The week after a Major Championship is always a quieter time for those that play daily fantasy golf, but quiet doesn’t always mean easier. In fact, we’ve noticed that it is during these times that a higher proportion of those with more fantasy golf experience tend to be entered in tournaments. If you’re thinking of drafting a fantasy team for the PGA Tour’s stop at the Traveler’s Championship, be sure to read over our analysis so that you can field the best team possible going into this one.
We’ve included three of the top golfers that you might be considering drafting for your team, and we’ve ranked them from worst value to best.
Poor Value
Jordan Spieth: It’s very clear to us that Spieth is a talented golfer, but somehow that talent hasn’t been spilling over into his fantasy performances this season. He’s priced at $11,400 this weekend, making him the number three ranked golfer entered, but he’s struggled more than we’d like to see a number one fantasy pick do. At first glance, he has the strongest stats in the field. He’s averaging a stroke count of 69.6 per round, has made 11 out of 14 cuts, and has 6 top ten finishes. There’s no arguing that this is strong. But he’s not nearly as consistent as we’d like to see. He had a strong finish on Sunday at the U.S. Open, but only finished T35. The week before, at a much weaker tournament, he struggled to finish T13. His first round was a solid 66, but he closed out the tourney with a 73 final round. He’s golfing at a competitive level, but for such a high price, there’s no way to justify including him on your fantasy golf roster.
Decent Value
Rory McIlroy: McIlroy may have missed the cut last weekend, but he’s the number one ranked golfer going into this, according to DraftKings. He’s been given a salary of $11,600, which might seem really high considering that he missed the cut by four strokes less than a week ago. But there are a few things to consider before you immediately dismiss the thought of drafting him. First, McIlroy is ranked #3 in the world. That’s strong no matter how you look at it. Second, McIlroy had not played in a tournament for about a month before the U.S. Open. It is normal for there to be some rust to shake off. And third, McIlroy still had an eagle and 5 birdies over the course of 36 holes. He had 20 par shots to back these up. That’s a pretty strong showing. In fact, it was just a few holes that he struggled on. Since that was a course that many dominated, it’s easy to see how a couple bad shots can really throw off a whole performance. McIlroy is still strong with his average stroke count of 69.8, and we expect him to do well. The only drawback to drafting him is his price. It’s not going to be hard to find better value.
Best Value
Justin Thomas: Of the top five ranked golfers going into this, Thomas is the best value with a salary of $10,200. Thomas was one of the biggest surprises of last weekend’s tournament, but his stats back up a continued number of strong finishes. He has made 8 out of 11 cuts so far this season and has 5 top ten finishes. He finished T9 last weekend and T4 the weekend before that. He also has two wins from earlier in the season. With an average stroke count of 70.2 this season, it would be easy to say he’s not a top ten finish, but as of his last two tourneys, that average has dropped down to 69.9, putting him near the top of those entered this week. We like Thomas a lot here and see no one more qualified to be your top pick.
