Daily Fantasy Golf Picks for PGA Championship on DraftKings & FanDuel

The PGA Tour heads into the second major championship of the season with the 103rd running of the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. There are a ton of big contests around the industry in DFS, including multiple millionaire maker GPPs on DraftKings and plenty other large-field tournaments on FanDuel as well. Given the length and difficulty of the field, making the right daily fantasy golf picks this week will be paramount. This will mark the second time this major has been played at Kiawah Island, with the last event here being run in 2012 when Rory McIlroy won going away by eight strokes. Kiawah is a Pete Dye venue that was created specifically for the Ryder Cup back in 1991 and sits off the coast of Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

[GOLDRUSH]

While it is fully wind exposed, the venue features many of the classic Dye features, including large bunkering with steep slopes and smallish paspalum greens. The grass here is unique and not featured in many events around the world (hence the lack of putting splits this week). Paspalum is featured at the Mayakoba Classic and the Corales Punta Cana event and was also used at the old CIMB Classic event. The course is long at over 7,800 and will turn into an absolute brutal test if the wind is up. Weather is expected to be pleasant, but there will be at least some wind (10 mph gusts forecasted) at all times.

***Get a SNEAK PEEK with our free premium data, tools and content of the day, the Awesemo Premium PGA DFS Ownership Projections.***

Kiawah Island – Ocean Course Stats and Info

Par 72, 7,851 yards, Pete Dye venue; features seven par 4’s over 450 yards and four par 5’s of varying length.
Greens in regulation and scrambling efficiency were well below average here in 2012, and despite its length, the venue gets tougher approaching the hole — emphasis on solid iron play and around-the-green play are critical.
Despite McIlroy winning here in 2012, the leaderboard was littered with shorter hitters. So while strong off-tee numbers are preferred, accuracy is likely just as important as length this week.

Be sure to check out the PGA Strategy Show, aired today!

PGA Championship Daily Fantasy Golf Picks

Xander Schauffele: Grades: A+ | Values: A

Schauffele comes into this event off a strong warmup showing at the Wells Fargo where he placed 14th. He has four top-five finishes over his last eight starts but has gone winless in over two seasons, with his last win on the PGA coming at the 2019 Tournament of Champions. Schauffele ranks third in short game, putting and DraftKings points over the last 50 rounds and unquestionably has the kind of all-around game needed to tackle a tricky layout like Kiawah Island. His iron play can come and go, but his consistency and length off the tee should be a massive benefit here.

His projections on Awesemo this week are astounding too, making him an easy target to start lineups with. He ranks third in the model in overall point projections — despite being just the eighth-most expensive player on DraftKings — and has the best value score of anyone over $9,500 in salary too. Schauffele has finished 17th or better in seven of the last eight majors and recorded an amazing eight top-10s at majors since the start of 2017. He is a great way to begin DFS lineups here.

The Stats:

Schauffele has eight top-10s at majors since the beginning of 2017; has finished 10th or better in three of the last four majors coming into this week.
He has gained strokes on his approaches in 11 of his last 12 starts on tour and ranks third in strokes gained putting over the last 50 rounds of play.

Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 22.2%

Crush your PGA DFS contests with tools and data from the #1 DFS Player

Webb Simpson: Grades: A | Values: A

Simpson comes into this event with little fanfare but certainly rates out as a solid target, nonetheless. He finished 12th at the Masters in April and followed that up with a strong title defense at the RBC Heritage where he gained 9.9 strokes ball striking alone and finished ninth for the week. He has made the weekend in 16 of his last 17 starts on tour and has racked up seven top-10s in that stretch. While he missed the cut here in 2012 (off the back of his U.S. Open win), Simpson’s affinity for Pete Dye courses is well known, and he has multiple wins at these venues throughout his career (including the 2018 Players).

The 2012 iteration showed us that shorter hitters can compete here despite the length of the course, and with his ownership lower than several popular plays in his range, Simpson makes for a solid target to back. He has the sixth-best points projection on Awesemo and carries the best value score of anyone above $9,000 on DraftKings — including Viktor Hovland, who is set to be the highest-owned golfer this week. Sliding in a little under the radar, Simpson rates out as a good player to be overweight on here.

The Stats:

Simpson has gained 9.9 strokes ball striking combined in his last outing at Hilton Head; ranks 13th in strokes gained tee to green on Pete Dye courses over the last 50 rounds and 10th lifetime
Sixth in bogey avoidance over the last 50 rounds and 16th and 10th in par-4 efficiency from 450 to 500 yards and 500-plus yards

Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 13.0%

Low-Owned GPP Flier

Shane Lowry

Lowry’s is a name people almost always forget most major championship weeks, as he’s often lost in the mix of affordable elite values. While his name value doesn’t have the ring of a Jason Day or Adam Scott, he has easily outplayed both those men in 2021 and is sandwiched in between them on DraftKings this week. He has yet to follow up his 2019 Open Championship with a win, but he’s been getting closer. He has made the weekend in 11 of his last 12 PGA starts and put up a career-best 21st at Augusta in the first major of 2021 last April.

That effort was also sandwiched by two top-10 finishes at The Players and the RBC Heritage, which came on Pete Dye courses. Overall, he has gained two strokes or more on his approaches in his last five starts and has made the cut at the PGA Championship in each of his last four appearances, a run which includes eight- and 12th-place finishes in 2019 and 2018. Considering the run he’s on, his low ownership makes him a great pivot play on a course that should bring a lot of similar vibes.

Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 5.5%

Latest PGA DFS Content

DraftKings Top Three Under Five

I am targeting three players here that I ultimately think will end up under (or close) to 5% ownership in bigger DraftKings GPPs. We’re searching for boom/bust players here with an almost 100% focus on upside.

Patrick Cantlay ($9,000)

The sentiment around Cantlay is at an all-time low, and perhaps for good reason. It is worth noting that despite four missed cuts in a row, he has missed the cut in his last two starts on the number and hasn’t really had any major dips in stats that would throw out red flags. He is likely going to be 5% owned or lower in many GPPs this week and makes a solid pivot since he has excelled on Dye venues in the past.

Thomas Pieters ($6,800)

Pieters made this section last week but didn’t make the weekend. His missed cut at the Byron Nelson wasn’t all that concerning, though, as he gained three strokes on his approaches in two rounds and simply had a terrible week on the greens. He has finished 23rd and sixth at the last two PGA Championships and was a solid 23rd at a tough U.S. Open track last fall. Pieters continues to strike it well and shows up in majors more often than people realize, making him an excellent pivot option under $7,000 here.

Russell Henley ($7,200)

Henley is a resident of South Carolina and is a perennial underrated player — Awesemo’s own Unofficial World Golf rankings has him as the No. 20 player in the world. Whenever he is well under 5% owned, which he is trending towards this week, he is worth rostering. He has made the cut at the last five PGA Championships and has the kind of iron game that excels on Dye venues.

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

[PGAPAGE]