The 2021 season is underway, and Jon Rahm is actually here to play. It was a good day of scoring at Silverado Resort, but no one went incredibly low, providing a packed leaderboard.
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: The Fortinet Championship
Previous Round Recap
Morning Wave
Chez Reavie finally found his putting stroke, at least for one round. He gained over 2.3 strokes for the first time in quite some time and remained hot, with his irons gaining just shy of three strokes on the day. Cameron Tringale used the exact same style en route to his 6-under 66. Adam Hadwin used a through-the-bag approach to shoot his best score in some time. Nate Lashley rallied after a superb birdie on the second hole and posted a 5-under 67. Max Homa played with Jon Rahm and beat him by 5 while gaining strokes in all four categories.
Notables
Rahm couldn’t make any birdie putts and had to settle with an even-par round of 72. Si Woo Kim held the lead for most of the morning before falling back a bit, shooting an opening-round 68. Kevin Na shot 69.
Afternoon Wave
Troy Merritt’s 31 on the front nine had him within an earshot of Reavie, but he couldn’t hold court for too long and finished at -5. That was the best score of this wave. Will Zalatoris, Harold Varner III, Maverick McNealy and Brandt Snedeker also played well in the wave, shooting 68.
Round 1 Stat Recap
Strokes Gained Tee to Green
- Mito Pereira
- Maverick McNealy
- Peter Uihlein
- Greyson Sigg
- Adam Schenk
Strokes Gained Off the Tee
- Maverick McNealy
- Emiliano Grillo
- Joseph Bramlett
- Trey Mullinax
- Matthew NeSmith
Strokes Gained on the Approach
- Bronson Burgoon
- Adam Schenk
- Patrick Rodgers
- Chez Reavie
- Michael Gligic
Strokes Gained Around the Green
- Talor Gooch
- Harold Varner
- Adam Hadwin
- Harry Higgs
- Emiliano Grillo
Strokes Gained Putting
- Troy Merritt
- Jason Dufner
- Micahel Kim
- Brandt Snedeker
- Max Homa
The Tour Championship Round 2 DraftKings Slate Preview
- Lock Time: 11:40 a.m. ET
- Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $10,000 to first place and $35,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.
PGA DFS DraftKings Showdown Picks
With the rough length being anything but penal, putting and approach are by far the most important stats of the week. We’ll highlight a few of those golfers for round 2.
- Chez Reavie ($7,900): When Reavie gets going, his irons typically stay hot throughout. What does leave him is his putter, one of the worst on tour last year, it doesn’t seem to be a problem yet. His price should allow for some wiggle room when looking for a return.
- Sahith Theegala ($7,200): Theegala gained 2.8 strokes tee to green today and struggled with the flat stick a bit, losing almost a stroke. If that bounces back for him tomorrow, he will climb the leaderboard.
- Wyndham Clark ($6,400): Clark started his 2021-22 campaign off on the right foot by gaining strokes in all four categories. Known for his putting and driving, Clark also gained a quarter of a stroke with his irons. If he can turn those up just one notch, and the putter stays hot, he’ll jump up the leaderboard.
Sneaky DraftKings Pick for the Tour Championship Round 2 Showdown
- John Augenstein ($6,700): After an opening-round 68, on the heels of gaining over 2.5 strokes with his approaches and another half a stroke off the tee, all that needs to follow is a hot putter instead of an average one. Augenstein matched the field today, gaining .05 with his putter. If that flips today, and the ball striking remains, he will be in position for his first top-10 of his career.
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