Fantasy Golf on DraftKings - CIMB Classic
Lock of the week:
Embed from Getty ImagesJustin Thomas – $12,300 – Why would the lock of the week NOT be the guy that won PGA Tour Player of the Year, the FedEx Cup Championship and four times last season? Jordan Spieth’s best friend is the back to back defending champ at the CIMB, and his current form suggests no reason he would slow down now. You need your players scoring heaps of DraftKings points this week being a no-cut event, and JT scores with the best of them. We don’t mind the high price tag since we’ve mined a few guys down at the bottom you can risk pairing with Thomas. We’ll likely have around 35 – 40% exposure to Thomas across all of our lineups.
Value Plays:
Gary Woodland $8,700 – Woodland has gained 17 strokes on the field at the CIMB since it started in 2012. He’s mentioned multiple times how much the course seems to fit his eye. He’s a bomber that can take advantage of the shorter par 5’s, but he’s shown the discipline to lay back off the tee when necessary to hit the fairway. Half of Gary’s playoff rounds were in the 60’s which shows his strong recent form. We feel safe with this box checker in cash or GPP contests.Rafa Cabrera-Bello $7,400 – There are a number of reasons to load up on Bello this week for the CIMB. His Vegas odds to win are 40/1. Those odds should have him priced in the Russell Knox category presenting us with a savings on DraftKings of around $700. He’s a tremendous putter and can reach the par 5’s with ease when given the opportunity. Rafa landed seven T10s in 25 events last season and he’ll likely still fly under the radar this week. We love the ownership leverage he presents this week.
Scott Hend $7,100 – You may not know much about this flashy dressing Australian, but we can tell you he hits the ball far and eats birdies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Hend is a sneaky GPP play on DraftKings with his ability to score and likely low ownership. If Hend finishes T20 or better, he’d likely return value with ease given how many birdies and eagles he will make along the way. Gain an edge with Hend in your GPPs. We’d advise avoiding in cash games.
Best bargain basement option:
Embed from Getty ImagesHudson Swafford $6,900 – The “Swafficer” may be our favorite value of the week. His Vegas odds to win are 70/1 and he’s priced with guys from 125/1 – 250/1. That’s value people. DraftKings is giving us free money with Hudson and we love pairing him with Justin Thomas as mentioned above. Swafford had a solid playoff run this season and landed his first PGA Tour victory this season. He checks the box in Total Driving and SG: Approach. We like how those stats translate to success this week.
Player to avoid:
Brendan Steele $8,300 – Welp…Steele went from being an end of season dumpster fire to a repeat winner last week in Napa. He does love Napa though. However, we’re not sure we want Steele coming off the victory, high ownership likely, and traveling late on Sunday halfway across the world on a short week due to time zone differences. It just doesn’t seem like the right concoction to jump back on the California native. Steele was 29% owned in most GPPs last week on DraftKings with a 140 man field. His ownership is likely to jump up after a win with half the players in the field. We’ll fade and hope it pays off.The 18Birdies app is now available for iPhone and Android devices. Click here for your free download. For more information, check out all the latest news at 18Birdies.com.
