Waste Management Phoenix Open: DraftKings Fantasy Picks

Matt Kuchar, the guy who’s been tagged “Mr. Consistency” for so much of his career, doesn’t always make a big splash in DFS. Perhaps he should a little bit more often, especially when it comes to events like this.

Kuchar has been steadily improving at the Phoenix Open in recent years, and perhaps his best performance came just last year. He popped a top-ten finish in his 2017 season opener, going 64-69-69-70. According to Rob Bolton of PGATOUR.com, he did that without leading the field in any key metrics, ranking outside the top 20 in greens-in-regulation, strokes gained: putting, and birdie conversion. In other words, just think of what could have happened had he done any of the things he normally does so well year in and year out.

It’s tough to really peg Kuchar’s recent form considering his nearly two-month layoff. The last time we saw Kuch in an official event, he placed T29 at the RSM Classic, with four rounds steadily in the 60s.

Last year’s T9 finish in Phoenix may have been an anomaly, but I believe it was more on Kuchar figuring out the redesigned Tom Weiskopf track. His last previous high finish came in 2009, when the tournament was known as the FBR Open. Since then, he went T43 (2010), T33 (2012), and T30 (2015).

At $8,400, Kuchar does come at a relatively high price, but he’s rested and coming off his best finish at Phoenix in years. I’m looking for a big start to 2018 as Kuchar gets ready for several months of huge events.