DraftKings PGA: 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open Picks

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 03: Jon Rahm of Spain and Phil Mickelson react to the gallery on the 16th hole during the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 3, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) DraftKings PGA /

DraftKings PGA: 2019 Waste Management Open Picks and Analysis

Wasn’t the Farmers Insurance Open fun? Tiger Woods brought the crowds, Rahm brought the hammer with a 10-under day one, Rose set the tournament 36-hole scoring record, and the weekend brought us some great golf from the best in the world. The number one golfer in the world Justin Rose ran away with the tournament and DraftKings PGA scores, leading from Friday on. There were plenty of golfers surging on Sunday, but Rose’s lead was too much, shooting a 21-under to win the Farmers Insurance Open.

The Tour will move from the California coast to the Arizona desert this week. The Waste Management Open is one of the most exciting events on the PGA schedule. Over 200,000 raucous fans will show up dawned in NFL jerseys and belligerent. Hole 16 is one of the coolest in golf, with stadium seating providing the perfect fan-experience. The tradition has even grown since 1997 when Tiger Aced the 16th. All you need to know, is that every Super Bowl party should be playing The Waste Management Open as their pregame coverage.

There is only one course we have to worry about this week. No jumping between multiple courses for the pros this week like the previous 2 tournaments. TPC Scottsdale is a 7,266 yard par-71 course. The course typically plays as one of the easier courses on tour, due to the fact that there are not many opportunities to make big numbers. The fairways are large, the greens are large, and the rough is all dessert fescue (sand and cacti). This wide open layout is perfect for bombers and ball strikers. The Bermudagrass is overseeded with Rye and Poa, so it is similar stuff to what we have been seeing during the West Coast stretch.

The 2018 edition of the Waste Management Open saw Gary Woodland hold off Chez Reavie in a playoff. Woodland finished at 18-under. Hideki Matsuyama (fresh off a really solid Farmers) won the 2016 and 2017 edition at 16-under and 17-under, respectively.

TPC Scottsdale typically favors bomber ball-strikers. Driver is the preferred modality off-the-tee this week, and the guys who can spin their mid-iron approaches close will succeed in the desert. Putting is not as key to success at this event. Hopefully that is evident to you by the fact that the past 3 winners are Woodland and Matsuyama. Both of these guys pound their driver, pure strike their long irons, and score on Par-5’s. That is the prototypical golfer for TPC Scottsdale.

Key Stats
Approach Gained

Off-The-Tee Gained

Ball-Striking Gained

Overseeded Bermudagrass Gained

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 05: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan poses with the trophy after winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the fourth playoff hole at TPC Scottsdale on February 5, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA – Waste Management Open Picks

10,700 Hideki Matsuyama

I had a lot of Hideki in my lineups last weekend and it paid off. He was priced way too low last week, and now he received a huge bump in salary due to his stellar course history and his T3 at the Farmers. The ownership will be high on Hideki, but I cannot fade him on his favorite course. Hideki won this tournament in 2016 and 2017. He is striking his irons pure, and he looks poised to build off of that T3. If he can have an average putting performance in the desert, Hideki will win.

9,300 Phil Mickelson

Phil sat out his hometown event last week because Torrey Pines rejected his bid to design the North Course for free. Phil has been playing really well this year, and I love to play a competitor like Phil after a letdown at the Desert Classic, where he saw Adam Long pass him on Sunday. Phil has played this tournament a lot. His last three times at this tournament Phil went T5, T16, T11. He is priced right next to perennial favorites Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau, so I do not expect him to be overly popular (projecting around 8-10%). The price is decent and he scores so many DK points, fire up Phil in your DK lineups.

9,000 Adam Hadwin

Hadwin showed up big time at the Desert Classic and now he returns to another tournament he absolutely loves. Hadwin lives in Phoenix and loves his desert golf. It shows when he comes to TPC Scottsdale. Hadwin has played this tournament since 2015, finishing T43, T12, T17, and MC in his 4 appearances. Hadwin had a week off to regroup after letting Adam Long hang around long enough to beat him on the 72nd hole. I like a bounce-back for Hadwin this week after regaining some confidence in La Quinta.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 05: Kyle Stanley poses with the winner’s check alongside the ‘Thunderbirds’ after winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 5, 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA – Waste Management Open Values

8,600 Byeong Hun An

Bennie An is one of my favorite DFS golfers! He is one of the purest ball-strikers on the tour, he has a cool memorable name, and he is perpetually undervalued on DraftKings. An has not played in the United States this year, but that does not mean that he has not been playing golf. An tee’d it up along with Bryson DeChambeau in the Dubai Desert Open last week.

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An finished the tournament at 14-under and tied for 12th place. An is no stranger to TPC Scottsdale, playing the course for the first time the past two years and finishing T6 in 2017 and T23 in 2018. Looking at their stats, you will see that An is a low-rent Hideki. Both crush this course and I will definitely pair both golfers together in line-ups.

7,500 Kyle Stanley

Stanley let down a lot of DFSers at the Farmers, including me. I love to go back to a guy after a missed cut that burned a lot of the industry. Stanley is too good of a golfer and this is the site of his first career PGA Tour victory.

His course history is very inconsistent since his victory, with 3/6 made cuts after a 2012 victory. However, anticipating low ownership (1-2% projected) at this price-point, I love his value.

6,300 Anders Albertson

Is this a punt play? Maybe a little, but I have a ton of confidence that Anders Albertson will make the cut this week. We have seen the incoming class of Web graduates pop this entire season (Champ, Long, Im, Garber…). Albertson is not getting enough love for as well as this youngster is playing. $6,300 is criminal.

He is not one of the worst golfers in this field. Albertson has made 5/7 cuts and has a top-5 finish this season. He ranks 12th in the PGA in shots gained approach this season, and is gaining strokes in every facet of the game except around-the-greens. Albertson was over-matched last week at a tough Torrey Pines course and missed the cut by a couple strokes. Albertson missed the cut 3 times last year on the Web.com tour and bounced back with finishes of T8, T21, and T22.

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