The biggest PGA golf event of the year — The 2022 Masters — is underway, and the scoring was about as perfect as one could as for in a major championship. A fantastic test of golf that required more than just a good ball-striking effort, with course management being an incredibly valuable skill. The greatest ever to play the sport returned to the course, and shot a very respectable one-under 71, as Tiger Woods vies for his sixth green jacket. Round 2 is sure to bring more fireworks, with DraftKings offering up $100,000 to first place for the second-round showdown slate. Let’s recap Round 1, and find some of the best PGA DFS picks for Round 2 showdown fantasy golf lineups.
PGA DFS Golf Picks Today: The Masters Round 2
Round 1 Recap
Morning Wave
Jose Marie Olazabal would make the first birdie of the tournament on the first hole, as Augusta looked as if it was gettable today. But, the greens would dry out incredibly quickly, and difficult golf would be ahead. Cam Smith would have all eyes on him after the Tiger Woods pairing and would start his day with a double-bogey. He’d bounce back and get to six-under at one point before posting a wave-best 68 in Round 1. He gained over five strokes with his approaches, showing tremendous upside with his scoring attributes. Joaquin Niemann would relish in the spotlight of playing with Tiger in Round 1 and would ride a hole-out eagle on the ninth hole to a three-under 69. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler would also struggle with the last hole, coming to it bogey-free, but would make five on 18 and would also sho0t 69 on day one.
Other notable rounds from this wave included Danny Willett, Jason Kokrak, Harry Higgs, Kevin Na and Tony Finau. These golfers will all tee off later than 10:56 a.m. tomorrow and will have to play in difficult conditions expected in the afternoon.
Afternoon Wave
As the afternoon wave started, and Cam Smith was at six-under, many thought they’d have to go low to catch him. But, a finishing double-bogey opened it up a bit for the afternoon golfers to take advantage of pretty ideal conditions to play. Sungjae Im would get off to a good start, going out in 32 on the front nine, and looked prime to take it low. But a few stumbles on Amen Corner before eagling Hole 13 would stunt that a little bit, but not enough to keep him out of the first-round lead. Im looked good through his bag in Round 1, including his putter, which hasn’t been in form this season, gaining over two strokes on the field in Round 1.
2020 champion Dustin Johnson would continue his solid form recently, but would stumble on the back nine par 5s and only reach Smith’s four-under 68.
The Masters Round 1 Stat Recap
Strokes Gained Off the Tee
- Rory McIrloy
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Sungjae Im
- Shane Lowry
- Max Homa
Strokes Gained Approach
- Cameron Smith
- Harry Higgs
- Talor Gooch
- Dustin Johnson
- Tyrrell Hatton
Strokes Gained Around the Green
- Corey Conners
- Lee Westwood
- Dustin Johnson
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Brian Harman
Strokes Gained Putting
- Danny Willett
- Guido Migliozzi
- Min Woo Lee
- Sungjae Im
- Abraham Ancer
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DraftKings Fantasy Golf Preview: The Masters Round 2Â
- Lock Time: 8:00 a.m. EST
- Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $100,000 to first place and $350,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate
Best PGA DFS Picks Today for The Masters DraftKings Showdown
It has been touched upon already, but the wind is expected to be its highest starting around 1 p.m. on Friday. It’ll be about 20 mph all throughout the rest of the day with gusts touching 3o mph. Contrary to today, where the wind died down as the day went on, Friday afternoon won’t be as fortunate.
Collin Morikawa ($9,300)
Entering the slate as one of the lowest-owned golfers above $9K, Morikawa put in a fine effort in Round 1. But, a few misses late cost him an under-par round, even though he gained over 2 strokes tee to green. The putting has been an issue in the past, but fresh greens in the morning should be able to change his fortunes. I expect because of how many quality names are on the leaderboard above him; he will still be low-owned; a good time to take advantage of that.
Patrick Cantlay ($9,000)
Entering the week on a cold streak, Cantlay would put on a ball-striking display that would suggest nothing is wrong with his form. He was one of a few golfers to hit over 83% of both his greens and fairways in Round 1, en route to gaining almost 3.5 strokes ball-striking. His putting looks OK as well, gaining .38 strokes on the day, and his around-the-green work was solid enough. Look for Cantlay to maintain position on the first page of the leaderboard heading into the weekend, searching for his first major victory. Tyyrell Hatton ($7,800)Â also looked superb tee to green, but struggled mightily with the putter. However, this year, he’s ranked first in strokes gained putting, so expect a bounce-back in Round 2.
Robert MacIntyre ($6,700)
It has been said many times over the years that Augusta National favors lefties. MacIntyre joins a long list of lefties that have fared well here and continued his impressive driving display in Round 1, hitting just shy of 80% of his fairways. His irons, which typically aren’t an issue, were today, as he translated all those fairways into hitting just 50% of greens in regulation on the day. With a solid tee time in Round 2, getting out before most of the wind arrives, he should be able to continue to pound the ball of the tee and hopefully have his irons during his warmup.
Cameron Champ ($6,700)
Champ’s reliance on his off the tee can translate into a plethora of scoring opportunities, and he seems to really take advantage of those here at Augusta. If just a few more putts had dropped today, he’d be on the first page of the leaderboard but still sits in a solid position, with a great tee time in the morning. He has a great chance to head into the weekend inside the top 15 of the leaderboard. He and Harold Varner IIIÂ ($6,700)Â make for solid options in this price range for more aggressive builds.
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