There’s an odd omen here this week, as it was just about a year ago that COVID-19 really hit the PGA Tour. The tour canceled The Players Championship after Round 1, and Disney World announced it was shutting down — all within two hours. The tides seem to be turning, however, and a year removed from this event, we are back to enjoy it and most of its glory, including two PGA DFS Millionaire Maker Contests. We’re getting back to normalcy on the course, so let’s get back to the normalcy of finding the top DraftKings and FanDuel PGA DFS picks for this week’s tournament.
We’re already into Week 3 of the Florida swing, which is the climax of our four-week tour of the Sunshine State. Palm Beach Gardens is a fun, challenging track, but everyone’s attention will be on the Millionaire Maker contests for this week. One of them may be for the rich and famous, or those of you that earned a satellite ticket into it. There’s also a $20 buy-in, the typical buy-in for a millionaire-maker for PGA DFS. The setting for this tournament doesn’t get much better as TPC Sawgrass provides some of the most exciting golf played all year. The best of the best are here to play in the year’s strongest field event of the year.
In case this is your first time here, this is what you can expect to find in this article:
- The Tournament and Format
- Course Commentary
- Course Facts and Figures
- PGA DFS Course Summary and Statistical Comparison
- PGA DFS Preview, including sweat sheet and now featuring optimal lineups from last year’s event
- Player Preview
The Players Championship PGA DFS Picks | DraftKings & FanDuel
The Tournament and Format
Some may consider this golf’s “fifth major,” as it’s said that it can be harder at times to win this event than a major. First and foremost, it’s a full field at 156 players and typically is the best 150 or so in the world. Some majors don’t have half as many participants (The Masters). Others like the U.S. Open and Open Championship typically bring in plenty of amateurs and tertiary PGA Tour or European Tour players, which reduces the strength of the field a bit.
In addition to the strong field, we also get a huge treat this week from the PGA Tour — cameras at every hole. Thus we will be able to watch every golf shot live from every player at TPC Sawgrass.
The Course
TPC Sawgrass opened 40-plus years ago in 1980. Its masterful Pete Dye design has withstood the test of time, staying on the short side in terms of yardage, but still providing a staunch test. 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 all over the course. From the drivable par 4’s to the reachable par 5’s, hazards lurk everywhere. In all, it’s a par 72 that plays under 7,200 yards. One would expect tour players to tear up a course like that — but not here.
Course Facts and Figures
- Par 72: 7,200yards
Course Difficulty
- In 2019 it came in ranked as a middling 23rd of 49e PGA Tour courses, 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 Types and Hazards
- Grass Type: Bermuda
- Rough Length: 1-2 inches
- Green Size: 5,500-square feet
- Holes with water in play: 17
Designer
- Peter Dye
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Facts and Figures
- Off the Tee: It’s similar to last week in a lot of senses off the tee. Approximately 62% of the fairways are hit in regulation, and the average drive off the tee was about 288 yards.
- Approach to the Green: The greens are quite small and tricky at TPC Sawgrass, and thus a tad harder to hit. It came in around 66% last year, ranking 29th of 49.
- Around the Green: Missing these small greens can be brutal, as it played as one of the top 10 toughest on the PGA Tour in 2019.
- On the Green: Once on these greens, golfers can expect to average about 1.623 putts per hole, which would rank it 19th toughest in 2019.
PGA DFS Sweat Sheet
Similar to last week, there are only six holes that get over 5% of the total DFS Scoring. This week it’ll be the four par 5’s, like normal.
The Players Championship PGA DFS Slate Preview
We get another big offering of tournaments from DraftKings this week, including two millionaire makers.
Previous Year PGA DFS DraftKings Results
I’ll cover three buy-in levels: The large-field GPP, the high-dollar GPP and the single-entry mid-level buy-in. I’ll also provide a couple of notes on the overall scoring of the event.
DraftKings Notes & Lineups
- The last time this event was played in its entirety was the closest to a six-figure score I’ve had. The galaxy-brain stack of Jhonattan Vegas and Eddie Pepperell in the same lineup gave me a chance to win it all. I came up just a single point shy and settled for second. It was my third big score at The Players Championship in five years. However, the other year was a total wash, and last year was trending to be the same. As it typically goes in these big events, volatility is extremely high.
$10 Buy-In, $1,000,000 Guaranteed
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- Total ownership of 72%.
- It was not the optimal lineup.
- The lineup wasn’t duplicated.
- The cash line for the contest was 448.50.
$444 Buy-In $450,000 Guaranteed:
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- Total ownership of over 72.
- It was not the optimal lineup.
- The lineup wasn’t duplicated but the score was. Two lineups tied for first with different lineups.
- The cash line for the contest was 448.50.
The Players Championship Player Preview
With the recent withdrawal of Brooks Koepka, 48 of the world’s top 50 are here to compete. The other guy missing is Matthew Wolff. It’s also a rare week where DraftKings gave us the field early and has already released salaries and odds. It’s always welcomed around these parts, as it makes it easier to deliver the content you all love and enjoy.
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