PGA DFS: Showdown Spotlight Final Round of the Workday Charity Open

This column is a quick-hitter article to give you the stats you need to make informed PGA DFS picks for your DraftKings + FanDuel daily fantasy lineups and give you a couple of recommendations for the Workday Charity Open. On a typical showdown contest, DraftKings will offer upwards of $50,000 to first for rounds 2 and 3 showdown, and sometimes up to $100,000 for the final-round contests. They also provide weekend-long contests that have been offering $25,000 to first for most weekends. Lastly, FanDuel has also tried to get into the weekend-long and final round contests, offering $10,000 and $5,000 to first.

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Previous Round Commentary

It seems to be a weekly thing to mention at least one of the young studs in these articles. But not just as good plays, but competing to win tournaments as well. Suddenly at 27 and 26 years old, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth might even seem old. Imagine what Rickie Fowler must feel like. But back to the golfers that matter for tomorrow. Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa have been mightily impressive but not as much as leader Justin Thomas who still remains bogey-free through 54 holes. An incredibly remarkable feat at a course that’s typically very hard, Thomas has managed his way around it beautifully.

Third-round play got underway right around 11 a.m., and scoring was good again as the shorter rough length and slower green speeds are certainly helping that. Some big movers on the day were M.J. Daffue, the 31-year-old South African who Monday qualified, then made birdie on 18 (9) to make the cut on the number. He then fired a Saturday-low 65 to volt him inside the top 10. Xander Schauffele also making the cut on the number again, shot 66 and sits in a tie for 13th.

The Expected Weather

After a few sketchy days of weather, it doesn’t look to be a problem for Sunday’s round. No edge to be had.

Previous Round Stat Review

Incredibly, Justin Thomas remains bogey-free through 36 holes. He’s obviously the only player to do so. Let’s check on the other side of bogeys, however, and look into the birdie-or-better leaders for round 3.

BOB Leaders Round 3

Sam Ryder (10)
Viktor Hovland (8), Chesson Hadley (8), Rory Sabbatini (8)
Six tied at seven, including Justin Thomas, M.J. Daffue and Gary Woodland.

For the full list of stats, click here!

Strokes Gained Ball Striking vs. Putting

Keegan Bradley fell apart totally on the greens today, almost losing four strokes. This is after losing 1.44 on Friday. Now he leads this category with a 5.17 shot differential. The only other golfer above four is Brendan Steele, with Nick Taylor, Viktor Hovland and Hideki Matsuyama rounding out the top five.

PGA DFS Slate Preview

DraftKings is offering $100,000 to first for tomorrow’s final round contest. Now remember, finishing points ARE awarded for the final round showdown contests on DraftKings.

FanDuel gets in the game, or tries to, and is offering 5K to first for tomorrows final round slate. Finishing points are NOT awarded on FanDuel.

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Final Showdown Picks

Top 10 Breakdown, Pick & Strategy

Thomas was darn impressive again, shooting his third straight bogey-free round, this time to the tune of a 66 to match his Friday score. We already mentioned the impressive young studs of Hovland and Morikawa, as well as Saturday’s runner Daffue. Still, we haven’t mentioned the other two runners from Saturday, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland. Woodland has caught fire with his putter the last two rounds, gaining well over six strokes for the two days, and has ridden it to a 68-66 to tie for eighth. Fowler, on the other hand, has a couple of eagles on the week, propelling him inside the top 10 as he makes it back-to-back weeks with good starts. Ian Poulter continues to putt and chip his way around the course.

Being a week late on Chase Seiffert is hurtful, but Sam Burns gives me a chance for some hope on the week, having him all over the board. A pair of tour vets round it out with Kevin Streelman and Rory Sabbatini.

The lowest number we’ve seen this week has been a 64 from Streelman, so to go against the grain, I’d try and target somebody at -3 or -4. We should get low ownership, and with a big round, that can make up all the positional points awarded to those already above him on the leaderboard.

Sam Burns ($7,700)

After three solid rounds, I’m not going to quit on Burns when it matters most. He’s shown all parts of his game are intact, including his putter. He’s been here before, and luckily for him, he’s not in the last group. There isn’t that added pressure. I suspect he’ll be highly owned but for a good reason, so we’ll have to differentiate elsewhere.

Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10

Brendan Steele ($7,600)

Another solid day tee to green for Steele, who just can’t find anything with the putter. He’s gained all three days with the irons, averaging 2.86 for the first three days. If we can get a slight uptick in his putter, his tied-18th standing could turn in to a sixth or seventh quite quickly. I know at least we are betting on a guy that’s been around leaderboard this year, and he is striking it well.

Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10

Matthew Fitzpatrick ($8,100)

Fitzy sits at -3 going into Sunday, and most people won’t even bother to look his way as he hasn’t really done much in the stat department. But he’s gotten hot at least once with his irons and putter this week, so maybe if we get a day for both of them, a 64 or 65 could be in the cards. I don’t know if 65 will be good enough for a top 10, but it would sure be good enough to be on a winning team for tomorrow’s slate.

Lineup Fill-Ins

Chez Reavie ($7,300)

Mackenzie Hughes ($7,000)

Jason Day ($8,200)

Xander Schauffele ($9,800)

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Author

Jason Rouslin

Jason established his roots in the littlest state that could...Rhode Island. But after 29 years of bitter cold, and only being able to play golf 4 months a year, upended those roots and moved to Florida. Now four years later, Jason is a husband to Sarah and father of two boys, James & Myles. A dog and more specifically Lab lover (Bella), he dedicates his time to serve as the lead of PGA content at Awesemo.com. In the time he is not diving into the PGA stats and covering this week's current tournament, you can find him researching and trading stocks, on the golf course, at Disney World, on a hike, or somewhere in between. Want to chat? Have a question about Golf/Stocks or anything else? Hop on twitter and give him a message @dfsgolfer23. You can also contact Jason by emailing [email protected].