Primetime viewing has its advantages and disadvantages whenever there is a delay in play. There were not one, but two delays, and the second time suspended play for the rest of the day. Most of the Olympics play was competed in the wee hours of the morning for the East Coast. There are still 16 golfers left on the course as of writing, including Hideki Matsuyama. PGA DFS contests are big once again, with DraftKings offering $50,000 to first. Let’s dive into some PGA DFS picks for Showdown and Single-Game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Be sure to check out The Olympics Awesemo’s expert PGA DFS Showdown projections and ownership.
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: The Olympics Round 3
Previous Round Recap
Sepp Straka’s 8 under overnight set the tone for scoring this tournament. With not much trouble on the course and scoreable par 4s, low scores will be out there every day. His lead remained at 8 under for about the first four hours of play until finally Carlos Ortiz made eagle on the sixth hole and got to 10 under. He bogeyed his next hole and played the next 10 holes at 1 under. He will be trailing the stud of the tournament so far, Xander Schauffele, who has not officially won an event since the Tournament of Champions back in 2019. He had the best 72-hole score at the 2020 Tour Championship, but with the new format he was not awarded first-place money. He looks to be in total control of his game through two rounds.
Mito Pereira is a fascinating story at this point, as his run of quality golf is translating to every level right now. He shot 6 under, the second-best score of the day to this point — Matsuyama is 6 under through 16. Also posting 65 were Shane Lowry and Guido Migliozzi, and Migliozzi was also bogey-free on his round. He moved up 30 spots on the day, the biggest mover. One solid round in the low to mid-60s will get anyone who is under par back in this tournament and a chance at a medal.
Notables
Before the delay, Rory McIlroy got hot for a three-hole stretch, getting it to 4 under for the day through just eight holes. He stalled a little bit coming in but has certainly put himself in a position for a shot at a medal. His playing partner Collin Morikawa did not have his A-game on Friday and has not yet this week.
Paul Casey is on the verge of turning in his second straight day in the 60s, now at 3 under through 17; Casey could move up to a tie for third or fourth with a closing birdie. Lastly, Justin Thomas, who started his Olympics with 19 straight pars, lost his ball in the trees on the second hole, made a double and broke it. He bounced back and made five birdies on the round with still one to play.
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Round 2 Stat Recap
The Olympics site has a shot tracker on a desktop/laptop, but it is not available via phone. There is a full slate of statistics, including strokes gained; click here to see them all. Also, these stats are not complete for the round yet, with 16 players still left on the course.
Strokes Gained Tee to Green
Average Place: 5
- Xander Schauffele (1)
- Sebastian Munoz (11)
- Sepp Straka (3)
- Mito Pereira (3)
- Paul Casey (7)
Strokes Gained Ball Striking
Average Place: 7.4
- Xander Schauffele (1)
- Sebastian Munoz (11)
- Sepp Straka (3)
- Cameron Smith (15)
- Rory McIlroy (7)
Strokes Gained Off the Tee
Average Place: 19
- Tommy Fleetwood (25)
- Hurly Long (34)
- Xander Schauffele (1)
- Anirban Lahiri (20)
- Rikuya Hoshino (25)
Strokes Gained on the Approach
Average Place: 8.2
- Shane Lowry (7)
- Cameron Smith (15)
- Sebastian Munoz (15)
- Xander Schauffele (1)
- Sepp Straka (3)
Strokes Gained Around the Green
Average Place: 15.8
- Patrick Reed (20)
- Hideki Matsuyama (3)
- Hurly Long (34)
- Rory Sabbatini (7)
- Jhonattan Vegas (15)
Strokes Gained Putting
Average Place: 9.6
- Carlos Ortiz (2)
- Thomas Detry (20)
- Antoine Rozner (20)
- Alex Noren (3)
- Sepp Straka (3)
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Slate Preview
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- DraftKings is offering $50,000 to first place and $150,000 guaranteed for the third-round slate.
The Olympics PGA DFS Picks
The recipe for scoring well did not change all that much, but with the sixth hole playing as a drivable par 4 in Round 2, there were a few more strokes gained to be had. But it was not long, as most of the field could get there with a driver, and some even with a 3-wood. That is shown by the top five golfers in strokes gained off the tee through two rounds have the worst average standing of any of the strokes gained categories.
PGA DFS Picks for Round 3 of The Olympics
- Xander Schauffele ($10,300): Everything is working for Schauffele through two rounds. Even his putter, which has not gotten hot yet, is still gaining on the field. His tee-to-green game has been absolutely lights out, showing form will not leave anytime soon. In fact, if he gets hot with the putter in the third round, he could run away with it. Ownership will be high, but not as high as tomorrow if he goes out to a big round today.
- Guido Migliozzi ($7,700): Migliozzi had a great bounce-back round, shooting 65 and going bogey-free. He was terrible with his irons in Round 1, which is quite uncharacteristic of him. He came back with a fury in Round 2, gaining over four strokes for the round, and he is back in position to make the podium come Sunday.
- Thomas Detry ($7,000): Like Migliozzi, Detry was off with his irons in Round 1, but his putter was hot. His putter stayed hot, and his irons woke up in Round 2 to push him up the leaderboard. With his price depressed because of his ownership levels, this is a great time to roster him and use the salary flexibility elsewhere.
Sneaky Pick for the Round 3 Showdown
- C.T. Pan ($6,800): After the worst putting day of his career in Round 1 — losing over four strokes — there was no chance that was happening again in Round 2. It did not, and he bounced back in a big way to gain over 1.5 strokes through just 15 holes in Round 2. He is 4 under right now with a few scoring chances coming in.
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