So, we’ve got kind of a weird event this week as it takes place in Malaysia at TPC Kuala Lumpur. I’m gonna come clean here, I probably won’t see more than five minutes of this event live and I’m 99 percent sure, you won’t either because the majority of the event will be happening while we are sleeping.
The event features just 78 golfers and the vast majority of them play on the Asian Tour. I always recommend that in smaller field tournaments, you should stay away from the cash games but this is a no cut event, which means you can throw that rule out the window.
While TPC Kuala Lumpur is not a long course at right around 7000 yards, it forces players to play smart and think carefully before almost every shot. There are a lot of short par 4’s in which you must play irons off the tee to avoid bunkers and other hazards which will leave you with mid to long iron shots. Three of the four par 5’s are reachable in two but only the biggest hitters will have a shot at the 600 plus yard final hole.
When targeting stats for this type of course, you always want to start with Strokes Gained Tee to Green (SGTG) especially when you look at who has finished in the Top 10 over the past few years. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of bunkers and hazards to avoid off the tee, so you’ll want players with good driving accuracy numbers. The smart players who club down off the tee will be left with a lot of approach shots ranging from 175 to 200 yards out, and that’s something you can target as well.
Get those lineups in … Remember that lineups lock on Wednesday evening NOT Thursday morning.
GOOD LUCK!
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
| PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
| Paul Casey | $5,800 | $11,600 | He's done EVERYTHING but win recently. So hot right now, finishing 2nd - 2nd - 4th - T3 in his last 4 starts. |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $5,500 | $11,300 | Won at the Japan Open Golf Championship last week. Finished 5th at TPC Kuala Lumpur last year & 5th at the TOUR Championship. |
| Ryan Moore | $5,350 | $10,600 | A 2-Time Champion at TPC Kuala Lumpur and finished T10 last year. Played his way onto the Ryder Cup team with a T2 at East Lake. |
| Justin Thomas | $5,550 | $10,400 | Winner of this event in 2015 (1st time playing as a defending champ). Finished T8 at the Safeway and T6 at the TOUR Championship. |
| Kevin Na | $5,300 | $9,900 | Always plays well in the Fall. Finished 7th last week in Napa. He's finished T2 & T3 in his 2 trips to the CIMB Classic (Scoring Average - 67.25) |
| Gary Woodland | $5,000 | $9,600 | Finished runner-up TWICE in this event to Ryan Moore. He finished out 2016 strong going T4 - T15 - T24 - T10 in the FedEd Cup Playoffs. |
| Scott Piercy | $5,000 | $8,900 | He led the Safeway Open after 18 & 36 holes to finished T3. He finished 7th last year at TPC Kuala Lumpur with a round of 62. |
| Brendan Steele | $4,850 | $8,800 | Co-led the CIMB after 54 holes last year & finished T3. Big winner last week at the Safeway Open and led the field in par-5 scoring. |
| Anirban Lahiri | $4,650 | $8,300 | 4th straight trip to TPC Kuala Lumpur (T21 last year). Lost in a playoff last week at the Venetian Macao Open. Plays well in Malaysia |
| Tony Finau | $4,750 | $8,100 | The course is only 7,005 yards and this dude BOMBS the ball. Finished 9th in his debut here last year. Finished T26 last week at Silverado. |
| Si Woo Kim | $4,800 | $7,900 | T10 at Tour Championship and then T2 at KJ Choi Invitational 2 weeks later. 4 Top 15s in 6 starts since winning at the Wyndham |
| Kevin Kisner | $4,750 | $7,700 | Off everyone's radar with only 1 T15 finish in last 11 but 3rd in SG: Putting on TOUR last year. Could help someone steal a GPP this weekend |
| Ryo Ishikawa | $4,700 | $7,500 | KILLING IT since returning to competition in August after months off with lumbar discopathy. A Win, T2, 3rd & T7 playing in Japan. |
| Harold Varner III | $4,450 | $7,300 | Nice rookie year on the PGA Tour with 4 Top 10s & 18 cuts made. Aggressive players pay off at TPC Kuala Lumpur & a No Cut Event |
| Chan Shih-chang | N/A | $6,900 | Dude's on FIRE right now. 6/6 on the Asian Tour with 2 Wins & a T3 this past week. 3rd in the Order of Merit. Making his PGA Tour Debut |
| David Lingmerth | $5,050 | $6,600 | No Cut Event, so it lends to playing Boom/Bust type plays. 4th Trip to Kuala Lumpur finishing T14 last year. |
| Marcus Fraser | $4,550 | $6,400 | Even at 38, dude can flat out putt. Finished T5 at the Olympics & has won in this country before. T25 in 2015 on this course on Euro Tour |
DRAFT KINGS OPTIMALS:
| DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
| Ryan Moore | $10,600 |
| Gary Woodland | $9,600 |
| Brendan Steele | $8,800 |
| Kevin Kisner | $7,700 |
| Chan Shih-chang | $6,900 |
| Marcus Fraser | $6,400 |
| DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $11,300 |
| Justin Thomas | $10,400 |
| Kevin Kisner | $7,700 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | $7,500 |
| David Lingmerth | $6,600 |
| Marcus Fraser | $6,400 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMALS:
| ACES CASH | PRICE |
| Ryan Moore | $5,350 |
| Gary Woodland | $5,250 |
| Scott Piercy | $5,000 |
| Brendan Steele | $4,850 |
| Kevin Kisner | $4,750 |
| Anirban Lahiri | $4,650 |
| ACES GPP | PRICE |
| Paul Casey | $5,800 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | $5,550 |
| Kevin Kisner | $4,750 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | $4,700 |
| Marcus Fraser | $4,550 |
| Harald Varner III | $4,450 |
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.