PGA Preview, RBC Heritage – DraftKings

by EPattersonFS | Apr 11, 2017 | Daily Preview, DraftKings, Fanduel, PGA | 0 comments

What’s goin’ on fantasy golf fans?! Have you recovered from the Masters? No, not yet? Me neither. What an incredible golf tournament from start to finish. It was great to see Sergio Garcia put on the green jacket, well deserved and long overdue. We were spoiled with exciting golf all week long, from the first tee shot to the final putt. But, the PGA Tour schedule never sleeps and neither do we. It’s time to take on the RBC Heritage.

The RBC Heritage will be played at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head South Carolina. This is a 7,101 yard Par 71 course, designed by Pete Dye. The designer of this course is very important, as Dye is known as a strategic designer, who takes the driver out of the golfers hands on many holes. Being deadly accurate off the tee will be important, not only to hit the fairway, but to set up the second shot into these hard to hit greens. The greens are below average in size, which will put emphasis on a golfer’s approach game and scrambling abilities. I won’t be looking at driving distance this week, but accurate golfers who have strong approach games and the ability to make a ton of birdies. Scores at this event can creep into the upper teens.

Alright, let’s get to the picks!

Staples

My favorite golfers for the week – for Cash and GPP contests.

Martin Kaymer – $9,500

Martin Kaymer is a cut making machine. It has been over a year since his last missed cut, which was the 2016 Valspar Championship. He enters the RBC Heritage with six straight top 25 finishes, including a T16 last week at the Masters. Kaymer put together a great -4 round on Sunday to climb back up the leaderboard at Augusta. Let’s hope that form carries over to this week and Kaymer can anchor your cash game lineup, helping provide a profitable week. Kaymer is $2,000 cheaper that Matt Kuchar, and they are basically the exact same golfer at the moment. I’d argue Kaymer is just as safe and provides a much higher ceiling. Kaymer in cash is a must.

Adam Hadwin – $8,800

Adam Hadwin is playing the best golf of his life right now and there is no reason to get off the train now. Hadwin struggled the first day last week at Augusta, but he quickly figured out how to put on the tough greens and cruised to a T36 finish in his first trip to the Masters. Hadwin ranks 10th in good drive percentage in this field, and because of his elite putting ability, he also has one of the highest scrambling rates. He has played in this event the past two seasons, and now gets to take it on as a completely different golfer. Hadwin could easily get on a role this week and be knocking in putts from all over on his way to his second win of the season.

Jason Dufner – $8,500

Jason Dufner is much like Martin Kaymer this week. He is priced at a tremendous discount off the expensive Kuchar, yet provide a very similar baseline projection. Before last week’s T33 finish, Dufner had five straight top 25 finishes. Duff Man has missed one cut in the last year, providing you the safety required when constructing a cash game lineup. He will be accurate off the tee and constantly be putting himself in great position to attack these hard to hit greens. He has the scrambling ability to make up for any missed greens, and has also turned his putting around this season, making him that much more dangerous. He is Matt Kuchar for $3,000 less. Rostering him is a no-brainer.

Pat Perez – $8,100

This $8,000 range is loaded with plays and is making me think constructing balanced lineups is the way to go. Another player forcing my strategy in that direction is Pat Perez. He is having an outstanding year. Other than his withdraw from the Waste Management Open, Perez has played golf on the weekend in every event he has teed it up in. Perez has finished inside the top 20 in 8/12 events he played in since returning from injury. He has the third best birdie or better percentage in the field as well as owning one of the best short games. Pound the $8K range this week and you will definitely find yourself in the green on Sunday.

Perfect Pivots

Identifying the chalk, and going elsewhere.

Bill Haas – $9,100

Boring Bill Haas is flying under the radar once again. Haas has just eight tags on FanShareSports.com, just over half the amount Adam Hadwin and Tyrrell Hatton have, who surround Haas in the pricing. Haas ranks second in my weighted stat rankings, coming in at 11th in strokes gained approach and first in strokes gained around the green. Haas came T14 last year at the Heritage, so there is potential he can crack inside the top 15 again. He will be much lower owned then other $9K golfers, setting up the perfect GPP pivot.

William McGirt – $7,900

Dirt McGirt is coming off of an impressive Masters showing, as his name lingered around the top of the leaderboard for most of the week. Even with last week’s results, McGirt is being overshadowed by other golfers in his price range. Pat Perez, Luke Donald and Wesley Bryan are all drawing more attention this week than McGirt, according to FanShareSports. McGirt has two top 10 finishes at the RBC Heritage in the past three years, as it is expected his style of play would translate well to Harbour Town. He is accurate off the tee and will hit a ton of greens this week. Just like the big man himself, I will be overweight on McGirt.

Automatic Fades

Bad course fit? Terrible recent form? Players I will have no shares of.

Matt Kuchar – $11,500

Who saw Matt Kuchar make a hole-in-one last week? Everyone? Exactly, and for that reason I will be fading the most expensive golfer on the slate. Kuchar will be very popular this week coming off of a T4 finish at the Masters and he demands a huge amount of salary to roster. Kuchar is the perfect cash game play when he is priced in the $7,000 range because of his cut making ability. However, at $11,500, he does not have the winning upside required to make him worth rostering. Is he really $3,000 better than Jason Dufner? You can do a lot with the extra money you will have from fading Kuch.

Matthew Fitzpatrick – $8,300

Matthew Fitzpatrick will be a popular play this week because his name holds value due to his high finishes in prestigious events. But if you look deeper, his stats do not line up with this course at all. In this field, he is 54th in strokes gained approach, 85th in good drive percentage and 103rd in scrambling. His season has been carried by his putting thus far, a stat I do not want to rely on to continue this week. If his approach game is off he will miss more greens than normal. His scrambling won’t be able to save him and will be looking at a lot of long putts for par. That is a terrible recipe for success.

So you got burned?

Recently got screwed by a missed cut or a poor performance? Looks like a good time to jump back on.

Tyrrell Hatton – $9,300

Tyrrell Hatton is the perfect “So you got burned” option this week. He was heavily owned last week and scorched a ton of people with his near dead last finish. Do not let that sway you away from rostering him this week at the Heritage, as he is an elite option at a solid discount off the highest priced golfers. Hatton has had incredible recent form and ranks first in the field in strokes gained approach. He is primed for a bounce back and if he can dial in his irons like he had been a couple of weeks ago, he will find his way to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Russell Knox – $8,000

The peculiar case of Russell Knox continued last week at Augusta. He missed the cut in grand fashion, extending his missed cut streak to four, yet he is one of the best birdie makers in the field. Knox is set up perfectly for this course and it shows with his past results. This course will take driver out of his hand and force him to play the ball positioning game he excels at. This seems like a perfect get right spot for Knox, who has disappointed a ton of DFSers so far this season.

“The Price is Wrong, Bob!”

The pricing on these golfers doesn’t seem right.

Bryson DeChambeau – $8,300

I was all about to jump on the Bryson DeChambeau wagon this week until I saw his price tag. $8,300 isn’t a ton, but it is far too much for someone who hasn’t proven much so far on tour. Yes, Bryson played well here last year, but he was coming off of his made cut at the Masters and could have carried that momentum over. I am not buying into his T2 finish at the Puerto Rico Open as it was a less than average field. For a relatively short hitter, Bryson only ranks 71st in good drive percentage in the field. I am not willing to gamble on Bryson this week, who will likely be one of the higher owned golfers in the $8K range.

Jim Furyk – $7,900

Jim Furyk has been struggling this season, and it shows with his lack of high finishes. He doesn’t have a finish inside the top 30 this calendar year. Harbour Town is the perfect place for Furyk to get back on track, much like Russell Knox. Furyk has had great success at this course, winning this event in 2015 and has two other top 10 results in the past five seasons. He is known for his plotter type style of play, which is exactly what is required at Pete Dye designed courses. He is the fourth most expensive golfer on FanDuel, compared to the 22nd most expensive on DraftKings. That is obvious value.

RBC Heritage Research Spreadsheet

Note that this spreadsheet is FREE each week for Pro Members. If you are not a Pro Member, use code “ERIC” for 15% off:

[ess_grid alias=”PGA Packages”]

Click Here To View Online

Thanks for reading my RBC Heritage preview article! You can follow me on Twitter for more golf and betting talk! Also, make sure you check out @FanShareSports. They track and curate content produced across the DFS Golf industry, and highlight which players are being tagged or talked about the most, translating to an excellent ownership guide.

Good luck this week everybody and enjoy the best week in golf!