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2019 PGA Championship: DraftKings Millionaire Maker GPP Picks

By Dominic Cintorino

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 03: Paul Casey of England plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 03: Paul Casey of England plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Eddie Pepperell of England walks to the second tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Eddie Pepperell of England walks to the second tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /

2019 PGA Championship: DraftKings Millionaire Maker GPP Picks

Welcome back for Part 2 of my 2019 PGA Championship DraftKings analysis. My first article featured picks from each range. This time around, I’ll be looking at some players that should carry a low ownership, as well as some lineup constructions that can help you differentiate your team from everyone else.

DraftKings’ Millionaire Maker for this week’s PGA Championship features just over 176,000 entries with a guaranteed prize pool of $3 Million, where we all know, $1 Million will go to the champ. So if you want to get an edge on the thousands of other teams you will be competing against, let’s take a look at some key stats that might be overlooked by the public this week.

Bethpage Black should play somewhere in between how it did for The Barclays (2016 and 2012), and the US Open (2009 and 2002). The cut line for The Barclays was +3 in 2016, and +1 in 2012 when it was played in August as a Par 71. The US Open, on the other hand, was played at the end of June where the cut line was +4 in 2009, and +5 in 2002.

The course should play a bit differently in mid-May, as it should be a bit softer due to the rain early in the week. The weather is expected to stay fairly consistent, as temperatures are ranging from 52-68 this weekend with an overcast. I’d expect the cut line to be anywhere from +2 to +4, depending on if the rain holds off or not.

BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Brooks Koepka of the United States plays a shot from the second tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Brooks Koepka of the United States plays a shot from the second tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

2019 PGA Championship: DraftKings Millionaire Maker GPP Picks

If you think you can get cute and roster a player priced above $10,000 with low ownership, think again. Brooks Koepka ($10,400), and Dustin Johnson ($11,100) should garner the most ownership of the big four with Tiger Woods ($11,300) right below them. Seeing a course that is almost 7,500 yards in length will lead everyone to Koepka and DJ. They are both being talked up around the industry, so don’t expect to think you will be getting either of them at much under 20% ownership.

Tiger Woods, however, should be slightly more popular than Rory McIlroy in the Millionaire Maker. This is really just name value and everyone not wanting to miss out on Tiger if they failed to have a share of him at The Masters. He also has the course history in his favor, which will also make him popular. Tiger won the 2002 US Open when Bethpage Black played host and also had a T6 when it was played there again seven years later.

Then there is Rory McIlroy, sitting at $10,900. He was a hot commodity at The Masters last month as the highest priced DraftKings player at $11,600, failing to turn in a top-20 finish. This should lead the public to be a bit hesitant when considering McIlroy, but I love the play.

You’re not going to get a huge edge on the field by doing anything up in this range. It all depends on how the rest of your team is built.

BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Francesco Molinari of Italy plays a shot from the sixth tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
BETHPAGE, NEW YORK – MAY 14: Francesco Molinari of Italy plays a shot from the sixth tee during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 14, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

2019 PGA Championship: DraftKings Millionaire Maker GPP Picks

Here are some players that should not have very high ownership and a case for each of them:

Francesco Molinari ($9,700)

Though I will not have much exposure to Molinari in this upper $9k range, this is a great place to pivot. Justin Rose is priced right above him at $9,900 and will be much more popular. Molinari is in a range where Rickie Fowler ($9,300), Tommy Fleetwood ($9,200), and Jason Day ($9,000) will soak up all the ownership. Why? Because of his length off the tee, rough finish at The Masters, and huge disappointment at the RBC Heritage.

Molinari did play the 2009 US Open here at Bethpage Black, where he finished in a tie for 27th when the course played as a Par 70. He is ranked third in the field this season in terms of Sand Save Percentage. Molinari is a fantastic way to differentiate your lineups as he should come in under 10% owned.

Paul Casey ($8,300)

Priced as low as he has been in quite some time, Paul Casey has not been a popular name heading into this week’s PGA Championship. In a range where Tony Finau ($8,800), Phil Mickelson ($8,000), Bubba Watson ($8,000), and Sergio Garcia ($7,900) are all within $500, Casey should go overlooked.

He ranks eighth in the field in SG: Tee to Green, and is inside the top-35 in both Rough Proximity, and SG: Approach. Casey is also fourth on tour in Approached from the Rough 175-200 yards out.

Other Low Owned Options: Jordan Spieth ($8,600), and Patrick Reed ($8,400).

SHENZHEN, CHINA – MAY 05: Li Haotong of China plays a shot during the final round of the 2019 Volvo China Open at Genzon Golf Club on May 5, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA – MAY 05: Li Haotong of China plays a shot during the final round of the 2019 Volvo China Open at Genzon Golf Club on May 5, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

2019 PGA Championship: DraftKings Millionaire Maker GPP Picks

Down under $8,000, the ownership levels typically plummet, aside from a few chalky plays who are viewed as under-priced by the general public. As I mentioned in my first PGA Championship article, Sergio Garcia is going to be one of the most popular players in the field this week priced at $7,900. Also in this range that we should expect to be highly owned, is Gary Woodland ($7,700). The DFS Golf community loves Gary Woodland and at just $7,700, he is going to be hard for some people to pass up.

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Some other names we can expect to be popular this week in the Millionaire Maker, are Henrik Stenson ($7,900), Ryan Moore ($7,400), Keith Mitchell ($7,300), Lucas Glover ($7,300), and Byeong Hun An ($7,100).

Haotong Li ($7,500)

It’s hard to say when Haotong Li is going to bring it, but when he does, you’re going to want in. Li has had some very high finishes on the European Tour, most recently a solo fourth at the Volvo China Open. Li ranks second on the European Tour in Scrambling, fourth in SG: Off the Tee, and 12th in SG: Tee to Green.

He is not discounted too much in this PGA Championship field and goes overlooked when scanning the DraftKings board. I’d expect Li to come in under 8% owned with the chance to make a run this weekend.

Ross Fisher ($6,500)

A player who has some course history, and also rates out well for Bethpage Black, is European Tour’s Ross Fisher. The now 105th ranked player in the world took on Bethpage Black in the 2009 US Open where he finished solo fifth. Fisher currently ranks second on the European Tour in SG: Approach the Green and has length off the tee, averaging just over 307 yards per drive. He provides nice salary relief and should not get up over 5% ownership.

Other Low Owned Options: Cameron Smith ($7,500), and Branden Grace ($7,400).

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