The Winning Element: PGA DFS Optimizer Picks & Projections for the 2022 Players Championship DraftKings & FanDuel Lineups

All of the PGA DFS content and fantasy golf picks this week are geared toward providing information that will help with DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy golf, PGA odds and betting predictions in the best way possible. With the help of the Awesemo expert , this is the last of the week-long written PGA fantasy picks material for DraftKings and FanDuel at the 2022 Players Championship.

PGA DFS Golf Picks: 2022 Players Championship

This column will include 6 to 12 players as part of the core, which earns my highest allocation on DFS and is matched with bets across the board. All three of my favorite trio of Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay (and everyone else’s favorites, for that matter) are here this week. The one major takeaway from following Cantlay for the last five years is his ability to play well in adverse conditions. That is all the golfers will see this week, so I will probably have my lowest allocation of Cantlay I have had at a big event in quite some time. Collin Morikawa fits into that unknown bucket as well and is also the highest priced of the three. There is a variation of my “main” lineup that features both Morikawa and Spieth, depending on the last weather reports and where a perceived advantage may be.

PGA DFS Slate Preview

Total expected player pool: 69

Expected number of lineups created: 450

Players Championship Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

These golfers are in play for my one of my three main lineups this week: ($555 on FanDuel, $222 on DraftKings, $2,222 on DraftKings) and likely highest allocations in most spots. The only case where this may change is Daniel Berger, whom I would play on my $2222 DraftKings team and likely nowhere else.

Jon Rahm ($11,100 DraftKings/$12,100 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 7:51 a.m.
• Round 2: 12:56 p.m.

Unless there is a significant weather draw, Rahm should win this week. His game has not been the best to start the season, but that is mostly because of his short game. That will not continue; he is just too talented in that department for it to go on for a prolonged time, so at his lowest price and highest odds, he will get the top spot this week.

Justin Thomas ($10,400 DraftKings/$11,900 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 12:56 p.m.
• Round 2: 7:51 a.m.

Thomas has five made cuts in six tries, including a win last year and just one missed cut. He clearly is one of the most comfortable golfers on this track. He also comes into this week off the heels of three top-10s and four made cuts in four starts over the last 12 weeks, playing some of the most consistent golf this year.

Xander Schauffele ($9,700 DraftKings/$11,500 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 12:45 p.m.
• Round 2: 7:40 a.m.

In 2018 Schauffele had a near miss at this event, coming in second in his first attempt at the Players. But his next two trips have not been good at all, as he missed the cut each time. This year, though, he is playing consistent golf still finding a way to score and place inside the top 34 in each of the last five events and recording one top-five. He is also doing it in every category, as he is gaining at least 0.295 strokes in all four facets of the game. That is the type of profile needed to win here, and Schauffele is overdue for an official PGA Tour win.

Louis Oosthuizen ($8,700 DraftKings/$10,400 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 7:29 a.m.
• Round 2: 12:34 p.m.

As part of the all-a.m./p.m. variant, Oosthuizen has played the least amount of golf of anyone since the start of the year, playing just twice. There is no way to get a full gauge on his current form with just eight rounds, but in those eight rounds he has gained strokes in seven of eight categories, only losing with his approaches at the Honda Classic last week. That is atypical of him, especially when he is hitting over 70% of his fairways, so look for that part of his game to improve with the week in between starts.

Shane Lowry ($8,000 DraftKings/$9,600 FanDuel)

If conditions worsen, it should help Lowry even more. Now, it certainly did not help him when only he and Daniel Berger had to deal with it at the Honda.

Tee Times

• Round 1: 7:29 a.m.
• Round 2: 12:34 p.m.

When everyone plays in the same conditions, Lowry is undoubtedly one of the best among them. In addition, he seems to be in a good spot of form this season, finishing no worse than 24th in his four starts over the last 12 weeks. He also has found some success here with an eighth-place finish last year, but he does have a couple of missed cuts mixed in. He is part of the all-a.m./p.m. lineup.

Russell Henley ($7,400 DraftKings/$9,000 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 12:12 p.m.
• Round 2: 12:34 p.m.

One of the only knocks on Henley’s game is that he is not overly accurate or long off the tee. But he seems to be in a better grove with it, hitting about 68% of his fairways last week, much better than the average. His around-the-green work was superb, and his irons are always good. Fitting in as part of an all-p.m./a.m. wave, Henley should be able to buck his missed cut trend at the Players.

Corey Conners ($7,300 DraftKings/$10,200 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 7:29 a.m.
• Round 2: 12:34 p.m.

Bad weather or not, Conners is steady and consistent in all categories, tee through green. There are not many golfers that can consistently lose four strokes putting for the week and still end up in the top 20 and many top PGA DFS lineups. Conners has also been in at least three of the winning/optimal Millionaire-Maker lineups. He has solid history here as well, coming in seventh last year and 41st in his first start. He should be able to build on that here this week in conditions suited well for his game.

Chris Kirk ($7,000 DraftKings/$7,800 FanDuel)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 12:45 p.m.
• Round 2: 7:40 a.m.

Working off of back-to-back top-10s, Kirk is coming into this week in some of the best form. He has also found incredible success making the weekend here at the Players, doing so eight straight years (throwing out his withdrawal in 2016). His best finish has been a 12th and a couple of 13ths, which would do just fine for his salary this week.

Aaron Wise ($6.600 DraftKings/$8,100)

Tee Times

• Round 1: 7:29 a.m.
• Round 2: 12:34 p.m.

Coming out of college, Wise was seen as the next thing. But a struggle to get settled on tour saw him underperform what was expected of him. Just 25 years old, he has finally found a groove on tour and a putting style that seems to be working for him. Last year putting was his worst category by far, but through the Arnold Palmer Invitational he was gaining strokes on the season, showing promise and improvement. If he can match the field this week and continue his fine ball-striking form, he should be able to get inside the top 40 and pay off his low salary quickly.

Other Golfers that could be considered for a main lineup:

• Matt Fitzpatrick ($7,400)
• Si Woo Kim ($7,300)
• Talor Gooch ($7,200)
• Alex Noren ($7,000)
• Keegan Bradley ($6,900)

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PGA DFS Chalk Zone (Projected for 10%+ Ownership)

E = Equal weight to projected ownership

U = Underweight to projected ownership

O = Overweight to projected ownership

1. Viktor Hovland (E to U)
2. Hideki Matsuyama (E to U)
3. Cameron Smith (E to U)
4. Scottie Scheffler (E to U)
5. Brooks Koepka (E)
6. Joaquin Niemann (E)
7. Sungjae Im (E)
8. Adam Scott (E)
9. Billy Horschel (E to U)
10. Tyrrell Hatton (E)
11. Abraham Ancer (E)
12. Cameron Young (E)
13. Sergio Garcia (E)
14. Paul Casey (E)

Fringe PGA DFS Picks (12-17% of Lineups)

1. Rory McIlroy
2. Dustin Johnson
3. Max Homa
4. Tommy Fleetwood
5. Justin Rose
6. Keith Mitchell

Alternates (6-11% of Lineups)

1. Tony Finau
2. Marc Leishman
3. Jason Day
4. Jason Kokrak
5. Gary Woodland
6. Patrick Reed
7. Cameron Tringale
8. Ian Poulter
9. Sahith Theegala
10. Cameron Champ
11. Brian Harman
12. Mackenzie Hughes
13. Bubba Watson
14. Patton Kizzire
15. Doug Ghim
16. Mito Pereira
17. Branden Grace
18. Denny McCarthy

Holes in One (1-5% of Lineups)

1. Martin Laird
2. Jhonattan Vegas
3. Cam Davis
4. Sebastian Munoz
5. Garrick Higgo
6. Lucas Herbert
7. Beau Hossler
8. Thomas Pieters
9. J.T. Poston
10. Harry Higgs
11. Kevin Tway
12. Taylor Pendrith
13. Stephan Jaeger

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