It was a fun week in Charlotte, North Carolina at Quail Hollow Golf Club for the President’s Cup.  While this event doesn’t get the fanfare of the Ryder Cup because the United States usually wins, it is always fun to see us compete against some of the best players in the world.  I’ll admit that I did not watch much of it, just kinda checked in on how things were going.  We also had the LIV Tour dark cloud looming as those players were not allowed to compete in the event.  The results would have been the same but you’d like to see all the best competing against the best.   

We are going to see a lot of weak fields during the fall portion of the PGA Tour season.  There are various reasons for this, one of those is the LIV Tour.  A lot of the players who have jumped ship would have participated in these fall events.  Another reason is the big names like to use the fall schedule to rest and spend time with their families.  It’s the every week grinders who need to tee it up consistently to keep their Tour Card.   

The PGA Tour returns to its regular scheduled programming with the Sanderson Farms Championship.  This event has been on the PGA Tour rotation since 1994.  This will be a full field tournament with 144 players competing in Jackson, Mississippi at the Country Club of Jackson which is a stock par 72 measuring out 7,461 yards.  You are not going to see the cream of the crop playing this weekend.  We’ve got defending champion Sam Burns leading the field but after him the talent level drops off a cliff.  Burns is one of only two players in the Top 40 in the world golf rankings in this field.  Despite the strength of the field, these players will own this course.  There will be lots of birdies, the last five winners of the Sanderson Farms have come in at -22, -19, -18, -21, and -19.  The winner will have to go low consistently through all four rounds to claim victory. 

If you’ve read my work, you know how important Strokes Gained: Approach is when it comes to picking players.  While it will be in the mix this week as always, I’ll be putting a little more weight behind Strokes Gained: Off the Tee because of the course.  Length will be an advantage because these fairways are not hard to land.  When you look at some of the recent winners and their driving abilities the importance is obvious.  2021 winner Sam Burns finished that season 24th in Driving Distance, Sergio Garcia won in 2020 and finished that season 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 2018 winner Cameron Champ  and finished that season 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.  These players can bomb away because the fairways are very forgiving.  Greens in regulation will be a key stat knowing these guys need to go low.  Putting is always important but when you look at the tournament history, we’ve seen guys finish middle of the pack and still have success.

There should be nothing to worry about this weekend in Jackson besides a little humidity.  The weather looks absolutely perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s with sunny skies.  We will see winds tickling double digits but nothing that these players can’t handle. 

Good Luck this weekend.

Pos
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Player
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DK
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Draft %
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FD
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Draft %
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GSam Burns1070022.4%1200050.7%

He’s the defending champion and the best player in this field.  I bet you didn’t know that he missed the cut at this event in his first trip in 2020.  This course sets up perfectly for his skill set.  Burns finished Top 25 in his last three events to end the 2021-2022 season.  The 26-year-old is just coming into his prime this season but still finished 8th in Birdie Average, 14th in Scoring Average, 10th in Putting, 18th in Approach, 24th in Driving Distance, and 26th in Greens in Regulation.  I know he’s expensive but I’m willing to pay up this weekend.   

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GRussell Henley1010017.7%1170017.0%

The 2021-2022 season would be considered a disappointment for Russell especially after finishing runner up at the Sony Open.  Despite the struggles late in the season, he still finished 2nd in Approach, 8th in Tee to Green, 12th in Birdie Average, 14th in Green in Regulation, 19th in Scoring Average and 21st in Around the Green.  He is a premiere ball striker against even the best of the best but against this field, he’s like Tiger Woods.  I’m going to put my money on his talent level over most playing this weekend.  

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GTaylor Montgomery960023.8%1110038.9%

If you read my article for the Fortinet, I said that this was a name you needed to get to know.  He’s everyone's favorite new player in the DFS PGA world.  The dude finished third in his debut at the Fortinet.  A reminder, he graduated from the Korn Ferry despite not winning an event.  Instead, he just finished inside the Top 15 in 12 of his last 16 events.  In his one non major event on the PGA Tour was the 2022 Farmers Insurance and finished 11th.  Just listen to these rankings on the Korn Ferry last year, 1st in Scoring Average, 1st in Birdie Average, 2nd in All Around, 3rd in Putting Average, 15th in Driving Distance and 21st in Greens in Regulation.  It’s hard not to like him this weekend.   

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GDavis Riley900027.3%1080015.8%

Davis seems like old news with guys like Taylor Montgomery as the new hot name but this dude had a killer run from the Valspar in mid-March through the Memorial in early June.  Over that span he had five Top 10s and another two Top 15s.  While he had missed the cut at this event in his two starts, that’s not going top stop me from rostering him.  He finished 2021-2022 ranking 16th in Greens in Regulation and while his Strokes Gained: Off the Tee were weak at the end of the season, he showed flashes of much better.  This is a chance to take advantage of a weak field. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GThomas Detry880011.1%980014.2%

This is a name that you are probably not familiar with because this Belgian has played most of the golf throughout his career on the DP World Tour, but this year was able to take his shot of trying to earn full status on the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.  He started things on the right foot finishing 12th at the Fortinet.  He finished that tournament 3rd in Off the Tee, 6th in Birdie Average, 10th in Tee to Green, 12th in Scoring Average, and 24th in Driving Distance.  If we can get repeat play from him, he’ll finish on the leaderboard once again. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GHarris English860019.9%990010.1%

I’m really hoping that this will be a bounce back season for English.  He finished the 2021-2022 season missing three straight cuts which kind of summed up his injury plagued year.  You couldn’t ask for a better start finishing 9th at the Fortinet a couple weeks ago.  I’m not going to look at last year’s stats, but he finished 2020-2021 ranking 12th in Putting, 14th in Birdie Average, 22nd in Scoring Average and 31st in Around the Green.  This is another guy who’s skill level is higher than most of the players in this field.

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GTrey Mullinax830022.3%98007.7%

There’s one thing you can trust when it comes to Trey, he can straight up rip the ball off the tee.  This Alabama boy finished Top 10 in Driving Distance, 21st in Off the Tee, and 26th in Birdie Average on the PGA Tour.  Mullinax picked up his first career PGA Tour victory at the Barbasol last season and followed that up with a Top 25 at the Open Championship.  Trey finished Top 5 in his first trip to the Sanderson Farms last season.

Game Type: GPP
GWyndham Clark80009.6%97006.7%

We all know that Mr. Clark can hit the ball a mile and putt better than about 90 percent of the tour players out there.  The ball striking inconsistencies have been his Achilles heel but he finished last season making 10 of his last 11 cuts with two Top 10 finishes.  He is one for two in making the cut at the Sanderson Farms.  The former standout at the University of Oregon finished last season 3rd on the PGA Tour in Putting.  That’ll keep him in the hunt this weekend against this field.  I love this price tag, especially being able to fit in an extra top tier player.

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GBrendan Steele790011.6%102005.1%

This is an easy play this weekend.  He finished Top 20 in his first trip to the Sanderson Farms last year.  He also closed out the 2021-2022 season making the cut in 10 of his last 12 events with four Top 15 finishes.  The 39-year-old tour veteran consistently ranks at the top in all driving categories.  He finished last year 6th in Off the Tee and 42nd in Driving Distance.  Steele also ranked 16th in Greens in Regulation, 26th in Tee to Green, and 43rd in Approach.  He will be a popular play but who doesn’t want a safe option

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GAlex Smalley750014.0%92008.6%

Alex finished out the 2021-2022 season strong with three Top 20 finishes in his last six starts.  He started this season with a made cut at the Fortinet but didn’t do much over the weekend.  Smalley finished 65th or better in Driving Distance, Off the Tee, Tee to Green, Scoring Average, and Approach.  He’s one of the good young ball strikers on the PGA Tour and actually keeps it on the fairway the majority of the time.  When looking for a low end for values, it’s hard to find consistency but you can find raw talent like this kid.

Game Type: GPP
GAdam Svensson74007.1%900010.8%

While he is not one of the big hitters I’m targeting this weekend, I do like him for other reasons.  The price tag is great for a guy with a track record.  Svensson made the cut in 10 of his last 11 events in 2021-2022 and finished 12th in his first event of this season.  We want to see more of what he did last weekend where he finished 8th in Driving Accuracy, 9th in Tee to Green, 11th in Around the Green, 12th in Scoring Average, 19th in Off the Tee, and 26th in Greens in Regulation.  I think he may sneak by as an underowned option this weekend. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GWill Gordon730095003.4%

Will had a pretty awful 2021-2022 PGA Tour season.  He missed the cut in eight of his last 11 starts of the season.  Gordon did make the cut two weeks ago in his first start of the new season and finished 36th.  We are hoping for a big bounce back with his skill set, it is more than possible.  If you ignore last season’s stats, we saw his potential 2019-2020 finishing 4th in Greens in Regulation, 14th in Off the Tee, 17th in Driving Distance, 25th in Birdie Average, and 54th in Off the Tee.  He played this course in 2020 and made the cut.  

Game Type: CASH & GPP
GStephan Jaeger72009.0%86008.7%

Jaeger is one of the few players on the PGA Tour who liked seeing players leave for the LIV Tour because it put him into the Top 125 last season which allowed him to keep his PGA Tour card.  While last season was not great, he did manage six Top 25 finishes and nearly got another one at the Fortinet.  Jaeger is a veteran at this event with a high finish of 14th in 2019 and 26th last year.  The stats will not blow you away but I’ll trust a guy who knows this course better than 50 percent of the field.

Game Type: GPP
GCallum Tarren69002.7%82004.2%

Tarren became a favorite value option for me last season.  He finished the 2021-2022 season making the cut in 4 of his last 5 tournaments with a Top 10 at the 3M Open.  While he missed the cut last week and last year at this event, I still think he makes for a great value in the 6K range.  Tarren ranked 15th in Driving Distance, 17th in Eagles, 59th in Approach and 78th in Off the Tee.  He is strictly a tournament play but I think you’ll get some good ownership on him.  

Game Type: GPP
GMJ Daffue68007900

He was one of the biggest hitters on the Korn Ferry Tour last season.  That ability helped him to a fantastic year with two runner ups, two third place finishes and another 10 Top 25s.  He is also a great putter which helped him finish 3rd in Birdie Average for the season.  While Daffue did miss the cut a couple weeks ago at the Fortinet, I like that he finished 12th at this event in 2020.  He’ll be a popular value play this weekend.

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
10700
12000

He’s the defending champion and the best player in this field.  I bet you didn’t know that he missed the cut at this event in his first trip in 2020.  This course sets up perfectly for his skill set.  Burns finished Top 25 in his last three events to end the 2021-2022 season.  The 26-year-old is just coming into his prime this season but still finished 8th in Birdie Average, 14th in Scoring Average, 10th in Putting, 18th in Approach, 24th in Driving Distance, and 26th in Greens in Regulation.  I know he’s expensive but I’m willing to pay up this weekend.   

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
10100
11700

The 2021-2022 season would be considered a disappointment for Russell especially after finishing runner up at the Sony Open.  Despite the struggles late in the season, he still finished 2nd in Approach, 8th in Tee to Green, 12th in Birdie Average, 14th in Green in Regulation, 19th in Scoring Average and 21st in Around the Green.  He is a premiere ball striker against even the best of the best but against this field, he’s like Tiger Woods.  I’m going to put my money on his talent level over most playing this weekend.  

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
9600
11100

If you read my article for the Fortinet, I said that this was a name you needed to get to know.  He’s everyone's favorite new player in the DFS PGA world.  The dude finished third in his debut at the Fortinet.  A reminder, he graduated from the Korn Ferry despite not winning an event.  Instead, he just finished inside the Top 15 in 12 of his last 16 events.  In his one non major event on the PGA Tour was the 2022 Farmers Insurance and finished 11th.  Just listen to these rankings on the Korn Ferry last year, 1st in Scoring Average, 1st in Birdie Average, 2nd in All Around, 3rd in Putting Average, 15th in Driving Distance and 21st in Greens in Regulation.  It’s hard not to like him this weekend.   

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
9000
10800

Davis seems like old news with guys like Taylor Montgomery as the new hot name but this dude had a killer run from the Valspar in mid-March through the Memorial in early June.  Over that span he had five Top 10s and another two Top 15s.  While he had missed the cut at this event in his two starts, that’s not going top stop me from rostering him.  He finished 2021-2022 ranking 16th in Greens in Regulation and while his Strokes Gained: Off the Tee were weak at the end of the season, he showed flashes of much better.  This is a chance to take advantage of a weak field. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
8800
9800

This is a name that you are probably not familiar with because this Belgian has played most of the golf throughout his career on the DP World Tour, but this year was able to take his shot of trying to earn full status on the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.  He started things on the right foot finishing 12th at the Fortinet.  He finished that tournament 3rd in Off the Tee, 6th in Birdie Average, 10th in Tee to Green, 12th in Scoring Average, and 24th in Driving Distance.  If we can get repeat play from him, he’ll finish on the leaderboard once again. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
8600
9900

I’m really hoping that this will be a bounce back season for English.  He finished the 2021-2022 season missing three straight cuts which kind of summed up his injury plagued year.  You couldn’t ask for a better start finishing 9th at the Fortinet a couple weeks ago.  I’m not going to look at last year’s stats, but he finished 2020-2021 ranking 12th in Putting, 14th in Birdie Average, 22nd in Scoring Average and 31st in Around the Green.  This is another guy who’s skill level is higher than most of the players in this field.

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
8300
9800

There’s one thing you can trust when it comes to Trey, he can straight up rip the ball off the tee.  This Alabama boy finished Top 10 in Driving Distance, 21st in Off the Tee, and 26th in Birdie Average on the PGA Tour.  Mullinax picked up his first career PGA Tour victory at the Barbasol last season and followed that up with a Top 25 at the Open Championship.  Trey finished Top 5 in his first trip to the Sanderson Farms last season.

Game Type: GPP
G
8000
9700

We all know that Mr. Clark can hit the ball a mile and putt better than about 90 percent of the tour players out there.  The ball striking inconsistencies have been his Achilles heel but he finished last season making 10 of his last 11 cuts with two Top 10 finishes.  He is one for two in making the cut at the Sanderson Farms.  The former standout at the University of Oregon finished last season 3rd on the PGA Tour in Putting.  That’ll keep him in the hunt this weekend against this field.  I love this price tag, especially being able to fit in an extra top tier player.

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
7900
10200

This is an easy play this weekend.  He finished Top 20 in his first trip to the Sanderson Farms last year.  He also closed out the 2021-2022 season making the cut in 10 of his last 12 events with four Top 15 finishes.  The 39-year-old tour veteran consistently ranks at the top in all driving categories.  He finished last year 6th in Off the Tee and 42nd in Driving Distance.  Steele also ranked 16th in Greens in Regulation, 26th in Tee to Green, and 43rd in Approach.  He will be a popular play but who doesn’t want a safe option

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
7500
9200

Alex finished out the 2021-2022 season strong with three Top 20 finishes in his last six starts.  He started this season with a made cut at the Fortinet but didn’t do much over the weekend.  Smalley finished 65th or better in Driving Distance, Off the Tee, Tee to Green, Scoring Average, and Approach.  He’s one of the good young ball strikers on the PGA Tour and actually keeps it on the fairway the majority of the time.  When looking for a low end for values, it’s hard to find consistency but you can find raw talent like this kid.

Game Type: GPP
G
7400
9000

While he is not one of the big hitters I’m targeting this weekend, I do like him for other reasons.  The price tag is great for a guy with a track record.  Svensson made the cut in 10 of his last 11 events in 2021-2022 and finished 12th in his first event of this season.  We want to see more of what he did last weekend where he finished 8th in Driving Accuracy, 9th in Tee to Green, 11th in Around the Green, 12th in Scoring Average, 19th in Off the Tee, and 26th in Greens in Regulation.  I think he may sneak by as an underowned option this weekend. 

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
7300
9500

Will had a pretty awful 2021-2022 PGA Tour season.  He missed the cut in eight of his last 11 starts of the season.  Gordon did make the cut two weeks ago in his first start of the new season and finished 36th.  We are hoping for a big bounce back with his skill set, it is more than possible.  If you ignore last season’s stats, we saw his potential 2019-2020 finishing 4th in Greens in Regulation, 14th in Off the Tee, 17th in Driving Distance, 25th in Birdie Average, and 54th in Off the Tee.  He played this course in 2020 and made the cut.  

Game Type: CASH & GPP
G
7200
8600

Jaeger is one of the few players on the PGA Tour who liked seeing players leave for the LIV Tour because it put him into the Top 125 last season which allowed him to keep his PGA Tour card.  While last season was not great, he did manage six Top 25 finishes and nearly got another one at the Fortinet.  Jaeger is a veteran at this event with a high finish of 14th in 2019 and 26th last year.  The stats will not blow you away but I’ll trust a guy who knows this course better than 50 percent of the field.

Game Type: GPP
G
6900
8200

Tarren became a favorite value option for me last season.  He finished the 2021-2022 season making the cut in 4 of his last 5 tournaments with a Top 10 at the 3M Open.  While he missed the cut last week and last year at this event, I still think he makes for a great value in the 6K range.  Tarren ranked 15th in Driving Distance, 17th in Eagles, 59th in Approach and 78th in Off the Tee.  He is strictly a tournament play but I think you’ll get some good ownership on him.  

Game Type: GPP
G
6800
7900

He was one of the biggest hitters on the Korn Ferry Tour last season.  That ability helped him to a fantastic year with two runner ups, two third place finishes and another 10 Top 25s.  He is also a great putter which helped him finish 3rd in Birdie Average for the season.  While Daffue did miss the cut a couple weeks ago at the Fortinet, I like that he finished 12th at this event in 2020.  He’ll be a popular value play this weekend.

Game Type: CASH & GPP