DFS PGA PLAYBOOK - CareerBuilder Challenge
Published: Jan 19, 2017
Well, the Sony Open did not exactly turn out the way we would have hoped but there was still a lot of good stuff in that playbook. I did say that I would not fault you for playing Hideki or Justin Thomas as they were both good options. Really expected JT to be higher owned coming off the win but most thought like me and stayed away thinking he could not repeat. Congrats to Justin Thomas on another impressive victory to start the 2017 season.
Well, it is onto another week and this we head back to the continental United States for the Career Builder Challenge in La Quinta, California. This tournament is unique in that it is played on three courses over the course of the weekend. Each of the golfers will play one course each day for three days and then we have our cut after Saturday's round. Sunday will feature only the Top 70 players that will compete for the title.
This is another course that favors ball strikers. It features a mix of narrow and wide fairways and gives the players a lot of risk/reward situations involving water. Iron play is vital on this course which means we need players with consistent ball striking ability. Also, we want players who have good sand game as there are bunkers all over the place. Most Nicklaus courses reward players who can avoid the hazards and give these players a chance to go low.DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
| PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
| Bill Haas | $5,750 | $10,500 | 2-Time Champ (2010 & 2015). All Time Money Leader. 39 straight sub-par rounds since 08. T20, T4, T13, T13 to start the year |
| Zach Johnson | $5,800 | $10,200 | T6 last week at Waialae (4 rounds in the 60s w/a 61). 2nd best scoring average here at 67.69. Up & Down Record Here |
| Charles Howell III | $5,650 | $9,900 | 4 Top 15s in this event (T11 last year). T8 at the Sony (4th straight Top 15 finish). He can still bomb it. CASH or GPP |
| Emiliano Grillo | $5,500 | $9,800 | 2015-16 Rookie of the Year! Finished the Fall Schedule with 4 Straight Top 20s Worldwide. He is a SG:TG Master. |
| Jamie Lovemark | $5,300 | $9,600 | T7 at the 2016 Sony & T4 in 2017. He had a T6 at the RSM. 2nd Place here last year going into Final Round finished T6. |
| Brendan Steele | $5,400 | $9,300 | T2 here in 2015, T10 heading into last round finished T34 last year. T6 at Kapalua. 20th in GIR & 6th in Scrambling |
| Luke List | $4,900 | $8,600 | BOMBER! T13 at the Sony (5th consecutive Top 15). 9th in Par 5 Scoring & 21st in Birdie or Better %. Finished T6 last year |
| Webb Simpson | $5,150 | $8,200 | T13 at the Sony. 5 Top 25s in 7 Trips to this Event (3 straight). The putting scares you always but he's on point right now |
| Ryan Palmer | $5,150 | $8,000 | Bummed us all out last week but again a great track record here. 4 Top 10s & a T17 last year since 2011. |
| Kevin Streelman | $5,100 | $8,100 | 4/5 Cuts Made in the Fall Schedule. T10 (2015) & T11 (2016) at the Career Builder. 2nd in GIR & T12 in par breakers here last year |
| Martin Laird | $4,950 | $7,800 | He hasn't missed the cut here since 2010. (4 Top 25s). Good Ball Striker and always up there in SG:TG, can his putter bring it home |
| Lucas Glover | $5,100 | $7,700 | Another Ball-Striker with a GREAT record here. 5 Top 20s in 8 Trips (Back to Back 2015 & 2016). Back to Back Top 5s this season |
| Brian Harman | $4,800 | $7,600 | Terrific Putter & you can thrive here with that in your bag. T20 at the Sony (3rd in SG:Putting). T11 last year at the Career Builder. |
| Chez Reavie | $5,050 | $7,500 | A Top 10 before the holidays and Top 10 at the Sony (Final Round 61, 2nd 61 of the season). T17 here last year (T9 in GIR) |
| Sean O'Hair | $4,750 | $7,300 | T10 at the Shriners & T11 at the Sony in his last 2 starts. He tied for the Top Spot in GIR at Waialae last weekend. |
| Cameron Smith | $4,650 | $7,000 | 5/5 Cuts Made this season. T27 at the Sony (T13 in Greens Hit & 3rd in Proximity). The value is great for this young talent |
| Jhonattan Vegas | $4,550 | $6,900 | Winner here in 2011, but his career fell off a cliff after that. He has had a resurgance since his 1st child was born. |
| Henrik Norlander | $4,500 | $6,800 | Playoff loss at RSM & T20 at the Sony (4 rounds in the 60s, 23 birdies). He can really go low! Great value option (GPP) |
| Cameron Tringale | $4,500 | $6,700 | 6/6 Cuts Made at Career Builder (T14 last year). He was 4/4 in cuts made on the Fall Schedule. CASH OR GPP Option |
| Michael Thompson | $4,550 | $6,600 | T28 last year (Finished 2nd in Total Par Breakers). T13 at RSM & T20 at the Sony Open. Under the Radar GPP Option |
| Bud Cauley | $4,250 | $6,000 | Came in last year slumping & finished T14. He's a streaky risky guy you can play in a 3 round cut event. GPP FLIER! |
| Brandon Hagy | $3,600 | $5,900 | Web.com last year - 2nd in Driving Distance, 14th in Birdies, & 1st in Eagles. Cal Grad from Santa Monica. GPP FLIER! |
DRAFT KINGS OPTIMALS:
| DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
| Bill Haas | $10,500 |
| Luke List | $8,600 |
| Webb Simpson | $8,200 |
| Ryan Palmer | $8,000 |
| Martin Laird | $7,800 |
| Cameron Tringale | $6,700 |
| DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
| Emiliano Grillo | $9,800 |
| Brendan Steele | $9,300 |
| Luke List | $8,600 |
| Webb Simpson | $8,200 |
| Chez Reavie | $7,500 |
| Michael Thompson | $6,600 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMALS:
| ACES CASH | PRICE |
| Bill Haas | $5,750 |
| Ryan Palmer | $5,150 |
| Martin Laird | $4,950 |
| Luke List | $4,900 |
| Cameron Smith | $4,650 |
| Cameron Tringale | $4,500 |
| ACES GPP | PRICE |
| Zach Johnson | $5,800 |
| Bill Haas | $5,750 |
| Charles Howell III | $5,650 |
| Luke List | $4,900 |
| Bud Cauley | $4,250 |
| Brandon Hagy | $3,600 |
ONE & DONE PICK:
| ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
| SBS - Jimmy Walker | T9 |
| Sony - Charles Howell III | T8 |
| Career - Bill Haas | ? |
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.