PGA DFS Picks: Shodown Spotlight for Round 2 of the 3M 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 3M 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

Tony Finau was out bright and early and posted the low number of the wave with a stellar 6-under 65. He did all of that while his playing partner, Dustin Johnson, decided to cough up his third straight score over 77, and then withdrew after the round. That left around 25% of the lineups gone after 18 holes this week. Finau’s lead, along with a few others at the number, including Xinjun Zhang, Ryan Moore and Nick Watney, wouldn’t hold all that long, as both Michael Thompson and Richy Werenski bested that number, shooting 64 and 63, respectively. A few others from the afternoon wave came in at the 6 under, including Matthew Wolff and Max Homa.

The Expected Weather for Tomorrow’s Round

Winds are expected to kick up tomorrow, a change from the non-existent wind today, somewhere around 10 mph with gusts up to 25 throughout the day.

Previous Round Stat Review

Four golfers went bogey-free today. Bubba Watson, Patrick Rodgers, Michael Thompson and Tom Lewis. Now let’s see who was able to pour in the most birdies in round one:

BOB Leaders Through Round 3

Richy Werenski (9)
Matthew Wolff (8)
Seven tied at seven, including Tony Finau, Max Homa, Ryan Moore, Bronson Burgoon, Brian Gay and Charl Schwartzel.

For the full list of stats, click here!

Strokes Gained Ball Striking vs. Putting

Much to my dismay, Brooks Koepka’s ball striking looked pretty decent in round 1, gaining almost four strokes on the day. He lost almost that amount putting, however, en route to his 1-under 71, and the seven-shot differential is the largest of anyone. Danny Lee, Cameron Davis, Jason Dufner and Matthias Schwab round out the top five in this category, with Finau and Paul Casey not far behind. All of them gained at least five more strokes ball striking than they did putting in round 1.

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DraftKings:

DraftKings is offering $50,000 to first with $150,000 guaranteed for round 2

FanDuel:

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Slate Strategy

With no expected weather edge for round two and little discrepancy in terms of scoring average between the waves, there isn’t any overall general strategy here for this showdown slate.

Top 10 Breakdown & Pick

We have already mentioned most of the top 10 by now with Werenski and Thompson leading the way. They get to turn right around after dinner and a sleep and step right back onto the golf course, hoping to maintain momentum. Finau is our closest stud chasing, with defending-champion Wolff not too far behind.

Matthew Wolff ($9,200)

When he’s playing well, normally that doesn’t stop. Now the sample size is small, but each of his top fives on the PGA Tour both had good first rounds. Maybe that’s not a reason to play him, but gaining 4.38 strokes ball striking and another 3.76 with his approaches certainly is. He goes out early in the morning, so if you are up for watching some golf, he’ll be on featured coverage. It’s a fun way to get the blood flowing early in the morning.

Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10

Dylan Frittelli ($8,100)

It was a solid first round for Frittelli, who had six birdies on the day. But his approaches suffered, as he ended up losing to the field there. But the rest of his game is intact, and he just needs to get a little bit better touch with his approaches, and he could find himself inside the top 10 in a hurry. I like both he and Luke List in this range.

Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10

Tom Lewis ($7,100)

Lewis went for a bogey-free 68 that could have been a couple of strokes lower had he made a putt. Granted, he made a couple of big-time five- and six-footers for par that helped keep his bogey-free streak alive, but his game seems to have remained intact from a couple of weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage. Still working on difficult status, any finish, especially inside the top 10, will be important to his season. He gained throughout his bag, which is also another very important stat as we look for someone who has control of all parts of the game.

Lineup Fill-Ins

Luke List (8,400)

Bubba Watson ($9,100)

Cameron Davis ($6,800)

Kramer Hickok ($6,400)

Related PGA Content

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].