The AT&T Byron Nelson is underway, and TPC Craig Ranch was no test for the world’s best today. Last year, it played as one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour. This year, it was supposed to be a tad harder, as conditions were opposite — firm and fast — as opposed to soft and wet. But that did not stop the field from tearing up the course to the tune of a scoring average below 70.
PGA DFS Golf Picks Today: AT&T Byron Nelson Round 2
Round 1 Recap
Morning Wave
Known for his ability to get lightning hot in a hurry, Sebastian Munoz did just that today, having a chance at 59 — the first real shot we’ve had this year on the PGA Tour. Still, a 12-under 60 is the best round of the season and beat everyone in his wave by at least four. He gained at least .9 strokes in all four strokes gained categories and gained a combined eight strokes with his putter and his approaches. K.H. Lee did something similar last year en route to victory. Speaking of Lee, he was in the afternoon wave, but he also had a fantastic start to his title defense, shooting an eight-under 64.
Mito Pereira has returned from a back injury after a few weeks off and picked up where he left off, shooting an eight-under 64. Peter Malnati took a slightly different approach for his eight-under 64 Round 1 score, gaining over four strokes putting and over a stroke and a half off the tee, while only gaining slightly around the green and with his approaches.
Other formidable rounds from the morning wave include Seamus Power, Carlos Ortiz, Matt Kuchar, Hideki Matsuyama, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Dustin Johnson. All of them shot five-under or better.
Afternoon Wave
With conditions remaining the same throughout the day, the afternoon wave had just as good of a chance to go low as the morning wave did. Trey Mullinax looked like he might even be able to catch Munoz after going out in 29, but a triple bogey on his 10th hole of the day ended that dream quickly. Lee had the best round of the afternoon. A few of the wave’s stars joined him, as world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler also put in a great round, shooting a 6-under 66. The third golfer in that threesome was Jordan Spieth, who continued his run of strong form, also shooting 66 in Round 1. Justin Thomas ran into a bit of a hiccup in his round, hitting it into the water off the tee on the 14th hole, but recovered to make par and then birdied his last two holes to shoot a four-under 68 in Round 1.
Other hot rounds from the afternoon wave were turned in by Justin Lower, who, at the time of writing this, was eight-under on the course with a few holes left to play. A few others were Charl Schwartzel, J.J. Spaun, Joaquin Niemann, Beau Hossler and Dawie van der Walt.
The AT&T Byron Nelson Round 1 Stat Recap
Strokes Gained Off the Tee
- Aaron Wise
- Jhonattan Vegas
- Jordan Spieth ***
- Lanto Griffin
- K.H. Lee
Strokes Gained Approach
- Tyler Duncan
- Sebastian Munoz
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Scott Gutschewski
- K.H. Lee
Strokes Gained Around the Green
- John Huh
- Adam Svensson
- Justin Leonard
- David Skinns
- Patton Kizzire
Strokes Gained Putting
- Seamus Power
- Peter Malnati
- Sebastian Munoz
- Kyle Wilshire
- Beau Hossler
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DraftKings Fantasy Golf Preview: The AT&T Byron Nelson Round 2
- Lock Time: 6:50 a.m. ET
- Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $25,000 to first place and $100,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate
Best PGA DFS Picks Today for the AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings Showdown
Jordan Spieth ($9,900)
Boy, how the tides have turned, as everyone wants a piece of Jordan now that things are rolling. He looked great in Round 1 again, showing his transformation off the tee, gaining a ton of distance this year. His one slip-up came after getting a horrendous lie in the bunker on 16, where he made bogey. The rest of his game looked just fine as well, gaining strokes in all four categories. He’s been clear about his enjoyment of playing in his hometown here in McKinney, Texas, and makes for one of the best plays on the Friday showdown slate. Although he’ll be highly owned, likely one of the highest on the slate, it’s warranted. Those that are looking for a stud that could go lower owned, look at Sam Burns ($9,600) and Will Zalatoris ($9,500), both of whom did not perform well in Round 1.
Adam Scott($8,500)
Making a commitment to the long putter this year, Scott has looked much more comfortable with the flat stick. That continued in Round 1, gaining just shy of two strokes on the day. But, very surprisingly, he looked below average with his ball-striking, losing with his approaches, and gaining only slightly off the tee. That should get better as the week progresses.
Carlos Ortiz ($6,800)
After battling injuries for much of the first part of the year, Ortiz seems to be slowly coming back to form. He gained over two strokes ball-striking in Round 1 and looked very comfortable on the greens, gaining almost 2.5 strokes. A graduate of North Texas, he’s familiar with the area and likely has plenty of fans out there this week. His price is in the value section, but his form is trending better than that.
Other Low Owned Targets for PGA DFS Round 2 of the AT&T Byron Nelson
- Matthias Schwab ($6,900)
- Mackenzie Hughes ($7,100)
- Rory Sabbatini ($6,800)
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