DFS PGA PLAYBOOK - THE MASTERS

Oh boy, oh boy, it's finally here, The Masters.  As you will hear hundreds of times over the weekend and it could not be more true, "A tradition unlike any other."  The Super Bowl of the Golf world has arrived and we've got one million dollars on the line on Draft Kings.  We've got so much to discuss before setting your lineups, so let’s get to it.  

First, you must know that basically any player $8,000 and up has a legitimate chance to win the Masters.  My job is to provide you with the golfers I feel have the best combination of price, ownership and level of play to help you bring home big money this weekend.  It was extremely difficult to narrow down my playbook to these select few, especially from the top tier.  I would not fault you if you played any player $9,000 plus. 

I must address the absence of Dustin Johnson from my playbook and it is not because I don’t love the guy and the way he’s playing right now.  The man is lighting the world on fire and everyone that even follows golf casually knows this fact.  We will have a lot of new public players entering tournaments this weekend and a huge majority of them will put him in their lineups.  If you really want to put him in your lineups, go for it, I can’t fault you but just know you will be with the majority this weekend and that’s not how you take down a tournament like the Millionaire Maker.  If you are going to throw him in your lineup, you have to make sure the rest of your lineup is filled with contrarian plays.   

BREAKING NEWS: Dustin Johnson took a fall at his rental home in Augusta and is now QUESTIONABLE to participate in the Masters.  I personally only had him in 1 lineup like I spoke about in my article, but I am looking to pivot. 

Now, let’s get into the DFS Strategy when it comes to The Masters and playing in such a huge public tournament like the Millionaire Maker on Draft Kings.  They have allotted 122,613 entries for the tournament and as I mentioned, a good portion of them will be first time DFS PGA players.  There are only 95 players in this field which means differentiating yourself will be at a premium.  You cannot be afraid to leave money on the table when setting your lineups.  One of the biggest problems that many DFS players have is feeling that you must spend all your salary cap.  There is a much better chance that you'll have a duplicate lineup if you zero out your cap than if you leave money on the table.  You'll notice that all my Optimals will not use the full salary cap.

Time to shift our focus over to Augusta National.  There is no need to go into detail here because it's one of the most well-known courses in the world.  It is a Par 72 that measures out to 7,435 yards.  This course is very difficult and true test of a golfer's game.  There are very long Par 4’s, and reachable Par 5’s.  The greens are always the fastest on tour and hard for these players to stick because of the shave edges.  Since the course was lengthened in 2010, only 300 yard bombers have won or even finished in the Top 10 but there are exceptions to every rule namely Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, and last year’s winner Danny Willett.  When looking over the course history, good GIR numbers has proven to be more beneficial to players than putting at Augusta but that's not to say that putting is not important.

Augusta National is a second shot course.  We want players with great proximity numbers from outside 175 and 200 yards out.  That means targeting great long iron players (great ball strikers).  Most outstanding long iron players happen to also be at the top when it comes to GIR.  These players put themselves into birdie making opportunities rather than missing greens and must scramble their way to a par.  

Course history is vitally important when it comes to The Masters even if it is just one previous trip like for the past two winners, Danny Willett and Jordan Spieth.  This trend bodes well for players like Matthew Fitzpatrick, Daniel Berger, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Emiliano Grillo, and Bryson DeChambeau, who all finished T21 or better last year in their debuts at Augusta.   

Finally, the weather will once again play a big factor in determining this weekend’s winner at Augusta.  The wind wreaked havoc in 2016 with just a few players finishing under par for the weekend and that trend looks to continue in 2017.  They are calling for cool and blustery conditions on Thursday and Friday but Mother Nature does settle down over the weekend with sunshine and relative warmth.

The Masters is truly a one of a kind event that every fan of the sport looks forward too.  Growing up, there were few things I enjoyed more than watching Sunday at Augusta with my Dad.  It's the first major of the golf season and it feels like the unofficial start of Spring.  I know personally, watching the Masters means that it is time to dust off the clubs from the basement and get out on the range to work out the rust in my already dirty swing.  Not sure how much I’ll be able to get out this year with my first child due in late July but I’ll do my best.

WARNING NEW GAME ALERT:

Draft Kings has introduced a new golf game on their site.  You can now play just the weekend rounds after the cuts are made on Friday evening.  The cut at the Masters happens after the conclusion of the second round which leaves us with the low 50 scores, plus ties, and plus any golfer within 10 strokes of the lead.  I will provide new optimals for the Draft Kings weekend slate on Friday evening at the end of the second round.  There will be a very small window from Friday evening to early Saturday morning to get your lineups in, so keep your eye on FantasyAlarm.com for my optimals.   

Good luck to everyone entering the Millionaire Maker on Draft Kings and remember the Golden Eagle event on Fanduel which is just $4 to enter for a chance at $100,000.  If you win, I do expect a cut, remember I got a baby on the way. 

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