Following Scottie Scheffler’s dominating five-shot victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the No. 1 ranked player in the world will now look to defend his title at the PLAYERS Championship. Since 1982, this tournament has been played at the infamous TPC Sawgrass (par 72, 7,275 yards, POA Trivialis greens) in Ponte Verda Beach, Florida. By many, the PLAYERS Championship is regarded as the fifth major of the season. It also notably presents one of the biggest purses of winnings this season, at a whopping $25 million — with first place taking home $4.5 million. This is a field of 144 golfers, and all of the PGA TOUR’s best will be competing for this massive prize. Plus, there will be a standard top-65 and ties cut following the second round.
TPC Sawgrass was designed by Pete Dye and is one of the most demanding courses on the PGA TOUR. The venue features thick rough, tiny POA greens, 92 bunkers and water comes into play on every hole. Of all the PGA TOUR courses, TPC Sawgrass has notably seen the second-most water balls over the past 20 years. To survive this challenging test of golf, you first and foremost need to have a brilliant showing with your irons, with each of the last four winners at TPC Sawgrass ranking top-six in SG: Approach during their victories. Also, this par 72 is one of the rare courses in which being efficient as a short-game player is critical for success. Of the past six PLAYERS victors, three finished the tournament top-five in SG: Around-the-Green. Similar to Bay Hill for last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, taking advantage of the four par fives at TPC Sawgrass for birdies is essential if you want to contend at this volatile track. Of the last five PLAYERS winners, three finished the event top-three in par five efficiency, with two of these golfers leading their fields in the category.
Below, I have featured four of my favorite sub $7.5K DraftKings bargain plays for the PLAYERS Championship.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K DRIVE THE GREEN [$100K TO 1ST]
Erik van Rooyen ($7,300) – Van Rooyen is in tremendous form right now. The South African has only missed one cut in his past 14 starts worldwide and has recorded five top-25 finishes in his six most recent starts. Most notably, Van Rooyen finished T8 at the Mexico Open and then runner-up at the Cognizant Classic the following week. The 34-year-old has gained strokes on approach in four straight starts and he leads the PGA TOUR in par-five performance this season — which bodes extremely well for TPC Sawgrass.
van Rooyen finished T13th in his lone start at the par 72 two years ago and brings a similar upside this week.
Alexander Noren ($7,200) – Noren is coming off his best finish of the season, with a T8 at the Cognizant Classic marking his 10th consecutive made cut and sixth top-30 finish during this run. At the difficult PGA National that week, the Swede shot under par in all four rounds and gained strokes in every major category — including 5.7 strokes on approach — which ranked sixth for the event and is the most Noren has gained in over a year. In addition to the compelling form with his irons, Noren’s short game, per usual, has been excellent, with him ranking 13th in SG: Around-the-Green over his last 50 rounds — making him a terrific fit for TPC Sawgrass.
The 41-year-old has finished T26th or better in three of his six starts at the Florida track and is an outstanding target at this low price point.
Aaron Rai ($6,400) – Rai impressed in his PLAYERS debut last season, carding a T19 finish, and is poised for another quality finish at TPC Sawgrass. The English professional is on the heels of back-to-back top-25 finishes while gaining strokes on approach at both of these events. Rai has only missed two cuts in his past 13 starts worldwide and is the 79th-ranked player in the world, which is 49 spots higher than when he impressed at TPC Sawgrass a year ago.
Rai ranks 11th in SG: Approach and par-five efficiency over his last 50 rounds, and also has made five straight cuts at courses that present POA greens. This is the cheapest Rai has cost on DraftKings this season and he carries +8000 odds to win the PLAYERS on the DraftKings Sportsbook — which are amazing odds relative to his low DFS salary. For some clear evidence that Rai is vastly underpriced at $6,400, he and Keegan Bradley both carry +8000 odds to win this weekend, but Rai is notably $1,500 cheaper for DFS.
Andrew Novak ($6,400) – Regardless that Novak missed the cut in his first attempt at TPC Sawgrass last year, the 28-year-old is an awesome bargain at this low salary. Novak has been playing incredible golf, carding three straight top-10 finishes, while gaining strokes on approach and around-the-green at all of these events. During this stretch, he has shot under par in all but one of his 12 rounds and he has moved up 145 spots in the world golf rankings to No. 162. Not only is this the highest Novak has ever ranked, but it is 215 spots higher than when he made his PLAYERS debut a year ago.
Novak impressively ranks top-six in SG: Tee-to-Green, SG: Approach, and SG: Around-the-Green this season and is criminally underpriced for his current form. When we compare this field’s last 12 rounds, Novak ranks third in total strokes gained, trailing only Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K DRIVE THE GREEN [$100K TO 1ST]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
