***
FanDuel PGA: Low Tier Targets: ($8,000 – $9,000)
Charles Howell – $8,500 – (Cash)
Howell has played four events since the new FedEx season began, and after missing the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, bounced back to win the RSM Classic. An opening round of -8 followed by a 6-under second round put Howell in the lead and he never looked back. He posted another top-5 finish at the CIMB Classic back in October.
For another player who has played well in the wind, and is basically coming off of a win, this price is just way too low. I expect Howell to be pretty chalky in all formats.
Aaron Wise – $8,200 – (GPP)
Wise has a decent head start in the FedEx Cup standings in the early goings, with two top-15’s in November. The 22-year-old South African native earned his spot here by winning the At&T Byron Nelson, and was named the 2018 rookie of the year on the PGA Tour. The sample size is kind of small being he is a newcomer, but he has been terrific putting in similar conditions. Wise is a player to watch for me this weekend, and I think he will end up a popular GPP play. You will likely see a fair amount of ownership in cash games as well.
***Bonus GPP Flyers: Scott Piercy $7,700 – Brice Garnett $7,300***
FanDuel PGA: 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions Sample Lineup!
The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.”
G – Dustin Johnson – $12,000
G – Jon Rahm – $10,500
G – Webb Simpson – $10,000
G – Gary Woodland – $9,400
G – Marc Leishman – $9,300
G – Charles Howell – $8,500
That is all for this weeks FanDuel PGA Targets for the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the article. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Thank you for reading, and may your golf tilt be minimal this weekend!