Starting Thursday, June 9th, is the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It’s the last PGA event before the U.S. Open, and that means that there will be a mixed bag of golfers entered. Some will be using this as a tune up for the next Major Championship, while many others are using this as a weekend of rest. Either way, that creates some difficulties while you’re putting together your daily fantasy golf lineup. With that in mind, our analysis here is meant to help you make better drafting choices for the upcoming tournament.
Dustin Johnson: Johnson is quietly having a superb season. He’s played in 11 tournaments, and has made the cut in all 11 of them. He’s made the top ten in 6 of those. There’s no one in the field that is playing nearly as well as that, and that means his salary of $12,800 is well justified. His last tourney was the Memorial Tournament, where he finished 3rd, putting up over 110 fantasy points. He is heads and shoulders above the field with a very respectable 89.9 points per tournament average, and he is one of the two golfers in the top ten rankings here with an average stroke count under 70 per round (69.9). Johnson’s expensive, but well worth drafting if you can find good value at the bottom of your roster.
Charles Howell: Howell is ahead of Johnson when it comes to strokes per round with his 69.8, but is just behind everywhere else. He’s made the cut in 17 out of 20 tournaments, has made 5 top tens, and has an average fantasy point contribution of 71.0 per tournament. We like Howell a lot, especially with his price set at $9,400. We have a top tier talent here, but priced as a mid-tier player. That’s tough to beat. He’s ranked number 9 going into this tournament, but he’s more likely 2 or 3 in our books. That’s an easy draft for us.
Phil Mickelson: When Old Lefty is playing, people pay attention. He’s ranked number 2 for this tournament at $11,300. He’s a great golfer, and definitely top ten potential, but he’s a bit too expensive for us here, especially when you consider how great the talent priced cheaper than him is. He has a stroke count of 70.1, which is competitive, but he’s only made 8 out of 12 cuts, and has only made the top ten 4 times. That’s not quite consistent enough for this price, so we will be passing on him, despite the fact that we’d really like to see him make us regret saying that.
Ryan Palmer: Instead of Mickelson, look to Palmer. His average fantasy points per tournament contribution is higher than Mickelson’s at 71.6, although his stroke count is a tiny bit higher at 70.4. He’s played in 15 tourneys, and has made the cut in 13 of them. He only has 2 top ten appearances this season, but his stats are strong enough to outweigh this. He had a T3 finish in his last appearance with more than 110 fantasy points, and a T4 a couple weeks ago where he posted 93.0. He’s not the best golfer in the field, but at $10,800, he is cheap, and has top five to top three potential. We like that, especially since this field is pretty weak compared to some of the others he’s played in.
Brooks Koepka: Koepka is ranked number 3 in this field at $11,100. He has 3 top ten finishes, but has played in 12 tournaments. Still, he’s made the cut 9 times, which is pretty impressive. In this weak field, we expect him to make the cut easily, although he’s a gamble for the top ten. That’s the only reason that we won’t be drafting him. With only 66.4 fantasy points per tournament on average, there’s not enough of a positive return on him if he does play well. Unfortunately, we’re passing on him for someone cheaper.
