The wait is finally over. The PGA TOUR makes its return this week with the Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course (par 73, 7,596 yards, Bermuda greens) of Kapalua in Maui, Honolulu. This venue has hosted this event every year since 1999. Last season, Harris English defeated Joaquin Niemann in a playoff, finishing with a winning number of -25, making him the seventh Tournament of Champions winner over the last 10 years to shoot lower than -20. Evident from the name of this event, every golfer to pick up a win last season gained an invite to Kapalua this week. There will be 39 golfers teeing up, including seven of the top-10 ranked players in the world, and there will be no cut, so barring a withdrawal or disqualification, every player will get four rounds of golf to accumulate fantasy points.
Both long and short hitters can win at the Plantation Course. The fairways are very wide and easy to find, making OTT stats not overly important. On the other hand, being dialed in with your irons will be essential this week. Of the last five winners at the Plantation Course, four have ranked inside the top-seven in SG APP. As a par 73, there are 11 par fours at this venue, and being efficient on these holes has been critical for success. Over the past five years, three of the players to take home the top prize at the Tournament of Champions have either led their field or finished runner up in SG on the par fours during their victories. As always with a venue that yields low scoring, catching fire with your flat stick is a must to contend at the Plantation Course. English led his field in SGP a year ago, and was the fourth Tournament of Champions winner over the last five years to finish inside the top-six in the stat.
With no cut line to stress about, stars and scrubs builds are extremely viable this week, and below are three of my favorite options priced under $7.5K on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Season Tee Off [$100K to 1st]
Billy Horschel ($7,000)
Albeit in a weaker field at the World Technologies Championship, Horschel was priced all the way up to $10,100 for his last solo PGA TOUR start. Now, the 35-year-old makes his return to the Plantation Course, where he has plenty of experience. Horschel has teed it up five times at the seaside track, with his best finishes being a T6 in his course debut back in 2014 and a T11 in 2018.
The Florida product just won overseas at the BMW PGA Championship in September, which was his third top-10 finish in his last seven starts worldwide. Horschel now sits at 23rd in official world golf rankings and is one of the best bargains of the week at this affordable price tag.
Seamus Power ($6,600)
Power closed out the fall swing in impressive fashion, finishing T21, T12, T11, MC and T4 in his final five starts. Over the last calendar year, the 34-year-old has finished inside the top-25 in 11 of 20 starts, and has moved himself up a whopping 361 spots in the world golf rankings.
Power has never made the trip to Kapalua before, but has all the tools to succeed at the Plantation Course. Over his last 36 rounds, Power ranks 11th in SGT2G, 10th in SG APP, fourth in SG on par fours and 14th in SGP. His +7000 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to win this weekend are the best of all the players priced under $7K this week, making Power a value play that simply can’t be ignored.
Kevin Kisner ($6,000)
At this bare minimum salary, Kisner needs to be included in your player pool this week. The former Georgia Bulldog has made seven of his last 10 cuts, including three top-10 finishes, most notably with a win at the Wyndham Championship in August.
Including this victory, three of Kisner’s four career wins have come on Bermuda greens and if we compare this field’s last 50 rounds on this specific type of putting surface, no player has gained more strokes putting than Kisner. The Bermuda wizard has finished T17 or better in three of his four starts at the Plantation Course, and should have zero issues paying off this low salary.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Season Tee Off [$100K to 1st]
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
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 skill 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.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).
Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat. (CT).
21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/MI/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.