The PGA Tour makes its second stop of the 2021 season this week after a brief one-week rest period for the Ryder Cup. This event typically sees one of the weakest fields of the year, and this year is no different. Headliners include Sam Burns and Sungjae Im, who are two of the only three top-50 players in the world in attendance this week. The Sanderson Farms Championship is wide open and has seen an eclectic group of winners, including last year’s champion Sergio Garcia, who last season here recorded his first PGA win since the 2017 Masters. With only a few big-name golfers teeing it up this week, we will have to approach DFS golf strategy a bit differently and dig a little deeper for daily fantasy golf picks DraftKings and FanDuel this week.
The Country Club of Jackson has been the host venue for a long time and plays as a relatively simple par 72. Set in an ideal parkland setting, weather and wind are rarely an issue, and players only have to deal with some tight hole setups and tricky fairways for the most part. Winners here have reached 18 under or better here the past five seasons, and with a good forecast expect solid scoring again in 2021.
This article will utilize the Awesemo expert PGA DFS projections and daily fantasy golf ownership for DFS golf lineup picks this week on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Country Club of Jackson Stats and Info
- Par 72, 7,460 yards; plays as a traditional par 72 with four shorter par 5’s and features Bermuda greens that often lead to huge spike weeks in putting.
- Driving accuracy numbers are typically lower than the tour average, and the parkland layout means players can get shut off from the green on their approach if they get too wild with the driver.
- Strokes gained off the tee have been a strong indicator here, as the last three winners have all gained 3.5 strokes or more off the tee for the week.
Putting Splits
The greens at the Country Club of Jackson are pure Bermudagrass and some of the best conditioned on tour. It is a big change from the last event out west where bumpy poa greens were in play. Use caution with these putting splits in fantasy golf picks; they are not the be-all, end-all, but they make for a nice tiebreaker.
Positive Bermuda Putting Splits, Last 50 Rounds
- Chesson Hadley: +33 strokes on Bermuda, -3 strokes on all other surfaces
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat: +27 on Bermuda, +25 on all other surfaces
- Sungjae Im: +17 on Bermuda, -5 on all other surfaces
+ equals total strokes gained | – equals strokes lost
Negative Bermuda Putting Splits, Last 50 Rounds
- Chez Reavie: -33 on Bermuda, -1 on all other surfaces
- Wyndham Clark: -5 on Bermuda, +16 on all other surfaces
- Brandt Snedeker: -1 on Bermuda, +31 on all other surfaces
Daily Fantasy Golf Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel
*Grades are ordered DraftKings, FanDuel. Initial grade indicates a player’s strength of output for the week with the value grade indicating their strength as a play in relation to their salary.
Will Zalatoris: Grades: A+ | Values: C
Awesemo’s grades and projections this week show there is not much debate in terms of who the top play is in this weaker field. Will Zalatoris has the highest points projection (by nearly 2 points) and comes in with a massive 18% top-six projection as well. While it may seem strange to see him with such large numbers, his recent form and the weakness of this field demonstrate why he is so favored as a DFS target.
On top of this field only having three top-50 players, Zalatoris is top five in strokes gained on approach and tee to green over the last 50 rounds. After a short blip over the summer where he missed the cut in two straight majors, Zalatoris has bounced back quickly and had his best ball-striking week in four months in his last outing at Silverado. The gap in talent and potential points becomes substantial below the $10,000 range on DraftKings this week, making Zalatoris the prime target.
The Stats:
- Ranks fifth in this field in strokes gained tee to green over the last 50 rounds; gained 6.8 strokes ball striking his last time out.
- Ranks sixth in par-5 efficiency and first in efficiency on holes from 550 to 600 yards over the last 50 rounds.
Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 23.9%
Cameron Davis: Grades: B | Values: B
It was not too long ago that Cameron Davis came to a field and setup very similar to this one and grabbed his first ever PGA win. He has not done a whole lot to discuss since winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic last summer, but he did pile up 37 birdies in his last two playoff starts of 2020-21.
Davis has played Country Club of Jackson three times and posted a career-best sixth place finish here last season. He sets up well for this layout, which requires players to convert their birdie chances when they get them (Davis is second in birdie-or-better percentage over the last 50 rounds in this field). From a projection standpoint, he has the sixth highest on this slate for points and the best value score of anyone under $9,800. There are few trustworthy players in the field this week, but Davis’ birdie rate high and he looks too cheap, especially considering the other available options.
The Stats:
- Sixth-place finish at Country Club of Jackson last year; gained four strokes putting for the week.
- Ranks second in birdie-or-better opportunities over the last 50 rounds and was 14th on tour last season in birdie-or-better percentage.
Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 18.3%
Low-Owned PGA DFS GPP Flier
Matthew Wolff
Matthew Wolff has been inconsistent over the past year, but given the weakness of this field (and the time off Wolff has had between starts), he is a worthwhile play. When everything is working, he is as elite a talent as they come. It is also worth noting that his last real glimpse of success came in this fall series last year when he was in a playoff at the Shriners Hospital Open and then just lost in a playoff.
Country Club of Jackson has catered well to big hitters over the past few years (remember Cameron Champ won here), and if Wolff can find his putter early, there are four par 5’s for him to potentially tear up this week. He is as boom or bust as the get, but he will not be this cheap at under 10% ownership in fields like this ever again if his A-game shows up here. He is simply worth the risk given the field and setup.
Projected PGA DFS ownership: DraftKings: 5.4%
DraftKings Top Three Under 5%
I am targeting three players here that will end up under (or close) to 5% ownership in larger DraftKings GPPs. We are searching for boom/bust players here with an almost 100% focus on upside.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Aphibarnrat has some of the widest putting splits in professional golf. He loves Bermudagrass and has been playing well of late, earning his PGA Tour card in the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs last month and finishing second at the competitive BMW PGA Championship in England. He is projecting for almost no ownership this week too.
Sahith Theegala
Theegala was a prolific college player who took a year figure out his game as a pro. It seems like he has done just that, though, as he also grabbed his tour card at the Korn Ferry Tour finals, posting top-six finishes at the last two Korn Ferry events of the year. He made it through the cut in the first event of the new season and makes for an upside target in GPPs this week.
Anirban Lahiri
Lahiri ended last season playing decent golf and sets up well for this week’s more straightforward test. He is strong off the tee and has made the cut here in each of his two appearances. He tends to show up at the weaker-field events (top six last year at Corales and Barbasol), and at just $6,200 on DraftKings this week, he makes for an excellent punt.
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