I don't know about you but I can't wait for the Masters next week. There is just something about seeing those azaleas behind Number 13 and hearing Jim Nantz say, "A tradition like no other," that gives me goosebumps every time. Even hearing the Masters music played on CBS gives me a feeling of calm. I have heard it many times, primarily from my wife, but yes, I know I have a serious problem and I should seek help. Enough about next week's tournament, lets get to the Shell Houston Open.
First of all, lets take a quick second to say hello to our spiritual guide, Paige. She is pretty excited after an awesome week down in Puerto Rico, and what better way to celebrate than to kick things off on the right foot. Pretty sweet shot right?
The Shell Houston Open has always been known as a course that players use to work the kinks out before heading to Georgia next week. The Golf Club of Houston and Augusta National have very similar characteristics.
They've been playing the Shell Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston since 2006, which means that's where your course history should begin when taking at look at this tournament. GC of Houston measures out to 7,441 yards which means length is an advantage but not the be all end all. This course is made for players with good Greens in Regulation (GIR) numbers. If you look through course history, if a player can't hit greens consistently, he won't have success unless they are carried by their putter. The putter can always be the great equalizer on any golf course.
Henrik Stenson, JB Holmes, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington, and Brendon de Jonge have all had success in this tournament. Any of these guys are worthy of consideration this weekend which why most of them are listed in my playbook. All of these players have traditionally had good GIR numbers. One thing you'll also notice when you look through course history, there are a lot of spotty records. You should avoid those players for your cash lineups but they are all fair game when it comes to GPPs. This course has been known to break a few hearts especially DFS players.
One last piece of advice, watch this tournament closely. The players who perform well this weekend, should automatically be put on your radar for the Masters next week.
Good Luck!
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
| PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
| Henrik Stenson | $5,950 | $10,800 | 4/4 Cuts Made in Houston (2 Top 3s). T3 in Last Start. 14th in GIR & 23rd in Conversions |
| Phil Mickelson | $5,650 | $10,500 | 2011 Champion hasn't finished worse than T17 since. 3 Top 5s in 2016. Leads TOUR in Adjusted Scoring. |
| Patrick Reed | $5,600 | $10,300 | Local Boy loves this course. T17 last year. Top 10s in last 2 Starts (6 this season). 6th in Scrambling |
| Sergio Garcia | $5,450 | $9,900 | 3/3 Cuts Made in Houston (Best Finish 3rd). 2nd at the Honda & 11th at Doral. He's got his irons locked in |
| J.B. Holmes | $5,300 | $9,700 | Defending Champ. Last 5 Trips: Win, T12 in 2014, T8 in 2012, Playoff Loss in 2009. 4 Top 11s in last 6 Tournaments |
| Charl Schwartzel | $5,100 | $9,500 | 2 Time Winner in 2016. 5/6 Cuts Made in Houston (2 Top 20s). He has been great over the past month |
| Brooks Koepka | $5,300 | $9,300 | 3 Top 10s this Year. 10th in All Around & T9 in Par-4 Scoring. He hits greens & putts but this is his DEBUT in Houston. |
| Charles Howell III | $5,150 | $8,900 | Top 20s in 3 of last 4 Trips (Best Finish T5 Last Year). 12/13 Cuts Made this Year. CONTRARIAN PLAY |
| Charley Hoffman | $4,600 | $8,400 | CASH GAME PLAY. 9/9 Cuts Made in Houston (1 Top 10 & 4 Other Top 25s). Playing Well Coming In |
| Tony Finau | $4,950 | $8,100 | Win in Puerto Rico Last Week. 77 in the 3rd Round Last Year cost him a great debut in Houston. POPULAR GPP PLAY |
| Scott Brown | $4,850 | $7,900 | Top 10s in 3 of his last 4 Starts. Lead Puerto Rico Open in GIR (Top 5 in GIR 2 of the Last 3). Ride the HOT HAND! |
| Steve Stricker | $4,700 | $7,700 | 11th & 7th in last two start on Tour. 10/14 Cuts Made in Houston (3 Top 10s). Playing Well, GREAT CASH OPTION |
| Scott Piercy | $4,800 | $7,700 | 5/5 Cuts Made in Houston (Best Finish 10th LAST YEAR). Shot Course Record 63 in 2015 Opener. T17 at WGC. |
| Brendan Steele | $4,550 | $7,400 | 6 Straight Cuts Made with 2 Top 20s. 6th in All Around & Top 35 in GIR. 3/5 Cuts Made in Houston. |
| Patrick Rodgers | $4,750 | $7,300 | Debut at this event but 29th in GIR. He's gone T20 & T21 in his last two starts with 8 rounds at Par or Better. |
| Kyle Reifers | $4,450 | $6,900 | 3/3 Cuts Made in Houston (Best Finish 11th). 10/14 Cuts Made This Year. T43 in GIR. |
| Alex Cejka | $4,400 | $6,800 | Played well in Puerto Rico. 8/11 Cuts Made this Year with 2 Top 10s. 7/9 Cuts Made in Houston (11th in 2015) |
| Chad Campbell | $3,750 | $6,300 | 8/10 Cuts Made in Houston (Best Finish 2nd). He's got good GIR numbers is currently in form. |
| Ernie Els | $4,200 | $6,200 | 7/7 Cuts Made in Houston. He hasn't been great in the U.S. this year but should make for a GREAT CASH PLAY! |
| Stewart Cink | $4,400 | $5,900 | 4/5 Cuts Made in Houston (1 Top 10). 24th in GIR which makes him a nice Value GPP Option |
| Padraig Harrington | $4,400 | $5,900 | 8/9 Cuts Made in Houston (1 Top 10). 8/9 Cuts Made This Year. History Play here but keep it to GPPs |
| Shawn Stefani | $4,200 | $5,800 | Contrarian GPP Value Play. Not playing well coming in but hometown kid who knows & loves the course. T25 last year. |
| Jhonattan Vegas | $4,100 | $5,700 | 7/10 Cuts Made This Year (2 Top 10s). Made Last 3 Cuts in Houston. Putter has got to stay hot. |
| Luke Guthrie | $4,500 | $5,600 | T15 last week in Puerto Rico. T17 in Houston Last Year (Finished 4th in Par-4 Scoring). Decent Contrarian GPP Flier |
DRAFT KINGS OPTIMALS
| DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
| Henrik Stenson | $10,800 |
| Charles Howell III | $8,900 |
| Charley Hoffman | $8,400 |
| Scott Piercy | $7,700 |
| Steve Stricker | $7,700 |
| Ernie Els | $6,200 |
| DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
| Henrik Stenson | $10,800 |
| Patrick Reed | $10,300 |
| Sergio Garcia | $9,900 |
| Brendan Steele | $7,400 |
| Shawn Stefani | $5,800 |
| Jhonattan Vegas | $5,700 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMALS
| ACES CASH | PRICE |
| Henrik Stenson | $5,950 |
| J.B. Holmes | $5,300 |
| Charles Howell III | $5,150 |
| Steve Stricker | $4,700 |
| Charley Hoffman | $4,600 |
| Ernie Els | $4,200 |
| ACES GPP | PRICE |
| Henrik Stenson | $5,950 |
| Sergio Garcia | $5,450 |
| Brooks Koepka | $5,300 |
| Charl Schwartzel | $5,100 |
| Ernie Els | $4,200 |
| Chad Campbell | $3,750 |
ONE-AND-DONE OPTIMALS
| ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
| Hyaundai: Patrick Reed | 2nd - $688,000 |
| Sony: Harris English | T56 - $12,818 |
| CareerBuilder: Bill Haas | T9 - $162,400 |
| Farmers: Nick Watney | Missed Cut |
| Phoenix: Ryan Moore | T11 - $149,500 |
| Pebble: J.B. Holmes | T11 - $143,500 |
| Northern Trust: K.J. Choi | T5 - $258,400 |
| Honda: Luke Donald | T61 - $13,115 |
| WGC-Cadillac: Dustin Johnson | T14 - $120,000 |
| Valspar: Kevin Na | T22 - $52,959.09 |
| Arnold Palmer: Francisco Molinari | T9 - $170,100 |
| Puerto Rico: Scott Brown | T5 - $109,500 |
| Shell Open: Charley Hoffman | ??? |
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.