Daily Fantasy Golf: 2019 PGA Waste Management Phoenix Open DRAFT Rankings (DRAFT.com)
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Welcome to this edition of Daily Fantasy Golf DRAFT rankings for DRAFT.comfrom 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 Arizona at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course for the 88th version of the Phoenix Open, now sponsored by Waste Management. We are getting back to some normalcy as far as the tour goes, with an event in which all four rounds are played at the same course. The field is still not 100% set at this point, but there will be around 130 total and 70+ will make the cut after two rounds as normal.
Pictured above is “The Coliseum,” which surrounds the 16th hole and is a very short par three. It is a 20,000 seat enclosure, that was the site of a Saturday hole-in-one by Tiger Woods in 1997, which caused the gallery to throw cups and everything and anything else down onto the course in celebration. It is a hot spot for spectators, and one that I have on my bucket list no doubt.
The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale is a 7,266 yard par 71, in which the average winning score is usually between 15 and 18 under. There of course was 2013 which was an anomaly, in which Phil Mickelson played completely out of his mind, netting a composite record of 256, good for 28-under, and his third win here at the Phoenix Open. Mickelson is not only a guy I do not usually target, I try to avoid. Hard to do that this week though with his outstanding record here. I won’t be as high on him as most I am guessing, but he isn’t out of play for me.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open – High Projected Targets (70+)
Jon Rahm – (81.5)
My gut is telling me that this is the week Justin Thomas breaks through and gets back near the top, but with a third straight top-10 for Rahm after tying for fifth at the Farmers Insurance Open last week, he is once again at the top of my rankings. Bombers off the tee that keep it straight and find fairways are the types of golfers to target this week, and nobody fits that mold better than Rahm at the moment.
So we know Rahm won the Hero World Challenge back in November, and in the three events thus far in January, he has found the top-10. What you might not know is that he has played this event three times in his career, and not only has three top-20 or better finishes, he also ranks among the best for strokes gained in those finishes. I have seen Rahm go first overall so I think many will agree. He only has the fifth highest DRAFT projection, but I have yet to see him fall past the third pick.
Rickie Fowler – (84.18)
I normally avoid Fowler at all costs, and his weekend rounds last week at the Farmers Insurance Open are a big reason why. Rickie had been playing good golf since November, with his T-4 at the Shriners Open and his T-5 at the Hero World Challenge, but after getting to 5-under through two rounds last weekend, he faltered in rounds three and four finishing +2 both days.
However, he grades out well here at TPC Scottsdale, and while I don’t agree with the projection, (shocker) I do think he is top five material this week. I currently have him ranked third, but in that spot I would maybe go Matsuyama 50% of the time.
Fowler lost in a playoff to Matsuyama here in 2016 to finish second, and notched another top-five in 2017 with a T-4 at 15-under. He was solid in 2018 as well, with a T-11 finish. That kind of history here has me on board. I hope he decides to play all four days.
Matt Kuchar – (74.14)
There is really nobody safer in the field, and with all of the drafts that I have landed Kuch in the second round, I hope he makes some noise on Sunday. Two golfers have two wins going back to the fall season. One was Xander Schauffele, and the other of course is Kuchar. Kuch won at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November, and he was also victorious at the Sony Open, which was his last action. He is yet another golfer who has played well here the last couple years, as he grabbed two top-10’s in 2017 and 2018. I have him ranked eighth overall, so any time in the second round is OK with me.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open – Mid Projected Targets (60-70)
Byeong-Hun An – (67.54)
My favorite player in this projection range this week, is another solid ball striker who is long off the tee, and in solid recent form. An has been playing on the European Tour as of late, and after missing the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC, he bounced back nicely last week at the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing T-12 at 14-under.
The 27-year-old South Korean returns to Phoenix for this weeks Waste Management Open, and is yet another golfer I am targeting that has had some recent success here at TPC Scottsdale. He finished a solo sixth place here in 2017, and finished a respectable T-23 last year. If I miss on Kuchar in the second round I am turning my attention here.
Cameron Smith – (68.37)
Another solid late second, early third round target, is the 25-year-old Australian Cameron Smith, who is currently the 28th ranked golfer in the world. He recently won the Austrailian PGA Championship in December, holding off fellow Aussie’s Marc Leishman and Matthew Millar for back-to-back wins in that event.
In his most recent action, Smith T-22 at the Sony Open, and was able to crack the top-10 last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, finishing 12-under and tied for ninth. Smith has made two straight cuts here at the Phoenix Open, but ended up finishing in the 40’s both years. He maybe gets overlooked here a little with no history to shout about like others have, so I will have some shares.
Tyrrell Hatton – (66.02)
Primarily a European Tour player, Hatton made the trip from Abu Dhabi where he missed the cut by a stroke, to play in this weeks Waste Management Phoenix Open. There was a wrist injury a while back that was cause for concern, but even a missed cut does not have me scared off here. He is the world’s number 31 ranked golfer, and he has a runner-up finish as recently as October, where nearly won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He should be able to grab a top-20 here in this field, and he is consistently getting drafted somewhere in the third round.
Daily Fantasy Golf: PGA 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open – Low Projected Targets (Sub-60)
Martin Laird – (57.21)
Why not one more horse for the course who is swinging it well lately? OK he isn’t playing “great” per se, but he stuck around all four days last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, following a MDF at the Desert Classic. I am more so impressed with the history here at TPC Scottsdale.
Laird tied for ninth here last year, and tied for 7th in 2017, giving him two straight top-10’s in his most recent appearances. Going all the way back to 2010, he has made seven cuts, and hasn’t missed one since 2013. He tied for third in 2011, and tied for fifth in 2015, giving him four top-10’s in nine tries. He is priced up on the “other” sites for good reason. Go ahead and grab him in the fourth round in your drafts, or somebody else will.
Sungjae Im – (42.0)
Well here we are once again. The obligatory Sungjae Im section. It is very possible this could be the last week for this section, but nonetheless, Im is barely hanging in my top 30. This of course will be the 20-year-old’s first trip to TPC Scottsdale, but his solid all around game and smooth swing are keeping him relevant for the time being, as long as he keeps making cuts,
Last week at the Farmers Insurance Open was a disappointment compared to the previous two top-20 finishes, but he finished a respectable T-52 while shooting three rounds of even par. If he can string together two solid rounds like he did at the Desert Classic just two weeks ago, he will be right back on everyone’s radar. I am not ready to jump ship quite yet, as I think the win is coming soon.
I don’t think I will be going here in any six-man contests, as I am landing golfers like Joel Dahmen in the fifth round currently, but I will definitely sneak him in a couple of 8-man’s this week.
Daily Fantasy Golf: 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open – 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.
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1. Jon Rahm – (81.5)
2. Justin Thomas – (88.02)
3. RIckie Fowler – (84.18)
4. Hideki Matsuyama – (71.41)
5. Phil Mickelson – (83.88)
6. Gary Woodland – (74.61)
7. Tony Finau – (82.12)
8. Matt Kuchar – (74.14)
9. Webb Simpson – (79.29)
10. Xander Schauffele – (75.78)
11. Emiliano Grillo – (72.84)
12. Byeong-Hun An – (67.54)
13. Cameron Smith – (68.37)
14. Tyrell Hatton – (66.02)
15. Adam Hadwin – (66.87)
16. Chez Reavie – (66.32)
17. Lucas Glover – (65.98)
18. Andrew Putnam – (67.09)
19. Zach Johnson – (67.07)
20. Keegan Bradley – (72.19)
21. Brandt Snedeker – (64.42)
22. Luke List – (64.47)
23. Jason Kokrak – (65.35)
24. Martin Laird – (57.21)
25. Kyle Stanley – (62.93)
26. Joel Dahmen – (60.31)
27. Billy Horschel – (62.13)
28. Daniel Berger – (60.97)
29. Sungjae Im – (42)
30. Joaquin Niemann – (66.03)
Next. FanDuel PGA: 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open. dark
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!