PGA DFS Preview: PGA Championship
PGA DFS Coverage for the PGA Championship
The excitement level gets ramped up to a 10 this week for the second major championship of the season. The tour takes a trip to Rochester, New York for the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. This venue was established over 100 years ago and has hosted 6 major championships since 1956. We will see the best players in the world compete alongside PGA Professionals of America this weekend in upstate New York. Justin Thomas will try to become the third player in the stroke play era to win the Wanamaker Trophy in back to back years. With such a strong field, it makes for an exciting weekend of PGA DFS action and I am looking forward to providing my PGA Championship DFS picks.
The Field: PGA Championship
We will obviously see the cream of the crop participate this weekend at Oak Hill Country Club. The two best players in the world, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler tee it up once again this weekend. Rahm won round one at the Masters. Jordan Spieth will try to complete the career grand slam at the PGA despite withdrawing from last week’s Byron Nelson with an injury. Rory McIlory and Justin Thomas both attempt to become just the sixth man to win three or more PGA Championships in their career. Tony Finau has four wins in his last 18 starts but will be one of many terrific players in the field looking to earn their first career major like Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Young and more.
The Course: Oak Hill Country Club
This course was established in 1901 and has hosted three U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, two U.S. Amateurs, and a Ryder Cup. The last time was the 2013 PGA Championship where Jason Dufner won his first and only major title. The course was put through a massive restoration in 2020 in preparation for this weekend. The greens were reshaped, contoured and pure bentgrass laid down. We also saw lots of trees removed, bunkers relocated, championship tees added and a new drainage system installed. The venue will play at 7,394 yards which is 250 yards longer than 2013. There are also three holes that are completely new. The course will be more challenging for these players than it was 10 years ago. Dufner won at 10 under par and I expect the winner this weekend to be around the same number.
The Weather: Rochester, New York
It looks like we could be dry this weekend in upstate New York. There is a 50 percent chance of rain on Saturday but that’s the only precipitation in the forecast at the moment. We will see cooler temperatures on Thursday in the upper 50s but warm up to the mid-70s as we head into the weekend. We should see temps in the upper 60s on Saturday and Sunday. The wind will be in the low teens throughout the week in Rochester. .
How To Watch the PGA Championship
We will see extended television coverage this weekend for the PGA Championship. The coverage on Thursday and Friday will air on ESPN+ from 7a-1p ET and then over to the main ESPN network from 1-7p ET. Saturday and Sunday coverage will begin at 8a ET on ESPN+, then move to regular ESPN from 10a-1p ET and then finish on CBS from 1-7p ET.
Coverage from Fantasy Alarm
The PGA DFS Playbook will be available on FantasyAlarm.com Wednesday morning at 10am ET. We will also have PGA DFS example lineups available beginning at 2:30pm ET. You can get help with your DFS lineup construction with our usual tools like our PGA DFS Lineup Generator and a run of PGA DFS projections. Don’t forget about our Value Finder tool! That’s available as well!
I look forward to getting more in-depth in my PGA DFS Playbook. As always, I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your games.
Player News
Justin Thomas arrived at the Travelers Championship amidst a bit of a slump but left with 25 birdies to manage a T9 finish, his first top 10 since March.
Thomas is known for his stellar rate of big finishes over the course of his career but that changed recently with six straight finishes landing outside of the top 10. A cold putter has been the culprit for much of the downturn but he managed to fight through the flat-stick woes this week. Thomas lost 1.9 strokes putting at TPC River Highlands but ranked 3rd in strokes gained tee-to-green. It was a promising result to rebuild some confidence but he still has some work to do in the putting department. Despite the nice finish this week, Thomas is just 66th in the FedExCup race.
Brian Harman tossed together a 6-under 64 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, posting a piece of second place on the final leaderboard (-20).
Harman entered the week with just one top 25 in his last 14 stroke-play events. It's been a slump for the straight shooter but TPC River Highlands was the perfect cure. The Georgia Bulldog gained 4.4 strokes on approach, 3.5 strokes around-the-green, and 4.9 strokes putting. All three ranked 13th or better for the week. This was far from his first taste of success at the course, going in the books as his sixth career top 10 at TPC River Highlands.
Chez Reavie started the day just one shot off the pace but stumbled with a 1-over 71 to drop back to a share of fourth place on the final leaderboard.
Reavie and overnight leader Keegan Bradley were in a tier of their own to begin the day. Reavie dropped a rung with seven pars and two bogeys before the turn. His driver remained steady (12-of-14 fairways) but lost strokes in each of the other three categories of strokes gained today. It was a day to forget but a week to remember for Reavie who still managed a T4 finish, vaulting him from 114th to 95th in the FedExCup race.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler steadied a 5-under 65 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, ending the week on 19-under 261, good for a slice of fourth place.
The Texan piled up 21 birdies and a pair of eagles this week at TPC River Highlands. He ended the week ranked second in strokes gained tee-to-green (+11.08). He's now gained at least 10.6 strokes in that department in six straight events. Scheffler carded three sub-66 rounds this week but a two-birdie 70 on Friday is what held him back from truly contending. The World No. 1 now has six straight top-5 finishes and you have to go back to October to find the last time he finished worse than 12th. It's safe to say he's been the most consistent golfer on the planet over the last nine months.
Rory McIlroy raced out of the gate on Sunday at the Travelers Championship before slowing his pace to record a 6-under 64, ending his week in a share of seventh place (18-under 262).
McIlroy circled birdies on five of the first seven holes today. He couldn't maintain that pace but still bettered the field average by more than three shots today. McIlroy tossed together four sub-69 rounds this week at TPC River Highlands but didn't even sniff contention over the weekend. "I don't particularly like when a tournament is like this. Unfortunately technology has passed this course by, right? It sort of has made it obsolete, especially as soft as it has been with a little bit of rain that we had." The Northern Irishman now has five straight top-10 finishes and has his game trending back toward the winner's circle just in time for the season's final major and the FedExCup Playoffs.
Patrick Cantlay gave the leader a small scare down the stretch was swallowed two late bogeys to finish on 19-under this week at the Travelers Championship, four shots off the winning tally of Keegan Bradley.
Cantlay was slow out of the gate with eight pars and a birdie before the turn. He applied some pressure with four birdies on the next six holes, all while Keegan Bradley was starting to leak with three straight bogeys. That shrunk the lead to just three shots be Cantlay stumbled home with two bogeys and a par. "I thought I struck the ball very solid all day. Played smart. Not the finish I wanted obviously, but my game is in a good spot and a lot of big tournaments left this summer." The UCLA alum carded four sub-69 rounds this week and led the field in strokes gained tee-to-green. Cantlay now has six straight top 15s at TPC River Highlands. He collected two victories last season but still searching for his first win of the 2022-23 campaign.