Make the Turn-Desert Classic
Showdown Spotlight
DraftKings created the single round showdown format last year for the PGA, and it has caught on enough to come back again for this year! Much to my surprise as well, the contest sizes are not bad at all! This column is meant to be a quick hitter article, give you the stats you need to make informed decisions, and give you a couple of recommendations to start your lineup.
Tournament Update- Desert Classic
Phil the thrill was able to back up his 12 under 60, with a 4 under 60, which allowed the field to gain some ground on him. The closest chaser, Curtis Luck, has his best 36 hole score on the PGA Tour and sits just 1 back of Phil. Patrick Cantlay, however, might be in the best spot of any golfer, trailing by just 5, Cantlay heads to La Quinta country club today which has been by far the easiest three courses over the past two days.
Round 2 Recap:
- Soring Averages:
- 68.42 = La Quinta
- 68.56 = Tournament Course
- 70.27 = Stadium Course
- 36-hole averages
- 137.84 = La Quinta
- 138.2 = Tournament Course
- 141.15 = Stadium Course
- Ryan Armour & Peter Malnati remain bogey-free through 36 holes. Sam Burns and Phil Mickelson has 1 double bogey, and no bogeys, something interesting of note.
Round 3 Preview:
Model:
Commentary:
As we mentioned above Patrick Cantlay ($9,500) may sit in the best spot of any golfer. He played the Stadium Course yesterday and had a superb round from tee to green gaining almost 5 strokes. His putter went cold late, thus, he ended up losing strokes with the flat stick yesterday. By the untrained eye, Rahm missed a ton as well. Look for the two studs of the field to make a few more today and give themselves a chance at victory come tomorrow. The lowest round of the day came from Carlos Ortiz on La Quinta, where he shot 62. Joey Garber shot 64, and then a ton of 65’s.
My Round 3 Showdown Picks:
Stud Pick:
Patrick Cantlay ($9,500)- This is another case of don’t overthink. Just like yesterday with Hadwin, play the most obvious stud on the easiest course. Not much more to say about that.
Value Pick:
Kevin Kisner ($7,300) Just how far has Kisner’s game slid? Seem’s like he’s falling into the Brian Harman rut, but, maybe a good weekend will help him break out of it. He’s broken 70 each of the first two rounds, and now heads to the easy La Quinta for his third/ He’s also plenty inside the supposed MDF/Cutline, so you can put him out there on both slates today. What I saw yesterday that intrigued me was he ranked second in strokes gained tee to green.
For a golfer that is notoriously a better than an average putter, this is a very good sign, and he’s cheap.
Sneaky Pick
Julian Etulain ($6,200)- Julian has now strong together back to back good weeks, as long as he can make it through the cut, which shouldn’t be a problem given his current form. He gained almost 3 strokes tee to green yesterday, with 3.6 coming on his approaches while losing strokes around the green. We learned that’s a fine formula here, and should bode well for him at La Quinta today.
Fill-Ins:
C.T Pan ($8,400)
Charles Howell ($9100)
Brendan Steele ($7,200)
OLLIE SCHIEDERJANS $6,900)- round 3 only***
Round 3 Matchup Bets:
*Bold to win
Steele vs Dufner
Hadwin vs Harman
Cantlay (-1.5) vs Kizzire
Rahm (-1.5) vs Reavie
berger vs Henley
Howell III vs. O’Hair
