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 WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational. 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
Brooks Koepka absolutely lit it up on the greens in round 1, bouncing back from his dreadful performance on the greens last week. His ball striking was in form last week, so this wasn’t a huge surprise. Bryson DeChambeau looked much more composed than in his previous start at The Memorial, where he recorded a 10. At least, it seemed that way for about 13 holes before he got himself into some trouble and couldn’t get out of it. Rickie Fowler got a little something going in round 1 as he tries to get into peak form, looking for the first major of his career.
The Expected Weather for Tomorrow’s RoundÂ
Tomorrow will have almost identical weather to today. Today was a little windy at times, but comfortable with soft conditions. That should allow for lower scores and more PGA DFS points.
Previous Round Stat Review
The shorter par 70 will not get the best of the world’s best this week, with only two golfers shooting above 73. That should lead to a tight leaderboard and hopefully even those that are over will have a chance to get back in it with three rounds left.
Bogey Free rounds in Round 1:
- Xander Schauffele
BOB Leaders Through Round 1
- Brooks Koepka (9)
- Rickie Fowler and Brendon Todd (7)
- Byoeng Hun An, Sung Kang, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jason Kokrak and Bernd Wiesberger (6)
 For the full list of stats, click here!Â
Strokes Gained Ball Striking vs. Putting
Matthew Wolff’s ball striking remained in form, but sadly his putter did not. He gained over three strokes ball striking but lost about two with his putter for a five-shot differential. Graeme McDowell, Joel Dahmen, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland rounded out the top six in this category.
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DraftKings:
- DraftKings is offering $50,000 to first with $150,000 guaranteed for round 2
FanDuel:Â
- n/a
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Top 10 Breakdown and Pick
The nice thing for Koepka here is that his closest big boy competitor is Justin Thomas, who sits 4 back. Thomas bogeyed his first hole of the day but wound up bouncing back with five birdies to finish and card a 66. Others like Chez Reavie and Brendon Todd have shown form over the last six weeks and continued that here on Thursday. Viktor Hovland will also try and give chase to Koepka sitting just five back, along with DeChambeau and a few others.
Viktor Hovland ($9,300)
I’m still sticking by my guns here that this course is a great setup for Hovland. He seemed to not have even close to his best stuff and still managed to gain 3.34 from tee to green, shooting 67. That should set up well for him heading into round 2.
Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10
Shane Lowry ($6,600) and Bubba Watson ($6,700)Â
It was nice to see the form of Lowry come together for the first round. Equally, Watson maintained his good form, and both are great setups with their cheap prices for tomorrow’s second round. In fact, Lowry actually lost 1.39 strokes on the approach today but has been hot with the irons lately, so I expect a bounce back in round 2.
Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10
Matt Jones ($6,300)Â
Here’s an against-the-grain pick, as Jones had a good day with his irons in the first round but struggled off the tee. That should correct itself, as Jones is typically pretty consistent with the driver, making him, in my opinion, a good target for round 2.
Lineup Fill-Ins
Jordan Spieth ($7,800)
Jason Kokrak ($6,300)
Sungjae Im ($7,400)
Haotong Li ($6,500)
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