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DraftKings PGA: The American Express picks and analysis

By Benjamin Main

LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: Tony Finau plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: Tony Finau plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 21: Tony Finau plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 21: Tony Finau plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation at La Quinta Country Club on January 21, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: The American Express Picks and Analysis

The Sony Open was a fun way to start the 2020 DraftKings PGA cut season! If you bet on the guys who played at the Tournament of Champions, then you probably struggled. The wind humbled the best golfers in the world – Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed missed the cut – and really humbled the bad ones. Cam Smith won one for his country, donating a portion of his winnings to the Australian wildfire efforts. I am a huge Cam Smith backer, and even if he didn’t make my short list last week, I was glad to see him surge and grab the trophy out of Brendan Steele’s hands.

The Tour shifts from Hawaii to California for the West Coast swing. The American Express, formerly the Desert Classic and Career Builder Challenge, will be played at La Quinta Country Club, Jack Nicholas Tournament Course, and the Stadium Course at PGA West. 3 courses means a 54-hole cut instead of the typical 36-hole cut. This is particularly beneficial for scrubs who knock in hella birdies.

All three courses play similar to one another. All are par-72 and under 7,200 yards. La Quinta CC generally plays the easiest and Stadium Course the most difficult, but scores can occasionally rotate in a given year. We are staying on Bermudagrass again this week, and the greens will be oversewn with Poa, although this may be too early for the Poa to be fully budding (I am far from an agronomist, but that is what I am told).

The 2019 edition of the American Express / Desert Classic saw a total long shot (pun intended) Rookie Adam Long win his first tournament on tour. Long rode a hot putter throughout his victory stroll, lapping the field in SG putting. In 2018 Jon Rahm outlast Andrew Landry in a playoff. Rahm fired a 10-under in the 1st round at La Quinta Country Club, and shot a -22 for the tournament. Hudson Swafford won in 2017 with a 20-under, and Jason Dufner took home the trophy in 2016 shooting a -25. The strength of this field is usually lacking, but we will have a solid showing this week. 25 of the top 100 golfers in the world will tee it up this week, including Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari, and Tony Finau.

In order to master these three courses, golfers will have to go low. The winner is going to be in the -20’s. The unique aspect of this tournament is the fact that 3 courses are in play and we only have data on the Stadium Course. So you can focus on all the data you want, but recent form and course history will be what you want to focus on. I will be focusing on golfers who were able to shake off the rust in Hawaii and have experience on this course.

Key Stats

DraftKings Scoring Gained

Approach Gained

TTG Gained

SGT Gained

Driving Distance Gained

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