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Draftkings Picks: 2019 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship

By Hans Geevers

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 02: Trey Mullinax plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa on March 02, 2019 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 02: Trey Mullinax plays his shot from the third tee during the third round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa on March 02, 2019 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The 2019 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship presents the DFS community with a much weaker field than most events on the PGA Tour. In my opinion, the weaker field provides an advantage to experienced DFS golf players that decide to play this event on Draftkings.

This week, the PGA Tour travels to the Dominican Republic for the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. The event debuted on the PGA Tour schedule in 2018. It should be noted that this event was on the Web.com Tour in 2016 and 2017. I generally would not recommend that DFS players or those at Draftkings to pay attention to course history from previous events held on the Web.com Tour.

The Corales is an exception to that rule. This event is being played opposite of the WGC Match Play. Due to that fact, the top 64 players in the world are not in the Dominican Republic. That basically makes this tournament more of the quality of a top Web.com event than that of a PGA Tour event.

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This event is being held on a resort style golf course. The course is a par 72 that measures 7,668 yards. Several of the holes border the ocean. However, the course offers very wide generous fairways and very little rough. This tournament should yield very low scores to the field this week.

While it is true that this course will likely not present a difficult challenge, it is still of high importance to differentiate the field based on key statistics when playing in DFS contests. Based on previous years results, the key statistics that I will be focusing on are the following: birdies or better percentage, strokes gained off the tee, greens in regulation and driving distance.

Due to the fact that this is a coastal course, wind is always a factor. Last year, wind was a major factor with regard to scoring. The final score for 2018 Champion Brice Garnett was 18 under par. The forecast for this week appears to be relatively calm for a coastal track. I would expect, that if this forecast holds, the eventual winner will have a score of around 25 under par.

Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship Draftkings Picks

Trey Mullinax (9,500)

Mullinax has played very well in 2019. Mullinax currently ranks 20th on the PGA Tour in driving distance and 36th in GIR. Mullinax has also made 8 of his last 9 cuts. His only missed cut in that span was The Players Championship.

I have no problem giving him a pass on his missed cut at TPC Sawgrass. Additionally, Mullinax has good course history here. His results in this event are 11th in 2016 and a 22nd finish in 2018.

Mullinax’s long distance off the tee and his high GIR statistics should result in plenty of scoring opportunities. The key to winning any Draftkings contest is scoring. Mullinax should provide that to your lineup this week.

Matt Jones (9,000)

Jones has quietly been playing some outstanding golf. His results in his last 5 events are: 13, 53, 55, 36, and 13. Of the five events mentioned 3 were played on coastal tracks. He also finished 29th at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January of this year.

It’s clear that Jones can handle coastal conditions. He currently ranks 27th on Tour in scoring off the tee. Jones also has experience at this event. He finished 28th here in 2018.

Brian Stuard (7,400)

Another key for winning any Draftkings contest is locating value. I have found value here with Brian Stuard. In my opinion, Stuard is not priced correctly by Draftkings. Quite simply, Stuard should not be 7,400. Stuard has 3 top 20 finishes in 2019.

He has made 7 of his last 8 cuts. He also finished 8th at the Sony Open in January which is obviously a coastal track. Stuard’s stats don’t pop off the page, but he passes my eye test. I am backing him this week with confidence.

D.J. Trahan (7,000)

The statistics tell the story for me when it comes to Trahan. Current PGA Tour statistics rank Trahan as 18th in scoring off the tee, 27th in birdies or better percentage, and 4th in GIR. Trahan finished a very respectable 18th and 16th at his last 2 events which were both held on coastal courses.

Next. PGA Tour: Choosing a Favorite Golfer to Start Rooting for. dark

If you are looking for additional players to fill out your Draftking’s lineup I l also like the following:

Julian Etulian (8,000)

Jonas Blixt (7,800)

Harris English (7,700)

Adam Schenk (7,400)

Good luck this week!

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