DraftKings have a fantasy game for this tournament with a $100,000 first prize. There is a $50,000 salary cap and players can choose from a roster from the with salaries from $12,500 down to $7,300. The site displays stroke averages, top 10s and cuts made for each player and average fantasy points per game. All four days of the tournament are included in this fantasy contest and below is our team of six players displayed with their salary. The DraftKings website includes detailed statistics for each player in the field including an analysis of scores for the season and last event.
Course Features
Picks have been selected on the basis of current form, course and each player’s skills profile in the context of the nature of the course. The South course at Firestone in Akron, Ohio is an extremely long par 70 track containing seven of ten 4s over 450 yards. The signature hole is the 667-yard par 5 16th. It is lengthy but forgiving off the tee and thus puts a premium on sharp approach play into small, bentgrass greens. Generally Firestone is a tight track with only two par 5s and rewards accuracy off the fairways.
At 7,400 yards the course is the longest par 70 outside of the majors. The par 5 on the back nine is the longest hole played on the PGA Tour this season. There is a water hazard front of the green and the last eagle was in 2008 when Soren Hansen holed out from 102 yards with his third shot. Fairways and greens hit last year put the course inside the top 10 most difficult though it is more manageable in terms of scrambling. The Bridgestone Invitational is a world golf championship event with a limited field of 77 players. The concept was introduced to bring the best players in the world together more often and we now have a WGC event and major in successive weeks.
Fantasy Selections
Hideki Matsuyama ($9,400) is one of just four players in the top 50 for the key skills of driving distance, greens in regulation and average putts which gives him the ideal profile for this week’s challenge. He is a potential future major champion and ready to make an impact at world championship level. Matsuyama has two year’s experience of the South course at Firestone. His scoring is getting progressively better and more improvement can see him figure this week.
Keegan Bradley ($8,800) won the 2011 US PGA Championship in his first appearance in a major but his career has stalled somewhat in recent events. At some stage he will have to adjust to not using the outlawed long putter and going back to a conventional action will be a test. Bradley is the poster boy of the US Ryder Cup team but needs a good week at Firestone to get his season back on track. He is a former champion and course winner with positive mental associations with track.
Brooks Koepka ($8,400) has been plying his trade on both main tours and having served an apprenticeship in Europe is now making a name for himself on the US PGA Tour. He is currently in the top 15 for driving distance and greens in regulation and those skills negate his average putting. He is in a solid run of form and has to overcome the negative of not having played at Firestone before. Winning may be
beyond Koepka at this level but he can contribute some points to your score.
Jimmy Walker ($8,300) has found the winning touch in recent years and is now a multiple winner in the States including twice this season. He has now won five regular tournaments in less than two years and the next step is being competitive in a WGC event or a major. In 2014 the Texan finished in the top 10 in three majors so can hold his own at this level. Walker is a top 50 player for fairways and greens hit and has good numbers this season for average putts per round.
Ryan Palmer ($7,800) is currently 11th in the standings for driving distance so his tee shots will set up relatively short shots to the challenging greens. He has only played at Firestone once in the last five years but finished two shots behind the winner in 2010. He made the cut in the British Open and the following week in Canada without contending so will have no problems with mental fatigue. He is perhaps not at the level to beat such a strong field but a top 10 finish is within his compass.
Byeong-Hun An ($7,300) won the PGA Championship in May which is the flagship event of the European Tour. It attracts the strongest field of the year after the Open Championship and is lucrative in terms of prize money and exemptions. The Wentworth host venue is long and the greens are undulating, so the course is similar to Firestone. Byeong is debuting at the course this week but has some confidence and momentum so can get in the mix.
Click here to see the latest statistics for the PGA Tour. Jim Furyk Photo Credit
