Dark Horses for the WGC-Dell Match Play
Before I jump into this week’s dark horses, I want to start off with a recap from the Honda Classic. The website was down so I posted it on my Twitter. My dark horses were Patton Kizzire, Zach Johnson, and Denny McCarthy. Patton was my favorite pre-tournament, but he missed the cut. McCarthy was a huge one coming in a tie for third! ZJ came in a tie for 8th also! This was a tournament with not a ton of big names, which made me realize almost anyone can contend there. I was ecstatic see my research and the final results of the tournament pay off. Sadly the rest of my lineup was not hot having players like Furyk, Kizzire, Ghim miss the cut and than Niemann, who I thought was going to win, ended in a tie for 25th in an easier spot where he should have contended.
More from Pro Golf Now
- Golf Rumors: LIV set to sign Masters Champion in stunning deal
- Fantasy Golf: Grant Thornton Invitational DFS Player Selections
- Brutal return leaves Will Zalatoris looking towards 2024
- Stars You Know at World Champions Cup Starts Thursday at Concession
- Fantasy Golf: An Early Look at the 2024 Masters Tournament
This week the PGA tour is heading to Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas for the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. This is usually an incredible field since we get the top players in the world. We did not have it in 2020 because of COVID, but we do have results from 2019 to look back on. In 2019, Kevin Kisner won this tournament. Kuchar came in 2nd, Molinari in 3rd, and Bjerregaard came in 4th. Kuchar and Molnari were top guys at that time, but I believe Kisner and Bjerregaard were mid tier players. I don’t know what their salaries were, but I would assume probably around the range of a dark horse. These are the so called “dark horses” that you want to look for to come out on top in DraftKings tournaments.
This week I will be providing three dark horses, meaning players that are longshots, but could play really well for their salary. These dark horses are players that are $7,500 and below. Also I only use DraftKings, so these prices will be for their website, but the players can be used on FanDuel as well.
Dark Horse Number 1
Brian Harman: Harman is my first dark horse because he has been playing well lately. His last five finishes are 3, 43, 39, 36, 8. This is incredible form coming into this week. He has to get through Cantlay, Matsuyama, and Ortiz to get to the next round, but I am not to worried about that. Matsuyama’s putter can get freezing cold, Cantlay just played horrible at THE PLAYERS, and Ortiz also had a bad week at THE PLAYERS. I think Harman can get through these guys.
The stats I like for the course:
Birdie or Better %: 49th
SG Approach: 94th
SG Tee-to-Green: 67th
Dark Horse Number 2
Shane Lowry: Lowry is the second dark horse for me, but he does come with some concerns. Only one in the group that he could lose to is Rahmbo. I don’t think Palmer or Munoz will do much, but Rahm is a top guy in the world. Lowry has been playing well, but sometimes it is hard to fade those top guys. In this situation, I am going to try it and see if I get lucky. His recent finishes are 36, 8, 86, 48 , 29 in the last five starts. Rahm also didn’t get out of Round 1 in 2019, so I am banking off that too.
Next. Honda Classic: Winners and Losers from PGA National. dark
The stats I like for the course:
Birdie or Better %: 152nd
SG Approach:87th
SG Tee-to-Green: 32nd
Dark Horse Number 3
Jason Kokrak: Kokrak is my final dark horse and the more I do research, the more he becomes my favorite. His last five starts are 9, 8, 9, 32, 41. He is so on right now and it is in fields that have huge names. He has to get through Finau, Zalatoris, and Frittelli. I have a strong feeling that none of them will be a problem. Finau didn’t make it out of Round 1 in 2019, Zalatoris has been playing well and might be some competition, and Fritelli is not playing well. Play Kokrak, don’t miss out!
The stats I like for the course:
Birdie or Better %: 31st
SG Approach: 83rd
SG Tee-to-Green: 56th