PGA DFS Breakdown: Round 2 WGC-Mexico

PGA DFS Picks: This column is a quick-hitter article to give you the stats you need to make informed decisions for your PGA DFS lineups and give you a couple of recommendations.

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Tournament Update

DraftKings is offering $15,000 to first for the second-round slate with a prize pool of $60,000.

Sunday Weather

Another good day awaits the players with low wind and comfortable temperatures. Tomorrow will be about who’s the best at golf, no weather conditions to deal with.

PGA DFS Round 2 Recap and Sweatsheet

There is a strong field here in Mexico City this week, but the golf course seemed to win the day with the average score being 72.38, or +1.38 over par. That kept DraftKings scoring to a grinding halt with a total of only 663 points scored on the day. That’s less than nine raw points (not including positional points) per player.

The first and second holes proved to be two of the easiest, so if you start at one, you best be ready to play. The par 5’s came in the next easiest, followed by the ninth hole. All of the ones mentioned are the only holes that had more birdies than bogeys today.

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Statistical Analysis: Round 1

The No. 1 golfer in the world played like it today, hitting on all cylinders. He gained just over seven strokes on the field. When Rory McIlroy is rolling, he is virtually unbeatable. Obviously, it’s not guaranteed that he will continue the form throughout the tournament, especially the hot putting, but he seems to be in a great position. He doesn’t have an easy road ahead, though, as Justin Thomas and an in-form Bryson DeChambeau are two of the closest trailers, along with Bubba Watson, who gained five strokes putting today. He also gained no strokes ball striking and sits fourth in the reverse shots gained ball strikings versus putting category.

Let’s take a look now at some guys that striped it out there today but couldn’t match their ball-striking with the flat stick. Byeong Hun An had a great day ball striking but lost over six strokes putting. He gained 10 more strokes ball striking. That’s one of the highest numbers I’ve ever seen. Sung Kang isn’t far behind, gaining 2.26 with his ball striking but losing over five with the putter, a seven-stroke differential.

Click here to see the full list of statistics.

Second-Round Picks and Strategy

Top-10 Pick

A packed leaderboard will make it hard to chose just one of these guys, but I’ll have my share of each of McIlroy, Thomas and DeChambeau. The guy I’ll focus on to pair them all up with is …

Sungjae Im ($7,900)

After a shaky start, Im settled into his round and battled back to a 2-under 69. The only downfall of his game has been his irons, and that showed signs of life today, gaining over a stroke on his approaches. He’s a great putter and very good around the green, so if we can keep the irons hot, he’ll be in the mix for a top-five come Sunday. I want to ride that out as long as I can.

Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10

The three leaders are obvious plays, but If you can only pick two, I’ll have Adam Scott the most, followed by McIlroy then Matt Kuchar.

Tommy Fleetwood ($9,000)

A very, very rough start to his round, Fleetwood went all the way to 2 over. Like good players do, though, he bounced back and found his stride on holes nine to 12, birdieing three and getting himself back in the mix. He sits just five back, and he had a good day everywhere in terms of strokes gained, so he just needs to clean up those first few holes to move up the leaderboard on Friday.

Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10

Ryan Fox ($6,100)

The bomber from New Zealand had a bad day around the greens but had a pretty good day ball striking, gaining about a half a stroke. He was also warm with the putter, gaining just shy of one stroke on the round. He’s almost min-priced for a guy that is coming off of a runner-up finish in his last start. Fox also made five birdies on the round, using his length to get himself into position on Thursday.

PGA DFS Lineup Fill-Ins

Billy Horschel ($7,300)

Lanto Griffin ($6,700)

Hideki Matsuyama ($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].