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Draftkings First Round Showdown Picks: Southern Dunes Classic

By Hans Geevers

WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 15: Alistair Docherty plays a shot on the 17th hole during the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Tournament Finals at Orange County National Golf Club Crooked Cat course on December 15, 2019 in Winter Garden, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 15: Alistair Docherty plays a shot on the 17th hole during the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Tournament Finals at Orange County National Golf Club Crooked Cat course on December 15, 2019 in Winter Garden, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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How should you approach the first round of the Southern Dunes Classic?

Before we dive into these Draftkings player selections let’s take a quick look at the golf course the field will play this week.

The Southern Dunes Classic will be played at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes golf course in Maricopa, Arizona. This track is a par 72 that measures 7,546 yards. This course features four par fives holes that are rather long in length. The par five 13th hole is a whopping 606 yards and is by far the longest of the four par fives. It should also be noted that this track features bermuda grass fairways and greens.

Here are my Draftkings player selections for the first round of the Southern Dunes Classic!

John Oda $10,700

The 24 year old American is currently the 409th ranked golfer in the world according to the current OWGR (official world golf rankings). It has to be said that Oda is the clear class of this week’s field.

Let me provide some of Oda’s previous results to better shed light on why I believe he is the best golfer in this tournament’s field. John Oda has six career top 15 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, including a second place finish at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic in January of this year. He also finished 40th at the Safeway Open on the PGA Tour in September of 2019.

My only concern with John Oda is that he has not played competitive golf since the first week of March. How much rust will he have? Well, that is a tough one to answer. I certainly would understand if you choose to fade him in this first round showdown contest. Having stated that, I think his talent level in relation to this field is far too good to fade him in this contest.

Sam Triplett $8,900

Since December of last year, Triplett has played 14 tournaments combined on the Outlaw and Golden State Tours. In those 14 events played, Triplett has seven top nine finishes, including a win at the Moon Valley Championship.

Zach Smith $8,800

Smith won the Scottsdale AZ Open two weeks ago. It should be noted that PGA Tour players Nate Lashley, Kevin Streelman, and Joel Dahmen were in the Scottsdale AZ Open field.

Alistair Docherty $8,500

He fired a first round 65 at the Western Skies Classic on his way to an eventual seventh place finish in March. More recently, Docherty finished 17th at the Legacy Classic earlier this month.

Blake Allen $7,400

Allen fired rounds of 65, 68, and 68 at the Legacy Classic en route to a tenth place three weeks ago.

Thomas Lehman $7,000

He has played seven events on the Golden State Tour this year. In those seven tournaments played, Lehman has four top 25 finishes, including a seventh place finish at the Oak Valley Championship in February. I think Lehman presents outstanding value at a Draftkings price of only $7,000.

As always, good luck.