This column is a quick-hitter article to give you the stats you need to make informed PGA DFS picks for your DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy lineups. We’re in search of a few recommendations for the second round of the Sony Open. In a typical Showdown GPP, DraftKings will offer upwards of $50,000 to first place for second- and third-round tournaments and sometimes up to $100,000 for the final-round contests. They also provide weekend-long contests that have been offering $25,000 to first place on average. FanDuel has also tried to get into the weekend-long and final-round contests, offering $10,000 and $5,000 to first place in their PGA DFS Showdown contests. Let’s take a look at PGA DFS picks for round two of the American Express.
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PGA DFS Showdown: American Express Round 2
Previous Round Recap
Nicklaus CourseÂ
Playing as the second-easiest course on the PGA Tour last year, the Nicklaus course saw some pretty extensive renovation. That didn’t help prevent Brandon Hagy from shooting 64 or Byeong Hun An from shooting 65. Most of the top portion of the leaderboard played on the Nicklaus Course in Round 1. A couple golfers who played the Nicklaus course well today were Michael Thompson and Max Homa. I mentioned both picks in my winning element article this week. Now, if I could have just rostered them without Sam Burns, that would have been great. Burns went out on the Nicklaus Course and shot 77. Cameron Champ shot that same lousy score after an incredibly unlucky break, which saw his approach shot hit the flagstick and go back into the water before he was able to make triple-bogey.
Stadium CourseÂ
Luck was quite the opposite for golfers on the Stadium Course in Round 1. More than a few golfers flung their tee shots onto the rocks on the famed island green 16th hole, though all of them landed on the green, not in the water.
Si Woo Kim continued his strong play on Thursday, shooting a course-best 66. Charl Schwartzel started his year off with a bang, shooting 67. Only Doug Ghim and Ben Martin enter Round 2 in the top 10.
The course scoring averages were 70.385 for the Nicklaus Course and 71.051 for the Stadium (-0.949).
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PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Slate Preview
Lock Time
12:10 p.m. EST
Fantasy Golf Contest Preview
DraftKings
- DraftKings is offering $20,000 to first and $80,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.
FanDuel
- FanDuel is offering $1,000 to first and $6,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.
General Strategy and American Express PGA DFS Picks
The two-course rotation always throws a bit of a wrench into things, but we know that golfers are switching tracks, and the courses have an equal number of par 5’s. So, we’ll try and analyze the action from the PGA West Stadium Course, whose golfers will be heading to the easier Nicklaus course tomorrow.
Top-10
Si Woo Kim ( $7,800)
After a decent start to the season last week on Oahu, Kim continues his good form, especially on Pete Dye courses. He gained through the bag in Round 1, including a hot putter and a good approach game. Match those two factors up all week, and he should have a chance come Sunday.
PGA DFS Picks Outside the Top 10
- Tony Finau ($10,100): Playing with Patrick Reed ($9,900) was a tale of two rounds today. Finau busted out with six straight birdies starting on the seventh hole, while Reed played the first eight at 2 over. Both golfers finished at the same score but got there in very different ways. Reed gained 4.3 strokes putting. Finau, on the other hand gained 2.47 ball striking but lost about a quarter of a stroke with his putter. That will have to change for him to win this event.
- Francesco Molinari ($6,800): Molinari has made only a single paycheck in the preceding 12 months. He has himself in shape to find the weekend in his first event of the year. He moved to California during the pandemic and sat on the sidelines for quite a while. Molinari rode a good approach game in Round 1 as well as a decently hot putter and shot3 under. Those are the types of signs I like to see from a guy that’s been out of form for some time.
Sneaky PGA DFS Pick for Round 2
Wyndham Clark ($7,000)
Clark, who normally struggles with his irons but is a good putter, was the opposite today. Clark gained almost half a stroke with his irons and lost double that with the putter. That will flip at some point this week. Clark maybe had a bit of rustiness with the flat stick, which is not something I’m concerned about for the rest of the American Express.
DraftKings and FanDuel American Express Lineup Fill-Ins
- C.T. Pan ($6,600)
- Doug Ghim ($6,600)
- Andrew Landry ($6,800)
- Patrick Cantlay ($10,400)
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