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The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: DP World Tour $300 Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
The Field
Welcome to DP World Tour golf. With the PGA TOUR off for two weeks, DraftKings has put up some massive DFS contests to tide us over until PGA golf returns. If you’re new to this side of the world, then here’s a quick tutorial. The cut line works the same as a regular PGA TOUR event, with the top 65 ties and playing the weekend. There will be 156 golfers in the field and, as of now, Matthew Fitzpatrick is the highest-ranking golfer teeing things up. Other names who will be joining him this week include Shane Lowry, Ludwig Aberg, and Robert McIntyre.
With the rules and field size this week conforming to most full-field PGA events, playing this week won’t require a sudden change in how you create DFS lineups. Yes, it will be important to get to know a few of the top players — and who is playing well — but constructing a solid DFS lineup won’t be much different than what you do most weeks.
The Course
Crans-sur-Sierre GC — Crans Montana, Switzerland
Par 70, 6808 yards
Welcome to Switzerland. Crans-sur-Sierre GC is one of the more beautiful settings that professional golfers get to visit. The venue is a short little par 70 that is set on a plateau within the Swiss Alps and provides insane views of the mountains and Swiss Alps, including the famous Matterhorn. The course itself isn’t long by any means but the tight fairways, small greens, and crooked layout give it a uniqueness that requires precision and patience to overcome. One other thing to note is that the thin air will affect how the ball travels, given that the course is located at 1500 feet above sea level.
On top of being located in such a unique setting, the course layout this week is also unique. Five par 3s envelop the venue and help to keep the overall yardage down. Despite this being a par 70 there are also three par 5s for the players to go after and two of them come on the back-nine and are played on back-to-back holes. Six par 4s measure in between 330 yards and 400 yards in length, making short iron play and accuracy one of the more essential tools needed to overcome this challenge.
With a past winner list that includes Alex Noren, Luke Donald, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Danny Willett, we can see how little power factors into the equation at this venue. Elite iron play and strong short games/putting should be the skillsets emphasized this week when scouting players.
2023 weather: We’re obviously in the mountains, so weird weather can swing in and out at a moment’s notice. Luckily it doesn’t appear that anything too drastic will affect the proceedings this week. Afternoon highs will top out in the 65-70 F range for the first couple of days of play, with winds staying down for the most part. It may be a slight advantage to the p.m. starters, given the cool air in the a.m. but no huge wave splits seem likely to form based on this first report. The weekend may include some rain, which is something to note as softer greens will certainly mean lower scores and make short games less relevant.
Last 5 winners
2022— Thriston Lawrence -18 (Matt Wallace playoff)
2021— Rasmus Højgaard -13 (Bernd Weisberger -12)
2020— Sebastian Söderberg -21 (playoff over four other golfers)
2019— Matthew Fitzpatrick -17 (Lucas Bjerregaard playoff)
2018— Matthew Fitzpatrick -14 (Scott Hend playoff)
Winners Stats and Course Overview
Thriston Lawrence - (2022—18-under-par)
Lead in form (T8-MC-42-T24-3)
- Lawrence was a bit of a shock winner at this event last season just from the perspective that he’d never played the notoriously tricky venue in competition prior to his win.
- He shot rounds of 62 and 64 on the course and led the field in strokes gained approach stats — gaining over 2.0 strokes per round in that department.
- Lawrence came in with solid form, having finished 8th at the Czech Masters the week prior and had two top 10 finishes in his last five starts overall.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Adrien Dumont De Chassart +2800 and $9,000
Comparables:
- Yannick Paul +2800 and $9,100
- Rasmus Hojgaard +2800 and $9,200
- Jordan Smith +3500 and $9,300
Romain Langasque +4000 and $8,400
Comparables:
- Alex Fizpatrick +5500 and $8,600
- Joost Luiten +4500 and $8,500
- Victor Perez +4000 and $8,700
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
RECENT FORM
1. Nicolai HØJGAARD ($10,100; T3-T23-T6) — Hojgaard has posted some scintillating form of late. He finished T14 at the Wyndham a few weeks ago and managed a top 25 finish at the Open as well. His high finish last week is likely catching the attention of Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
2. Robert MacIntyre ($9,700; T4-T62) — MacIntyre’s form has been a roller coaster ride but he was on the upswing last week, posting a top five finish to help secure his Ryder Cup position. His strong off-the-tee game won’t matter as much at Crans but he’s still a good upside target in this kind of field.
3. Alex Fitzpatrick ($8,600; T14-2nd) — No that’s not a misspelling. The younger Fitzpatrick is starting to make his mark over in Europe and finished solo 2nd in the event two weeks ago. He followed it up with another solid finish last week and makes for a good DFS target at Crans.
4. Ludvig Aberg ($10,700; T4-MC) — Aberg bounced back to life last week with a strong top-10 showing. He’d played some solid golf on the PGA before missing the cut at the Open and looks ready to challenge again soon.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Fitzpatrick and Fitzpatrick the firm to trust
Matthew Fitzpatrick ($10,900) is the highest-ranked player in this field by a country mile and certainly the best player just from a skill perspective. He’s also won this event twice before. It will obviously cost you but starting lineups with him in cash games this week is almost necessary, given his upside compared to the rest of the field. Fitzpatrick’s brother, Alex Fitzpatrick ($8,600), is also playing and has been in solid form of late. Using him as a second-tier option isn't a poor idea, considering both his form and the fact he’ll likely be buoyed by getting to play a venue where his sibling has won multiple times. Other potential names to consider for this format include Nicolai Højgaard ($10,100), Adrian Otaegui, Yannik Paul ($9,100), Adrien Saddier ($7,100) and Justin Suh ($8,800).
Tournaments: Langasque and Pepperell worthy GPP targets
Romain Langasque ($8,400) is a Frenchman who played at Augusta as an amateur and is a former winner on the DP World Tour. He’s played well this season, recording made cuts at the last two majors and also has two top-10 finishes over his last 10 starts. He doesn’t have the greatest record at Crans but his iron play this year has been solid and a big week wouldn’t be shocking. Eddie Pepperell ($7,400) has enjoyed a nice revival this season. He’s never finished in the top 20 at Crans over four career starts but struck his irons very well last week and was 3rd just two starts ago in Northern Ireland. Some other potential names to target for big-field GPPs include Sebastian Söderberg ($7,300), Fabrizio Zanotti ($7,200), and Antoine Rozner ($9,400).
MY PICK: Alexander Björk ($9,900)
Considering how long he’s been playing and how consistent he’s been in his results, it’s a little shocking that Bjork only has one win on the main DP World Tour for his career. The Swede grabbed that win in China back in 2018 and it came around the same time of the season that we find ourselves in now. Bjork remains an elite iron player despite the fact he doesn’t grab wins as often as he should and ranks second in this field in SG: Approach stats for the year.
It should come as no shock then that Bjork has had success at this event during his career, posting top 20 finishes at Crans on three of five occasions — including last year when he landed in T16 and shot three rounds of 67. He makes for an easy DFS target to build around this week and certainly has appeal as a top 10 and outright target on the DraftKings Sportsbook at +2500 as well.
MY SLEEPER: Joost Luiten ($8,500)
I’m not sure if we should expect Luiten to compete for the win this week but certainly, the veteran sets up as an appealing DFS target for DraftKings given his skillset and experience. Luiten has had a decent season over in Europe, posting four top-five finishes for the year. He was 2nd at the BMW International Open back in June and while it wasn’t pretty, he did land a made cut at the last major.
Luiten’s strength has always been his accuracy and strong approach game, so the fact he’s made the cut at Crans more times than not when he’s started this event isn't shocking. He ranks 23rd in strokes gained approach stats for the year on the DP World Tour and also finished T23 at this event last year, shooting two rounds of 65 in the process. Luiten looks like a solid upside play and a player to consider for betting as well in matchups or the placement markets on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: DP WORLD TOUR $300k Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) 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.