When filling out a DraftKings lineup (use promo code SGP), picking among the favorites is a fairly safe proposition. It’s when you have to choose between a pool of golfers down the line is where you make or break your chance to win big.
Here’s the critical decisions you’ll face as you fill out your lineup for the 2019 Military Tribute at the Greenbrier (values courtesy of DraftKings).
Golfers Valued $8,000-$8,900
- Brian Harman – $8,900
- Martin Laird – $8,800
- Harold Varner III – $8,700
- Kevin Streelman – $8,600
- Robert Streb – $8,500
- Russell Knox – $8,400
- Zach Johnson – $8,300
- Denny McCarthy – $8,200
- J.B. Holmes – $8,100
- Joel Dahmen – $8,000
It’s safe to say that the 2018-2019 season for Brian Harman was a disaster. He started the year inside the Top 40 in the world rankings, and has fallen all the way down to 100th to kick off the new season. Harman has missed 12 of 24 cuts so far in 2019, but things have been better of late for him. He has three Top 10 finishes in his last 7 starts and his ball striking numbers are much better than where they were in the first half of the year. At his best, Harman is an accurate ball striker and a good scrambler, and if he’s worked out the kinks he should be in for a good finish.
Kevin Streelman’s 2019 season had a very bitter finish with two missed cuts at the Wyndham and the Northern Trust. Before that, however, he was Mr. Consistency with nine consecutive made cuts and seven Top 40 finishes. What seemed to go wrong for Streelman his last two tournaments was his scrambling, as his off the tee and approach statistics for those two tournaments weren’t atrocious. With a few weeks off and a fresh start, I expect Streelman to bounce back.
Denny McCarthy’s rookie year on the PGA Tour had its ups and downs. McCarthy missed 12 of 26 cuts and his shaky ball striking helped derail what was a promising start to his season. Despite his struggles tee-to-green, McCarthy still manged to rank 31st in Par 4 Birdie or Better % on the PGA Tour in 2019 because of great scrambling and a hot putter all year long. Combining this with his accuracy off the tee and he could put up a lot of DraftKings points this week.
Golfers Valued $7,500-$7,900
- Tom Lewis – $7,900
- Danny Lee – $7,900
- Bronson Burgoon – $7,800
- Austin Cook – $7,800
- Bud Cauley – $7,700
- Kramer Hickok – $7,700
- Branden Grace – $7,700
- Ryan Armour – $7,600
- Sepp Straka – $7,600
- Sebastian Munoz – $7,600
- Jason Dufner – $7,500
- Matt Jones – $7,500
- Bill Haas – $7,500
Tom Lewis is a mainstay over on the European Tour and earned his PGA Tour card by winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Lewis is primarily known as a solid ball striker on the European Tour and had a good year that includes a 3rd place finish at the Saudi International and a T11 finish at the Open Championship. The Old White TPC is a good course for Lewis to begin his run on the PGA Tour as it is a golf course that empathizes strategic ball striking, which are akin to the golf courses played in Britain and Ireland. He has a good chance to begin his run on the PGA Tour on a high note.
Bud Cauley had a nice summer to help put his injury woes from 2018 behind him. In the four tournaments before he withdrew from the Northern Trust with an illness he gained just under a stroke per round on the field tee-to-green with two Top 25 finishes. His putter had held him back for most of the year, but statistically he’s been better in that area over his last few tournaments. If he can still hold things together there, it’ll pair nicely with his solid ball striking for another solid finish.
Sepp Straka doesn’t have a lot of doubters in terms of his performance tee to green. In his rookie year he finished inside the Top 60 in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green, Strokes Gained – Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained – Approach and finished 10th in Par 4 – Birdie or Better %. This helped him have some monster ball striking performances this summer. But he was very dodgy around and on the greens this year and also was susceptible to put up a lot of squares on the scorecard. Straka is a high risk/high reward option in DFS this week because of his high ceiling, and given the overall mediocre choices in this tier I’ll take a shot on him.
Bottom of the Barrel (Golfers <$7,500)
Harry Higgs – $7,200: Higgs makes his debut on the PGA Tour after a great year on the Korn Ferry. Higgs had seven Top 10 finishes, missed only two cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour since Valentines Day and ranked 37th in Good Drive %, 29th in Greens In Regulation, 11th in Scrambling and 11th in Par 4 Birdie or Better %. He was a very accomplished golfer at SMU and teamed with Bryson DeChambeau to make a nice run in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Higgs is primed for a good debut on the PGA Tour.
Zac Blair – $6,900: Zac Blair lost his PGA Tour card after the 2018 season after a forgetful four year run. He took the demotion in stride and earned his card back with a great year on the Korn Ferry that featured a win and six additional Top 10 finishes. Blair isn’t a long hitter, but he’s accurate and drains a lot of birdies with solid putting and scrambling. That’s a recipe for success at the Greenbrier.
Others To Consider: Doc Redman ($7,000), Nate Lashley ($6,900), Hank Lebioda ($6,800), Xinjun Zhang ($6,600), Kristoffer Ventura ($6,300)
