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DraftKings PGA: DK Cash Core – The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

By Chris Aliperto

FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 15: Scott Piercy of the United Statescatches a golf ball on the practice green during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 15, 2019 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK - MAY 15: Scott Piercy of the United Statescatches a golf ball on the practice green during a practice round prior to the 2019 PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course on May 15, 2019 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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OAKVILLE, ON – JULY 30: Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the second hole during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club on July 30, 2017 in Oakville, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

What is up FantasyCPR faithful and Daily Fantasy Golf players? JuanBond here trying something new. It’s no secret DraftKings has great contests, and I personally have shifted a little more of my play over there. In an effort to cover an extra base for our PGA DraftKings crew of Dom Cintorino and Benjamin Main, I present to you the DK Cash Core.

One thing I have noticed since I have started to play more DraftKings PGA contests, is that making a balanced cash lineup, and really focusing in on guys who make cuts consistently seems to be a winning formula. Sure we all want to play Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson in every lineup we make, but is that always the best strategy?

I don’t think so, and this week is a prime example as 150+ are set to tee it up in Ontario at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open. We have four of the top six players in the world making an appearance in the Great White North, and playing them in cash games just does not look viable.

Usually we have a solid group of value plays to sort through, but they are truly few and far between this week. Starting your DK cash game lineup with Dustin Johnson leaves you with just over $7,600 left per golfer for five more golfers. I see no way to make that comfortably work with six guys that I feel can make the cut.

So going balanced is the way to go for me on DK for cash games way more often than not, and this week I feel it more than ever. This course is short and should be wet, and I am favoring precise iron players that can avoid this treacherous rough, and keep it in the fairway. My cash core will consist of the first four players I locked into my lineup this week, and without further ado, let’s get to it!

PGA DFS
FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 24: Scott Piercy plays a shot from a bunker on the 11th hole during round one of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 24, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: DK Cash Core

Scott Piercy – $9,300

When I built my cash lineup this week, the first place I ventured and clicked was on Piercy. $8,800 or even $9K was what I was expecting, but this salary is still very palatable for a player in as good of form as Piercy is. Hamilton Golf Club last hosted the RBC Canadian Open in 2012, and if you haven’t heard by now, Piercy was victorious in that event. His overall ability to hit fairways and give himself a chance for birdie lately has been above-average, and at a course he has won at before, it is hard to pass him up.

Piercy has been a consistent cut-maker all FedEx Cup season. He is currently 15-17 in this stat, with his last missed cut coming way back at the Honda Classic. Piercy has six top-tens overall this season, and recently had back-to-back top five finishes at the RBC Heritage and the AT&T Byron Nelson. He comes into this weeks RBC Canadian Open off of a weeks rest, and a T-19 at the Charles Schwab Challenge two weeks ago. This whole range of $9K up to Webb Simpson looks very cash viable so I expect ownership to be a little spread out, but Piercy is my top overall play in this range.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 17: Jim Furyk of the United States plays his second shot on the 12th hole during the final round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 17: Jim Furyk of the United States plays his second shot on the 12th hole during the final round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2019 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: DK Cash Core

Jim Furyk – $8,800

Old Man Jim as my PGA DFS buddies and I like to call him, is another veteran plodder that fits the mold of the type of golfer I am targeting this week. Furyk doesn’t hit it long, but he isn’t shy about just putting away his driver completely either, which might be the correct play on the majority of these holes this week at Hamilton Golf Club. And on top of that, he has been one of the more consistent golfers on tour this season, despite his recent back-to-back missed cuts at the PGA Championship and at the RBC Heritage.

If you look at Furyk’s body of work over his last eight tournaments going back to early March, it is really obvious that Furyk has played well at shorter more scorable courses like we have here at Hamilton, and the only venue he was truly over-matched was at Bethpage Black for the 101st PGA Championship.

In this eight tournament span, Furyk has missed just those two cuts, and had a total of five finishes inside the top-20. The better finishes were at the early start of this stretch, as he T-9 at the Honda Classic, and grabbed a solo second at the Players Championship. More recently, Furyk T-13 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and T-33 last week at the Memorial. On top of his overall great form, Furyk is another past RBC Canadian Open champion here at Hamilton, as he won here back in 2006.

DALLAS, TX – MAY 17: Jimmy Walker looks on from the 10th green during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club on May 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – MAY 17: Jimmy Walker looks on from the 10th green during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club on May 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: DK Cash Core

Jimmy Walker – $7,900

As always, we need our value plays, and after giving you my two safest plays in the mid-to-upper tier, a core is not a core without some value. This week is overall really tough to find “safe” plays anywhere under $8K, and the closest I came is yet another veteran short game specialists in Jimmy Walker.

Walker is not as hot as say Matt Kuchar, Scott Piercy, or even Jim Furyk, but as a golfer I do not normally roster ever, it is surprising to say that it is actually hard to pass on Walker at this price. Although he has just one finish inside the top-20 in his last eight starts, he has also only missed one cut. Being he is another course fit, I can certainly get behind a consistent cut-maker at this price.

That lone missed cut came at the Byron Nelson, and he bounced back with his two best finishes in this eight tournament sample. Walker T-23 at the PGA Championship, and T-19 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in his last action two weeks ago. I see a ton of question marks in this price range like I stated earlier, and Walker should at least give us four rounds of scoring.

RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO – FEBRUARY 24: Nate Lashley plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club on February 24, 2019 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO – FEBRUARY 24: Nate Lashley plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club on February 24, 2019 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: DK Cash Core

Nate Lashley – $6,700

Rounding out the core for me this week, and actually the second name I clicked on as I knew I would need one golfer down here, is another relatively consistent cut-maker in Nate Lashley, who feels vastly under priced relative to the rest of the field. With limited options that feel even remotely safe down here under $7K this week, my guess is Lashley will end up pretty chalky, but I am far from worried about that for PGA cash games.

With a large, top-heavy field, there will be plenty of guys in this range that do make the cut, and go on to have a great weekend. But in seeking consistency for cash games, it will be hard for the masses not to land on Lashley this week considering he has now made three straight cuts, and has missed just two total all season.

A rough weekend with rounds of 75 and 73 led to a poor overall finish for Lashley at the Charles Schwab Challenge two weeks ago, but on the flip side, he shot 67 and 66 on the weekend at the Byron Nelson in his previous action. This could obviously go either way, but I feel like there will be plenty of lineups with surprised missed cuts, just as there is every week in PGA DFS, and at $6,700 and even much higher, I think you can do much worse.

Next. FanDuel Picks – The 2019 RBC Canadian Open. dark

Thank you for checking out my first DraftKings PGA article for this season. Don’t forget to check out my weekly PGA Power Rankings and FanDuel targets as well, and any other Fantasy Golf content we put out at FantasyCPR. Best of luck in all of your PGA DFS this weekend! Here’s to Sunday sweats!