PGA DFS: The Northern Trust Round 3 Showdown Spotlight for DraftKings and FanDuel | 8/21

The Northern Trust is underway and daily fantasy golf Showdown contests take center stage as DraftKings is offering $50,000 to first place for tomorrow’s third-round slate. Be sure to check out Awesemo’s expert PGA DFS Showdown projections and ownership for The Northern Trust Round 3 daily fantasy golf slate. Let’s go over who rounded into form in Round 2 and who we can look for as solid DFS golf picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups on Saturday.

Check out Awesemo’s expert Round 3 Northern Trust PGA DFS picks for with our DraftKings Showdown Cheat Sheet.

PGA DFS Showdown Picks: The Northern Trust Round 3

Previous Round Recap

Morning Wave

After a pair of opening-round 63s, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas and how far they might stretch their co-lead was the main focus. Thomas started off right away with a bogey, and his day wouldn’t get much better until the back nine, where a stretch of three birdies and an eagle got him right back into the tournament. Thomas finished the day with a 69. Rahm still hasn’t made a bogey and has made at least two par saves longer than 15 feet. His long-iron play looked stellar yet again, as he was able to back up his 63 with a 67 in Round 2.

Tony Finau was the big mover of the day, catching Rahm — and even passing him at various points during the day. Finau made his charge behind an eight-birdie day, but a closing bogey put him one behind Rahm heading into the weekend. Keith Mitchell would also jolt up the leaderboard with another big-time mid-round run, shooting seven-under on the day and giving himself a chance to reach the BMW Championship for the first time in his career while posting a relevant PGA DFS score.

Notables

Kevin Na continued his good form, backing up a runner-up finish last week, opening with a pair of mid-60s in the first two rounds, including a 66 in Round 2. He’s getting it done with the short game this week, but is not in the form we saw with all parts of his game working last week. Alex Noren also popped up today, shooting a seven-under 64 following an opening round 69. Noren now sits just three back after round two. Byron DeChambeau and Sungjae Im also made big moves after opening their tournament with even-par rounds of 71. They came back with a vengeance and shot 65s in Round 2. Im was bogey-free, whereas DeChambreau came up with 16 birdies and an eagle thru two rounds — incredible scoring.

Afternoon Wave

A trio of starts brought this wave into focus, as Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele all made massive moves on the day. For the latter two, a pair of eagles on the front nine and stellar back-nine play would have them tie the course record of 62. Koepka’s five straight birdies on the front nine didn’t quite carry the momentum into the back nine. Still, a 64 gets him right back in the tournament.

Notables

Harold Varner III is among the more notable names from the afternoon wave playing well. Varner backed up his 66 in Round 1 with a 67 in Round 2. His iron play is carrying him, though his off the tee game will need to improve if he wants to find the top-five by week’s end. Patrick Cantlay had a first-class ticket to the Spieth Show the first two days and played a much more consistent brand of golf, shooting 68 and 67. Cantlay will need to pick up his iron play, though, he lost slightly in each of the first two rounds. However, his numbers on and around the green have been superb, a great sign heading into Saturday.

Round 2 PGA DFS Stat Recap

A full day of play and a full set of statistics. With distance not being an overwhelming factor this week, there are plenty of ways to score well at this golf course. Let’s see how some of the players are getting it done.

Strokes Gained Tee to Green

1. Jon Rahm
2. Lee Westwood
3. Sungjae Im
4. Jordan Spieth
5. Xander Schauffele
6. Justin Thomas

Strokes Gained Off the Tee

1. Viktor Hovland
2. Garrick Higgo
3. Scottie Scheffler
4. Aaron Wise
5. Jon Rahm

Strokes Gained on the Approach

1. Bryson DeChambeau
2. Jon Rahm
3. Justin Thomas
4. Xander Schauffele
5. Sungjae Im
6. Webb Simpson
7. Hudson Swafford

Strokes Gained Around the Green

1. Harry Higgs
2. Kevin Na
3. Jordan Spieth
4. Patrick Cantlay
5. Robert Streb

Strokes Gained Putting

1. Stewart Cink
2. Lanto Griffin
3. Cameron Tringale
4. Mackenzie Hughes
5. Alex Noren
6. Tony Finau?!!?

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PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Slate Preview

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Daily Fantasy Golf Contest Preview & Slate Review

Slate Preview: DraftKings

• DraftKings is offering $25,000 to first place and $100,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.

Slate Review: 

Golfer Name/ Daily Scoring Rank

• Bryson DeChambeau: 11th
• Justin Thomas: 40th
• Tony Finau: Seventh
• Aaron Wise: 37th
• Average score: 52.62

The Northern Trust Round 3 PGA DFS Picks

A plethora of big names near the top of the leaderboard should create more of a spread-out ownership than in the Friday slate. We also could be looking at a Monday finish with Hurricane Henri barreling down on the Atlantic seaboard. With the storm expected to make landfall Sunday, the PGA Tour has said they will finish on Monday if need be.

• Cameron Smith ($8,600)  A stellar Round 1 with his putter is the only thing that held him back from a real low one in Round 2. He lost over a stroke on the day putting, while gaining in the other three facets of his game. Smith has also gained over a stroke on his approaches in each of the last two days, but each day some aspect of the game has evaded him. In Round 1, it was his off the tee game, while his putter faltered in the second round. If everything clicks tomorrow, Smith should be able to jump up the leaderboard and contend on Sunday.
• Hideki Matsuyama ($8,500) Heading into the week, Matsuyama was on fire with his irons, a run we see from him from time to time. Normally the train doesn’t stop for quite a while once it starts rolling. However, for the first two rounds, Matsuyama has not found the stroke with his approach shots. Regardless, he has put himself into the top 25 heading into the weekend. If he can find the form he had over the last month or so with his irons, there is a great chance to jump up the leaderboard starting tomorrow.
• Joaquin Niemann ($7,600) Niemann found a way to sneak through to the weekend, but he is not putting well. He’s lost just about three strokes with the flatstick over the first few days, but he had a nice day tee to green in Round 2, gaining almost two strokes. I suspect he’ll be very low owned tomorrow.

Sneaky Pick for The Northern Trust Round 3 Showdown

• Hudson Swafford ($6,300) One of four golfers from Sea Island who had a career resurgence this year, along with Harris English, Patton Kizzie and Mitchell. Hudson comes into the week needing a big finish to make it to the BMW Championship next week. It helps that he has found a great swing with his irons, gaining almost four strokes in two rounds. The putter cooperated in Round 2, gaining 1.5 strokes, which gives me the confidence to roll him out again.

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