Major number two of this 2023 calendar year as we head to upstate New York for the PGA Championship. The course will be long, the rough will be up, and the conditions will be difficult as ever. However, simply stating that this golf course compares to the Winged Foot we saw for the 2020 US Open is all you need to know. So, before we dive into the selections, let’s ask ourselves a few questions…
Are the masses going to bypass the 11K range and start their lineups with Oak Hill members and top ten finishers at the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Rory McIlroy?
Realistically, can we see anyone below the $9K price holding the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday?
Who are the players in the mid-range lineup locks? This is the make-or-break price range.
2023 PGA Championship DFS: Best Plays in Each Price Range
2023 PGA Championship DFS – $9,000+
Jon Rahm – $11,400
It will be interesting to see how the ownership shakes out at the top because, as talented as this field is, I can see most players skipping this 11.4 price range and going to Rory McIlroy to start the lineups. Jon Rahm checks every box from a handicapping aspect.
Long and straight off the tee, elite with the long irons, and a very above-average short game to bail out those missed greens in regulations. It is no question that Rahm is the highest-priced golfer in this field, and we may be witnessing a very special year from Rambo. So ride the wave, and play the best golfer in the field at the 2023 PGA Championship.
Collin Morikawa – $10,300
Probably the biggest shocker was when the prices came out. Morikawa was an initial lean for me headed into the week, and this price makes me like him even more. Since Morikawa is not the big bomber and prototypical “modern golfer,” he does not fit the mold for the majority of the recent major winners. However, Morikawa has a very clear path to success: to play out of the fairway, hit greens, two putts, and move on.
People forget that Collin Morikawa led over the weekend at Brookline in this past US Open. He was on no one’s radar during that week but was a bet for me (it does not matter, it lost). Nonetheless, Morikawa will go under the radar due to the course fit and the price. Why would people want to play the fourth highest-priced player if the course does not suit his game? But that is what we want them to think, there is a path for Collin, and we will have him in our winning lineups.
It’s @PGAChampionship week! 🙌
📸 @PGA pic.twitter.com/MeINiC1J8v
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 15, 2023
2023 PGA Championship DFS – Middle Tier
This is probably the most important range to nail this week, as the top of the pricing is generally easier to nail. However, the middle tier has a lot more volatility, loaded with guys who can miss a cut just as easily as they can finish inside the top five.
Matt Fitzpatrick – $8,700
Matt Fitzpatrick does his best work when the winning score is close to par, and that is what we will see this week. Fitzpatrick had a rough start to the calendar year but is rounding into form at the right time. He finished tenth at this past Masters and followed that up with a win in Harbour Town.
Fitzpatrick was in the final group at last year’s PGA Championship and won last year’s US Open. Those were all on different golf courses, but they all asked the same questions: immaculate ball-striking prowess, length of the tee, and a crafty short game. When Fitzy is going well, that is his game.
Tom Kim – $8,000
Tom Kim is surely a play coming off a disappointing finish as massive chalk in Texas. Like Morikawa, Tom Kim does not fit the mold of the golfer you would think would have success on this golf course, but he is a deadly accurate driver of the golf ball and is elite with his long irons. Tom Kim will not light up any scorecards this week, but he will plot around, get through the cut, and may find his way near the top come Sunday.
2023 PGA Championship DFS – $6,000
Mackenzie Hughes – $6,800
Mackenzie Hughes has not been playing great golf lately but had an encouraging T14 at the Byron Nelson. He shot 65-64 to get into the final group on Saturday and collapsed as soon as he teed off. I was interested in looking into Hughes’s stat profile from the Byron Nelson because he is such an elite short-game player, which is never what you want to rely on heading to such a demanding golf course.
To my surprise, Hughes gained over two strokes off the tee which he has not done since the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship. If he is in command off the tee, we know that short game will be there to score rather than save.
Hughes had performed in the biggest spots before, as he was in the final group on Saturday of the 2021 US Open at Torry Pines, which is another long and demanding golf course. Monitor Hughes’ off-the-tee game, as it will be the X-factor of his performance this week.
