Draftkings Preview: The Tour Championship from East Lake Golf Club

The last tournament of the PGA Tour season has arrived! The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup will compete to win 15 million dollars! Let’s take a look at this tournament from a Draftkings perspective.

Before I discuss my Draftkings player selections, let’s take a look at the golf course, contest strategy, and the statistics I am focusing on this week.

The 2019 Tour Championship will be played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The event has been played on this track since 2005. East Lake Golf Club is a par 70 that measures approximately 7,350 yards. The course only has two par 5 holes.

East Lake is a classical and technical golf course that features tree-lined fairways. The course features Bermuda greens and rough. One angle you could take as you evaluate golfers for your Draftkings player pools is to identify players that are great Bermuda putters.

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Ok. So as most of the world knows, golfers will tee off Thursday with a predetermined score based on current FedEx Cup rankings. The FedEx Cup leader (Justin Thomas) will start at 10 under par. Patrick Cantlay will start at 8 under par and Brooks Koepka will start at 7 under par. The scores than continue to lower until the 30th player in the field comes in at even par.

Why am I discussing the predetermined scores? Well, it affects your DFS contest strategy this week. Draftkings has noted on its site to be mindful of this fact. I think Draftkings did a rather decent job of incorporating the predetermined scores with Draftkings pricing.

Let me provide a quick example of the contest pricing this week. Justin Thomas will start the event at 10 under par. His Draftkings price is $15,500, which is $3,100 more than any other golfer in the field. I think that is a reasonable price based on his distinct advantage to the rest of the field.

The statistics I will be focusing on this week are GIR (greens in regulation), scrambling, and driving distance.

Let’s shift gears to my Draftkings selections for the 2019 Tour Championship!

Brooks Koepka $12,200

I am leading my picks this week with the number one player in the world, Brooks Koepka. This man has just been amazing in big tournaments over the last few years.

Let me just point to some key facts to shed light on my previous statement. Brooks won the United States Open in 2017 and 2018. He followed up those wins with a runner up finish at the 2019 U.S. Open. Koepka won the 2018 and 2019 PGA championships. He finished runner up to Tiger Woods in the 2019 Masters Tournament and fourth at the 2019 Open Championship.

Koepka shines on the big stage. He will start the Tour Championship at seven under par. That will be just three strokes behind FedEx Cup leader Justin Thomas. Although Justin Thomas is an outstanding talent, he is not close to the competitor and proven performer that Brooks is currently.

I think East Lake Golf Club sets up well for Brooks as well. Brooks has played the Tour Championship previously. His best result at East Lake was a sixth-place finish at the 2017 Tour Championship. By the way, in 2017 he did not start the event at seven-under!

From a statistical perspective, Brooks certainly checks that box. Koepka is fifth in the Tour Championship field in the following categories: GIR (greens in regulation) and driving distance.

Hideki Matsuyama $9,500

I watched the majority of the BMW Championship last week. It has to be said that I was quite impressed with Hideki’s outstanding play. Hideki shot a Medinah Country Club (course 3) record 63 in the second round. He followed that up with yet another 63 in the final round on Sunday!

I like the fact that Hideki has performed well at the Tour Championship previously. In 2016, he finished in sixth place at East Lake. Last year, Hideki finished in an impressive fourth place at the Tour Championship.

As I reviewed the statistics for Hideki, I was impressed to see that Matsuyama ranks seventh in this tournament’s field in GIR (greens in regulation).

Let’s take a look at some of Hideki’s impressive tournament results in 2019. He finished eighth at the Players in March, 16th at the PGA Championship in May, and seventh at the 3M Open in July.

I should note that Hideki will start the Tour Championship at 3 under par, which will be 7 strokes back of the leader. Keep in mind that Hideki’s Draftkings price of $9,500 reflects his starting position.

I think in this format, it may be hard for Matsuyama to win this event. However, I think a top-five finish is certainly a possibility. At his Draftkings price point, that is a very high upside and presents outstanding value.

I also like the fact that Hideki will be putting on Bermuda greens this week. Hideki’s overall putting statistics on Bermuda are much better than any other type of grass.

If you are looking for lower-priced players to complete your Draftkings lineups, I like the following players to potentially surprise some people this week:

Brandt Snedeker $7,300

Brandt has three top-six finishes in his last six PGA Tour events. Snedeker won the 2012 Tour Championship.

Kevin Kisner $6,600

Kisner has finished in the top 12 in both of the 2019 FedEx Cup playoff events. He finished third at the 2017 Tour Championship.

Corey Conners $6,100

The Canadian is playing some outstanding golf. He finished seventh at last week’s BMW Championship. Conners currently leads the PGA Tour in GIR (greens in regulation).

Next. Presidents Cup 2019: Automatic qualifiers set for Team USA. dark

*Remember to pay attention to the starting scores as you compile your Draftkings lineups. As always, Good luck. Enjoy the 2019 Tour Championship!

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DraftKings Preview: The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club

By Hans Geevers | Aug 20, 2019