PGA DFS Picks: Showdown Spotlight Round 3 of the Tour Championship

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 Tour Championship. 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.

Previous Round Commentary and Lineup

East Lake fought back today, and two poor rounds from the leaders brings a ton of more golfers into play for a chance to win this weekend. Jon Rahm totally lost everything that had been going for him, including his putter. Dustin Johnson, on the other hand, went 2-for-14 hitting fairways, preventing him from extending his lead. There was another 64 this round, this time by Sunjgae Im, whose irons stayed hot in round 2. Three 65s were also turned in on the day from Collin Morikawa, Sebastian Munoz and, of course, the chalk Xander Schauffele. Six golfers now through two rounds have shot under par in each round: Cameron Smith, Viktor Hovland, Brendon Todd, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton, Schauffele and Im.

Morikawa and Munoz were huge for the lineup, as was Hatton. Lanto Griffin’s five birdies didn’t hurt either. It is sad that my two studs stunk up the bed.

Previous Round Stat Review

Munoz is the only golfer with two bogeys or fewer through two rounds. That could be helpful for positional points come Monday.

BOB Leaders thru round 2

Xander Scahuffele (12)
Sungjae Im, Lanto Griffin (11)
Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy (10)

Strokes Gained Ball Striking vs. Putting

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse with Justin Thomas and his putting, it did. He lost almost 3.5 strokes on the day after losing 1.15 yesterday, and that is the only thing keeping him out of first. He’s gained four more strokes ball striking than with his putter. The next guy, Morikawa, has only gained two more strokes ball striking than putting. Rounding out the top 5 are Im Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Champ.

Slate Preview

Lock Time

11:45 a.m. EST

Contest Preview

DraftKings:

DraftKings is offering $50,000 to first and $175,000 guaranteed for tomorrow’s slate.
DraftKings is also offering $10,000 to first and $40,000 guaranteed for the weekend-long slate.

FanDuel:

FanDuel is offering $5,000 to first and $20,000 guaranteed for the weekend-long slate.

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Top 10 Breakdown and Picks

With $15 million on the line, all of a sudden, Im has come to play. He made the most significant move up the leaderboard today, with Schauffele not far behind. There are eight golfers within four now, where at the beginning of the week it was only four. Morikawa also looks renewed and back to his winning ways. Hatton also looks good again, as his putter has heated back up. Todd is still putting like a god, and the new father had a bit of a step back today. Munoz is the last golfer and someone to certainly keep an eye this weekend.

Collin Morikawa ($9,500)

With only 16% ownership today, I suspect gamers are more apt to go down for Schauffele and pair him up with the studs. I’ll roll with Morikawa as long as that’s going to continue, which, granted, could end pretty quickly.

Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10

Lanto Griffin ($6,500)

With 11 birdies over the first two rounds, I think he provides a decent floor, especially with his salary down so low. I’ve played him in week-long and yesterday, so why not try and hit the trifecta? His irons weren’t good today, and yet he still managed five birdies, which is a good sign for me. He’s a scrappy player, no doubt, but I’ll put money on that he will not have a repeat performance with his approaches in round 3.

Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10

Joaquin Niemann ($6,900)

Nothing looks good for Niemann right now, as he lost at least a stroke on his approaches in each of the first two rounds. But he finished birdie-birdie today, so maybe there’s a bit of momentum there heading into tomorrow. We know this guy loves to score on the weekend. I also think he’s a good bet to be very low owned.

Lineup Fill-Ins

Justin Thomas ($10,400)

Cameron Smith ($6,000)

Bryson DeChambeau ($8,700)

Tyrrell Hatton ($7,700)

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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].