DraftKings are running a fantasy golf game associated with Wyndham Championship offering a first prize of $100,000 out of a total fund of $400,000. Players can draft up to 100 teams at $3 per entry and must select six players with a salary cap of $50,000 which means the average cost of each player is $8,333. Salaries range from $10,900 for Adam Scott to $5,300 for some of the PGA professionals that don’t usually play on the main Tour.
Picks for the PGA Championship.
Player Salaries
For each player in the tournament DraftKings displays stroke averages, top 10s and cuts made. The FPPG rating measures each player’s fantasy score since the start of the season and the top players will have the best rating. Brooks Koepka leads in this category and is the only player in the field with an FPPG above 80 out of 100. Fantasy players can see detailed statistics for each competitor from over the last two seasons. These numbers analyse scoring on each type of hole and show a player’s stroke average in their last event and from the start of the 2014 season.
Course Features
The Wyndham Championship is being played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro for the eighth successive year. The key skills for good scoring this week are driving distance, greens in regulation and strokes gained putting. The average winning score over the last eight years is 18 under which is better then average for a par 70 course. Sedgefield was the easiest par 70 last season and often develops into a putting contest and the greens are not particularly slick. Good approach play and converting birdie opportunities are the keys to success.
Wyndham Championship Team
Brooks Koepka ($10,800) has the best skills’ profile of the entire field in the context of the nature of the course. It puts a premium on driving distance and accurate approach play. The greens are not over quick and strokes gained putting is important. Koepka is the only player in the field in the top 25 for driving distance, greens hit and strokes gained putting. He has finished in the top 25 in his last seven tournaments and returned the best score of the top ten in the PGA Championship in the fourth round.
Justin Thomas ($9,400) played his way in to the top ten last weekend in the final major of the season but stumbled over the closing holes on Sunday. He is a contemporary of Jordan Spieth but is trying to make his own impact on the game. Thomas is a top 40 player for driving distance and greens hit and these skills negate his average putting. He has had seven top tens in 26 starts this season and in eight in 37 in total which is a good average for such a young player.
Will Wilcox ($8,400) finished eight shots off the pace in this tournament last year which was not an exceptional performance but he comfortably qualified for the weekend. He has made his last four cuts at lower levels while the better players have been focusing on the WGC event and PGA Championship. Wilcox is fourth for greens in regulation and a top 40 player for strokes gained putting. He is 83rd in the FedEx Cup rank so has made the play-offs which means a relatively stress free week.
Chad Campbell ($8,000) combines solid course and current form and an aptitude for some of the key areas for good scoring this week. He has dropped down the echelons of the game since contending in majors over ten years ago. Campbell is a top 40 player for finding the greens in the correct number of shots but no more than average for driving distance and putting. His experience and sound approach play can help him get in the mix on a course suited to his game.
Austin Cook ($8,000) has shown some decent form in minor events running alongside the bigger tournaments. That experience can see him compete at this level which is not top class as befitting a tournament in the week after a major championship. He has made five of six cuts in regular tour events and his stroke average since the start of last season is below 70 but only from a limited sample of rounds. He had a fantasy ranking above 90 this week and that makes make a worthy pick.
Robert Allenby ($5,400) has been more in the news for falling out with his caddie than playing in recent months and only gets his place on the team for novelty value. The Australian veteran has made only eight cuts in 24 events this season and made the top ten once in this time. The four times winner on the PGA Tour is 183rd in the FedEx Cup rank so needs a special week to climb into the top 125.Winning or finishing in the top 5 looks beyond him but he can contribute to the team effort.
Click here to see the FedEx Cup standings. Photo Credit
