Daily Fantasy Golf: 2019 PGA Desert Classic DRAFT Rankings (DRAFT.com)
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Welcome to this edition of Daily Fantasy Golf DRAFT rankings for DRAFT.com from FantasyCPR, covering the 2019 Desert Classic. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access the desktop site here.
I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, for PGA, you simply roster five golfers. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 8-man drafts that start upon filling. In the DRAFT lobby, you will find me in the six-man and eight-man contests, which payout to the top two spots.
My goal here will be to give you my targets in tiers, based upon their DRAFT projections. Followed by that, will be my top 30 overall rankings. The strategy of course here, is that 30 golfers will be drafted for 6-man contests, and these rankings will have you covered. After having completed my rankings for this week, and having completed a few 6-man drafts, let’s talk about the course for a second before we move on to the targets.
About the Event:
This week, the PGA tour finds itself in Southern California for the 60th version of what is now known as the Desert Classic. Most recently known as the CareerBuilder Challenge, this is a very unique pro-am event. The field is huge, larger than last week and over 150. On top of that, pros will play with an amateur for three days, over three different courses. After 54 holes, the top 70+ ties go on to play the feature course which is the PGA West Stadium Course, and easily the toughest of the three.
Because this event is played over three courses, it is very difficult to predict what will happen here. Some key things I took into consideration when doing my rankings this week, is who has played well here on day 4, and who has played that Stadium Course well in their first go. Before we get to my targets and rankings, let’s briefly touch on the courses.
Daily Fantasy Golf: The Courses of The Desert Classic:
PGA West Stadium Course:
Otherwise known as the TPC Stadium course at PGA West, this La Quinta, California golf course is a Pete Dye design, and was established in 1986. Deep bunkers and plenty of water make this a tough course on many levels, and it is easily the toughest of the three. All golfers will play here once in the first three rounds, then those that make the cut will return on Sunday for the final round. The Stadium Course plays relatively short for a Par 72 at 7,113 yards, but the plentiful hazards can turn a round sour really quick here.
La Quinta Country Club:
The easiest course of the three, La Quinta CC has been a staple for this event since 2010, and it had also been used an additional 30+ times over the years. Last year, Jon Rahm highlighted the opening round firing a 62 here and never looked back, holding off Andrew Landry in a playoff for the victory. Also short and also a par 72, expect big scores here, as La Quinta plays at 7,060 yards.
PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course:
The longest course of the three, the tournament course here at PGA West plays 7,204 yards, and is another par 72. It is a Jack Nicklaus design established in 1987, and is another fairly easy to score at course compared to the Stadium Course. Just like La Quinta, each group will play here just once over the course of the first three days. Nestled in the Southern California mountains, we get yet another weekend of golf with spectacular views.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Desert Classic – High Projected Targets (70+)
Jon Rahm – (80.23)
Since there are only four targets projected over 70 this week, I am just going to give my top overall pick here on the board in Rahm, and give an extra target in the loaded 60-70 projection range. I will start by saying there are definitely some sharp fellas over there in the DRAFT lobby for PGA, as even though Justin Rose has an insane projection of 91.26, plenty are seeing right through that, and taking Rahm first overall.
Patrick Cantlay and Phil Mickelson are the other two golfers in this tier, and I may like Cantlay a bit more than Rose even. Neither golfer has played much of late, but Cantlay was lights out in late October though November, notching three straight top-tens.
Rahm was the victor here last year as I mentioned previously, firing a 22-under and winning the playoff. It was the 24-year-old’s second career victory on the PGA Tour, to go along with his already three wins on the European Tour, and his win at the Hero World Challenge last month as well. He is my favorite play by a mile this week with all of the question marks surrounding the other top players, and a repeat victory on the Stadium Course could easily be the end result this Sunday.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Desert Classic – Mid Projected Targets (60-70)
Adam Hadwin – (63.66)
Great current form and event history have a lot to do with this one, and Hadwin checks the history box here better than everyone in the field. He fired a 20-under in 2016, starting a stretch currently still in tact of three straight Top-6 or better finishes. Hadwin finished a solo second here in 2017 at 19-under, and finished T-3 last year once again at 20-under. With some more recognizable faces in this projection range, Hadwin can be had late second round on average.
Luke List – (66.16)
List has been around a while. Going into his 12th year as a pro, he is still seeking his first career victory on the PGA Tour. The 34-year-old Vanderbilt product missed the cut here last year at just 2-under through the 54-holes, but he did survive the cut here in 2017 and finished T-41st at 8-under. His current form is what is appealing though, as List has posted two T-4 finishes in his last three tournaments. He will drop into the third round of your six-man drafts usually, and if he can putt well, he has all of the tools to compete for a victory.
Aaron Wise – (66.41)
Another third round target of mine, the 22-year-old Aaron Wise burst onto the scene last season with his first PGA Tour victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson, beating Marc Leishman by three strokes. Wise struggled a bit in the short field at Kapalua finishing T-27th, but he put together two solid performances previously to that at the Shriners Open and the Mayakoba Classic, notching a top-15 and a top-10. Another player who could score big here if he can sink some putts, I will have a fair amount of Wise this week in my drafts.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Desert Classic – Mid Projected Targets (50-60)
Daniel Berger – (58.07)
Going into his fifth professional season at the age of 25, Berger’s season was cut short in August last year due to a wrist injury. He was having a pretty solid run, with ten top-25’s, and missing just four cuts in 22 events played. Berger’s best finish was his T-6 at the U.S. Open, and is almost just a better golfer on more challenging golf courses.
Berger hasn’t played this event since 2015, and he missed the cut-line by two strokes. If he is healthy he certainly has the talent to make a run here, but I wouldn’t reach up too far here to grab him. This one could go either way, but I will have a share or two when he falls to the last two rounds.
Corey Conners – (53.11)
The 27-year-old Canadian Corey Conners comes into the Desert Classic after firing back-to-back 66’s at the Sony Open last weekend, creeping up the leaderboard into a tie for third place. It appears as though his game has come around a bit, as he previously cracked the top-25 at the RSM Classic in November with a T-23 finish.
Conners did play this event last year, but finished at just 10-under and T-50th. However, it is fair to say he was in nowhere near as a good of form than as he is now. He did miss the cut at the Shriners Open and the Mayakoba Golf Classic prior to the RSM Classic, but a solo second place finish to Cameron Champ at the Sanderson Farms Championship in early August gives him two top-fives in six events this season. Since Sungjae Im is no longer sneaky whatsoever, I am going to grab a few shares of Conners this week and hope he stays hot.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Desert Classic – Under Projected Targets (Sub 50)
Sungjae Im – (40.57)
Ah yes, the honorary Tommy Fleetwood / Joaquin Niemann page now reserved for one Sungjae Im of South Korea. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about let me explain. If you have played on DRAFT since last season and read this column last year, you know exactly what I am talking about.
Maybe it is a rookie thing? But sometimes there is always a player or two in the field that is under projected like this, and last season it was either Fleetwood or Niemann right here in this spot pretty much every week. Now this year, the 20-year-old Im is locked in this spot for the second straight week.
I suggested taking him in eight-mans last week as he was near the bottom of the top-30. That worked out pretty well, as he notched his third top-20 in seven events thus far this season. He played every event from the Safeway Open to the RSM Classic to get his feet wet in this game with this competition, and I love the way this kid carries himself on the golf course. He is going much higher this week as I have seen him go in the third round a few times, but if he falls to the fourth I am all over it again.
Daily Fantasy Golf: 2019 Desert Classic DRAFT Rankings: Top 30
My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 30 overall. Following each golfer is their DRAFT fantasy point projection in parenthesis.
1. Jon Rahm – (80.23)
2. Patrick Cantlay – (77.78)
3. Justin Rose – (91.26)
4. Charles Howell – (68.78)
5. Chez Reavie – (66.39)
6. Adam Hadwin – (63.66)
7. Joaquin Niemann – (67.09)
8. Abraham Ancer – (68)
9. Phil Mickelson – (76.76)
10. Andrew Putnam – (66.49)
11. Aaron Wise – (66.41)
12. Luke List – (66.16)
13. JJ Spaun – (62.17)
14. Brian Harman – (64.11)
15. Zach Johnson – (68.77)
16. Scott Piercy – (60.96)
17. Ryan Palmer – (67.06)
18. Lucas Glover – (65.9)
19. Hudson Swafford – (60.1)
20. Sungjae Im – (40.57)
21. Daniel Berger – (58.07)
22. Russell Henley – (51.72)
23. Dylan Frittelli – (52.71)
24. Pat Perez – (63.95)
25. Corey Conners – (53.11)
26. Si Woo Kim – (62.63)
27. Patton Kizzire – (60.89)
28. Peter Uihlein – (58.56)
29. Richy Werenski – (59.51)
30. Charl Schwartzel – (51.02)
That is all for some bonus PGA Daily Fantasy Golf coverage for DRAFT. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing. I more so hope I guided us all to some success on DRAFT! If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Good luck this weekend, enjoy your golf, and happy drafting on DRAFT!