On Thursday, August 25th, the PGA Tour stops at The Barclays, one of the most highly anticipated tournaments of the season. This will be one of the most competitive fields we’ve seen this year, and that means that many daily fantasy golf leagues are likely to be more competitive than they typically are. It also means that drafting your own roster is going to be tougher, if only because there will be many high quality golfers entered for this. Before you finalize your team, make sure you’ve read our analysis so you know what to look for at the top of your roster.
Jason Day: Day is the top ranked golfer in the world, so it makes sense that he would be the top ranked golfer in this tournament. His salary of $12,400 is the largest in the field, instantly red flagging him as someone to seriously think about before you draft. Day’s track record speaks for itself: he has made the cut 14 out of 15 times, has 8 top ten finishes, has 2 wins, and he is averaging 83.4 fantasy points per tournament at DraftKings. The great part about Day at the top of your roster is you know what to expect from him. He’s going to contribute. However, there are several golfers that have lower stroke counts per round than his 70.1 and two have higher average fantasy point totals than he does. Day is good, but at his salary you want a top three finish, and that’s not guaranteed here.
Dustin Johnson: Johnson is ranked right behind Day with a salary of $11,900. He has the highest average fantasy point total in the field with his 87.2, he’s made 16 out of 17 cuts, has 11 top ten finishes, and 2 wins. He’s very similar to Day in results, but slightly ahead in every category at $500 cheaper. He’s still quite expensive which will keep many people away from him, but if you’re going to draft either Day or Johnson, we highly recommend taking Johnson first. He even has a lower average stroke count at 69.9.
Henrik Stenson: Stenson also has a higher average fantasy point total than Day, coming in just a bit better with his 83.5. He has made 16 out of 19 cuts and has made the top ten 10 times. Stenson has had a few great tournaments this season, the highlight easily being his win at The Open Championship. This has inflated his fantasy contribution a bit, which you can see reflected in his average stroke count per round of 70.2. When Stenson is on, he’s almost unbeatable. And that’s where he’s been for the last month. We really like Stenson, but there are some weaknesses in his game. He has a high ceiling, and the floor of his fantasy potential isn’t all that low. His salary of $11,700 is pretty high, but if he’s able to work in your roster, he can be a great contributor. Of the top three ranked golfers in this tournament, he’s probably the one that will fit the best in most rosters.
Adam Scott: Scott is probably the most consistent golfer in this field, and his salary of $9,500 makes him quite approachable. He has made the cut 15 out of 15 times this season, and has made the top ten 5 times. He has 2 wins, as well. Scott’s average stroke count per round stands at 69.7, which is also one of the strongest in the field. The problem with Scott right now is that in the larger tournaments he has not had the same kind of results that he has had in the smaller tourneys. Scott has top ten potential for this one, but he’s shown that he isn’t at quite the same level as some of the bigger names in the sport right now. We like Scott as a mid-tier contributor for our roster, but that won’t work in many cases because of the fact that his salary is more than $1,000 higher than the average needed for a six golfer roster. If you can make him fit on your roster, you will have consistency, but if he doesn’t fit, trying to make concessions to include him will probably hurt more than help.
