Scottie Scheffler’s unbelievable run continued this past week, with the No. 1 ranked player in the world winning the RBC Heritage by three strokes— his fourth win in his last five starts. Now, the PGA TOUR heads to TPC Louisiana (par 72, 7,425 yards, POA Trivialis greens) for the Zurich Classic, which has been the home of this event since 2005. The Zurich Classic has been an annual stop on the PGA TOUR since 1958, but for the last seven editions, this tournament has been a team-based event with 80 two-player teams competing. The first and third rounds will be best ball format, while the second and final round will be alternate shot stroke play. There will be a cut following the first two rounds, with top-33 and ties advancing. Due note that each golfer will accrue the same amount DKFP as their teammate, so there is no advantage to rostering one teammate over the other. At last year’s Zurich Classic, Nick Hardy and Davis Riley won by two shots at -30.
TPC Louisiana was designed by Pete Dye, making this the second week in a row the PGA TOUR has hosted an event on a Dye creation. Like most courses designed by the famous architect, TPC Louisiana is a track that favors accuracy over distance and features tiny greens. Furthermore, there are plenty of hazards, with 106 bunkers on the grounds and water in play on five holes. Targeting players who are in encouraging form with both their irons and putter is wise move at TPC Louisiana. Before the Zurich Classic was converted to a team event in 2017, two of the previous four individual winners of this tournament ranked top-10 in both SG: Approach and SGP during their wins at the Dye design. Your play on the par fives is also vital at TPC Louisiana, with four of the past five individual winners finishing the event top-eight in par-five efficiency.
Below, I break down three of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Zurich Classic, that all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $175K DRIVE THE GREEN [$25K TO 1ST]
Dylan Wu/Justin Lower ($7,400) – This pairing finished T10 at the Zurich Classic two years ago and is poised for another high finish at TPC Louisiana. Wu is in compelling form as the maker of four straight cuts, while gaining strokes on approach at all these tournaments. Most notably, the 27-year-old began this cut streak with a T19 at THE PLAYERS Championship, which is Wu’s career-best finish at TPC Sawgrass. For the season, he ranks 43rd in SG: Approach, which is the highest Wu has ever ranked in the major category.
On top of Wu playing some of the best golf of his career, Lower is in the midst of a strong season, making 9 of 12 cuts. The veteran is coming off a season-best T3 at the Corales Puntacana Championship last week, marking his second top-10 finish of the season. Lower has gained strokes with both his irons and putter in back-to-back starts, making this duo of Wu and Lower is one of the best bargains of the week at this low price.
Martin Laird/Kevin Streelman ($7,300) – Competing for the first time as a team, Laird and Streelman should find success at TPC Louisiana. After missing three cuts in a row to start the season, Laird has made six straight cuts, with a pair of top-10 finishes during this stretch. The veteran gained 5.1 strokes on approach in his last start—which is the most he has gained in the category in nearly three years—showing us Laird’s ball striking is really trending in the right direction. Furthermore, while these finishes came with different teammates than Streelman, Laird has two top-10 finishes at the team-based Zurich Classic on his resume.
As for Streelman, he has made three of his past four cuts and made four consecutive cuts at the Zurich Classic as an individual before the event was converted to a team format in 2017. Streelman has a long history of thriving on Dye designs: he is a previous winner at TPC River Highlands and finished runner-up at TPC Sawgrass in 2013. Combining his expertise for this type of layout with Laird’s current form has the potential to result in a top-20 for this pairing.
Mark Hubbard/Ryan Brehm ($7,000) – This duo finished T14th at the Zurich Classic two years ago and will make their second start as a unit this week. Brehm has advanced to the weekend in three of his past four starts and Hubbard is in even better form, with a spotless 11-for-11 record in terms of made cuts this season. The 34-year-old hasn’t finished worse than T36th in four consecutive starts and ranks fifth in par-five scoring and 29th in SG: Approach on the PGA TOUR this season.
Hubbard’s compelling form should lead this squad to at least a made cut this week, and this pairing must be attacked at this cheap price point.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $175K DRIVE THE GREEN [$25K 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.
