Fantasy Golf: Workday Charity Open Draftkings Preview and Player Picks
By Hans Geevers
This week, the PGA Tour presents the fantasy golf community with an event that has a stacked field of talented golfers. Let’s take a look at this event from a Draftkings/DFS perspective.
Before I discuss my fantasy golf selections let’s take a quick look at the golf course the field will play and the key player statistics that I feel are the most vital to success this week.
The inaugural Workday Charity Open will be played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The golf course is a par 72 that measures 7,392 yards in length. This track is a classical tree lined golf course that offers wide fairways and undulating green complexes which require precision on second shots.
It should be noted that this golf course has hosted the Memorial Tournament for the last 35 years. The PGA Tour placed this inaugural event on the schedule to replace the John Deere Classic that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For fantasy golf research purposes other Jack Nicklaus designs include:
- Glen Abbey Golf Club-Has hosted the Canadian Open 30 times since 1977.
- Valhalla Golf Club-1996, 2000, and 2014 PGA Championship
The key statistics that I will be focusing on this week are proximity to hole, strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained approach, GIR (greens in regulation), scrambling, and strokes gained putting.
Here are my fantasy golf/Draftkings selections for the 2020 Workday Charity Open!
Patrick Cantlay $10,600
The 28 year old American has played six tournaments on the PGA Tour since the start of the new season in September of 2019. In those six events played, Cantlay has an impressive five top 17 finishes, including an 11th place result at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago.
Cantlay also checks the box for me when it comes to key statistics. Based on the last eight rounds played on the PGA Tour, Cantlay leads the listed Workday Charity Open field in strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained approach, and strokes gained ball striking.
It should also be noted that Cantlay is the last player on the PGA Tour to win at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Cantlay won the 2019 Memorial Tournament with a cumulative four round score of 19 under par.
Rickie Fowler $9,000
Yes, I know that Fowler has not had the greatest overall results in 2020. However, something appeared to click for him at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. After four rounds of competitive golf at the Detroit Golf Club, Fowler finished the event tied for fourth in GIR (greens in regulation-80.6%) on his way to a 12th place finish.
I also like the fact that Fowler has very good course form at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. To be more specific, Fowler has three consecutive top 14 finishes at the Memorial Tournament, including a second place result in 2017.
Joaquin Niemann $8,400
He has two consecutive top 27 finishes at the Memorial Tournament, including a sixth place result in 2018. He also finished fifth at the RBC Heritage three weeks ago.
Kevin Streelman $7,800
Streelman has two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour in 2020, including a second place result at the Travelers Championship in June. Additionally, he finished fourth at the 2019 Memorial Tournament.
Chris Kirk $7,300
He won the King & The Bear Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour three weeks ago with a four round score of 26 under par. He also just obtained his first top 21 finish of the year on the PGA Tour at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week.
Troy Merritt $7,000
The 34 year old American has three top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2020, including a 24th place result at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
If you have any player specific questions feel free to contact me on twitter at @geeversgolf. As always, good luck with your fantasy golf lineups this week!