Key Stats for St. Jude Classic: SG: Approach / SG: Off the Tee
Lock of the week:
Henrik Stenson $10,400 - The big Swede is coming off a T13 at The Memorial last weekend with his sights set on peaking this weekend heading to the US Open next week. His ball striking ability from the tee and fairways should prove useful here at TPC Southwind where trouble is lurking just about everywhere. TPC Southwind has seen more balls in the water than any course on the PGA Tour in the last few years. Stenson hasn’t played here in the last five years, but there had to be something that lured him here a week before a major. We’ll play him in GPPs and don’t recommend starting cash lineups this high in the price pool on DraftKings.
Value Plays:
Joaquin Niemann $8,900 - The world’s former #1 amateur is 13th on the PGA Tour in the last 12 rounds in DraftKings scoring while gaining 28 strokes total in the last six weeks. This kid can play! He’s not in the US Open next week and we see his focus being taking down his first PGA Tour victory. The last two weeks will prove valuable in teaching the young gun to finish a tournament as he’s finished T6 and T8. We think he’s a lock in GPPs and a safe cash play on DraftKings.
Embed from Getty Images Luke List $8,300 - Handsome Luke continues to be one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour this season. For that reason, he feels like the safest play on the board in terms of cash games like 50/50s and Double Ups on DraftKings. He’ll likely be a very popular play in tournaments and GPPs given the value and upside. His form and course history here are both solid. He’s also moving to Augusta, Ga. right down the street from us, so hopefully, we get a chance to teach him a few things in the coming days...
Trey Mullinax $7,500 - The big-hitting Mullinax could be a rather sneaky play in tournaments. He’s not getting a ton of chatter in the industry despite his T18 finish here in 2017 his first time seeing the track. The form is solid and he’s prepping for his first US Open next week. We feel like Trey will be looking to contend and gain confidence this weekend at TPC Southwind. He’s 9th in this field over the last 12 rounds in SG: OTT.
Best bargain basement option:
Embed from Getty Images Joel Dahmen $7,100 - Dahmen is coming in hot with three T20s in his last three starts. We’re buddies with his caddie Geno Bonnellie, who credits Joel’s recent turnaround to better course management and bogey avoidance. That’s not the sexiest reason for a turnaround, but it will prove useful here given all the trouble. For the first time all year, Dahmen feels like a safe bet to make the cut and even contend here in this weak field.
Player to Avoid:
Brooks Koepka $11,100 - We don’t shy away from the bold calls in this section as that’s what it takes to really contend in major tournaments on DraftKings and FanDuel. If you’re looking to play Brooks here, why not just pay up for DJ? He does have a great record here, he’s in great form over the last two weeks, and he can win on any track. However, he could also be a risk to WD if things aren’t looking great come the weekend. We cite DJ in 2016 the week before the US Open who WD from this event with a “wrist injury” after nine holes. About nine hours later, he was at Chambers Bay for a practice round right before nearly winning. Guess what kept Brooks sidelined for most of this season? A REAL wrist injury! Brooks is a big-time player that keys in on big-time events. It’s unlikely he WD’s, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility if things aren’t going well. Plus, at this price, you need Brooks to T10 or better for you to really return value since the lower end of this field is U-G-L-Y.
