It was another brutal test of golf in Orlando this week, as the players competing faced heavy winds and tough greens all tournament. Ty Hatton scored one for the European Tour players, forcing Paul Azinger to face his comments once more. Now back on the interstate they go, about three hours due north to Ponte Vedra, the site of golf’s fifth-largest tournament of the year, The Players Championship. This year, though, there’s a different feel to it on the DFS Side, as $1 million is up for grabs in the first Millionaire Maker at The Players. In addition to that, we are going to get to see every single shot. Similar to The Masters App, the PGA Tour will be debuting its version this week called “Tour Cast.” Look for it in the app store today or tomorrow.
Let’s get into some PGA DFS Players Championship Picks.
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Tournament Intro: Players Championship
This Week’s Course
TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course
Tournament Format
A field of 144 players with the top 65 and ties making the weekend.
Course and Tournament Commentary
Of the dozen or so tournaments I’ve been to, this course provides the best spectacle for a fan. There are many fun holes and each hole has a vast viewing area for spectators. Of course, the vendors and amenities offered are best in class as well, making TPC Sawgrass and The Players Championship a destination for any golf fan to attend. TPC Sawgrass actually has a few courses, but the one hosting this week is known as the Stadium Course, a perfect name for the presentation it provides.
TPC Sawgrass opened 40 years ago in 1980. Its masterful Pete Dye design has withstood the test of time. This former swampland not far from the Atlantic Ocean has turned into a masterpiece. Beyond the island green of 17, it offers many other great risk/reward choices. In all, it’s a par 72 that plays under 7,200 yards. One would expect Tour players to tear it up, but that’s not at all the case.
TPC Sawgrass
Par and YardageÂ
- Par 72: 7,200
Course Difficulty 2019Â
- 23/49, about a half stroke under par.
Hole Dispersion
- Four Par 3’s : 177, 237, 181, 137
- Ten Par 4’s: 423, 394, 471, 393, 451, 424, 302, 481, 481, 470, 523, 462
- Four Par 5’s: 555, 574, 511, 590
Grass TypesÂ
- Bermuda
DesignerÂ
- Pete Dye
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PGA DFS Sweatsheet
Player Preview
CommentaryÂ
A picture tells a thousand words in this case. Only Tiger Woods is missing from the top 10 in the world. The Players is always said to be the deepest field in golf, played at one of the best venues. The Millionaire Maker should provide yet another welcomed element.
Previous WinnersÂ
- 2019: Rory McIlroy: -16
- 2018: Webb Simpson: -18
- 2017: Si Woo Kim: -10
- 2016: Jason Day -15
- 2015: Martin Kaymer: -13
PGA DFS Statistical Comparison
- Driving Accuracy vs. Driving Distance: One of the many great things about TPC Sawgrass is any type of golfer can win. Bombers can have some advantage on the longer par 4’s, but good putters, chippers and golfers that control it of the tee like Webb Simpson can undoubtedly win as well.
- Strokes Gained Tee to Green Analysis:Â Simpson’s win in 2018 was one of the best short game displays we’ve seen in recent times. Outside of him, all the other winners ranked inside the top three in strokes gained on approach. That’s no surprise on Pete Dye courses. If you are in play off the tee, it’s all about the second shot.
- Putting; How good do they need to be here?: I just mentioned how good Simpson’s performance was in 2018. Only Jason Day ranked inside the top 10 in strokes gained putting for the week. So they do not have to be that good.
PGA DFS Millionaire Maker Preview
I have always enjoyed majors since I started playing PGA DFS, but sweating out a chance to win a million adds an element that can’t be beaten. Now, DraftKings has rolled the dice and decided to put one out for The Players, a welcome sight if it is severely top-heavy. In this section, I’ll preview the Millionaire Maker contest and what it takes to win it.
I’ve compiled the winning lineups of the last seven Millionaire Maker contests and created a graphic on some info I dissected from there. Here are those lineups.
Winning Lineups
PGA DFS Stats & Commentary
The 2019 Open Championship proved to be an outlier once again, but this time, instead of the highest ownership, it was the lowest of the year. Tony Finau has been in the winning lineup five of the last seven times and Brooks Koepka is the only other golfer with at least five. Koepka has been in the winning lineup the last six times the event has been played, a streak that seems likely to end this week. Looking at just last year’s contest, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay joined Finau and Koepka as the only golfers that were in multiple lineups, each with two.
With such a deep field, I suspect ownership to come in below the average this week, somewhere in the 70% range. Each winning lineup featured at least one golfer that was owned under 10%, and five of the seven times a golfer was owned under 5%. For more information on who those golfers could be this week, look for my free “Against the Grain Article” coming on on Tuesday night where I will provide a few contrarian Players Championship picks.
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