GOLF

PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Charles Schwab Challenge

Use the BetMGM bonus code now to claim an exclusive $1,500 deposit match offer to bet on the Masters Tournament and Scottie Scheffler.

The PGA TOUR returns to Texas this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge, which will be played at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7,289 yards, bentgrass greens) in Fort Worth. This course has hosted every Charles Schwab Challenge since 1946 and Davis Riley (-14) is the defending champion after winning by five shots a year ago. There will be 135 players competing this week and a top 65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.

The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.

I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.

My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:

  • Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
  • Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
  • Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
  • Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
  • Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green

Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

Become an All-Access Member Today

Lineup builder and optimizer

Real-time DFS models & projections

Data-driven analysis & tutorials
Become a PRO Member
 

PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts

Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link! 

Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.

Tool Highlights

  • Build unlimited custom stat models with official PGA TOUR data.
  • Hundreds of filters to find the exact data split you’re looking for.
  • Save custom reports and run them again with next week’s field.
  • Download anything you want to your computer with the click of a button.
  • See expert models each week.

DraftKings $10,000+ Range

Scottie Scheffler ($13,700)

Scheffler is a must-play for cash games this week. The Texas native just picked up his first win in the Lone Star State at THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his second-to-last start and it wasn’t even close, as Scheffler won by eight strokes. Then, the world No. 1 won last week’s PGA Championship by five strokes in his next start, despite it being his first solo start at Quail Hollow Club. Scheffler is truly on another level right now and easily could run away with another win at the Charles Schwab Challenge, considering this event’s weak field and his excellent resume at this Texas track. Scheffler has been extremely close to winning at Colonial the last three years, finishing runner-up, 3rd, and runner-up, in that order. Among this field, Scheffler ranks first in Strokes Gained per round in the state of Texas.

Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.

DraftKings $9,000 Range

Jordan Spieth ($9,800)

Just like Scheffler, Spieth is a Texas native who loves competing at Colonial. The 31-year-old won the 2016 Charles Schwab by three shots and he has also finished runner-up at Colonial three times. Spieth has eight top-10 finishes in 12 starts at this par 70 and he is gaining 2.1 strokes per round at Colonial, which ranks second only to the defending champion, Riley. Spieth also ranks second only to Scheffler in Strokes Gained per round in Texas. Spieth has finished 18th or better in six of his 12 starts this season and he should contend this week.

Harris English ($9,200)

Highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2016, English has carded four top-20 finishes in nine starts at Colonial and the veteran is coming off his best performance of the season. English finished runner-up to Scheffler at the PGA Championship last week while gaining strokes in every major category at Quail Hollow. Specifically, he ranked second to Scheffler in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach. English has now finished inside the top 18 in three of his last four starts and he is less than four months removed from his win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. English ranks fifth in Total Strokes Gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he is a superb target at this price tag.

DraftKings $8,000 Range

Davis Riley ($8,600)

Riley is an excellent option in his title defense this week. Riley has finished T4th, MC and first at Colonial, and he ranks first among this field in Strokes Gained per round at the par 70. On top of the impressive resume here, Riley just finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last week while gaining strokes across the board at Quail Hollow. The 28-year-old has now advanced to the weekend in nine of his past 10 starts and three of these finishes have been top-seven results.

Brian Harman ($8,500)

Harman is a very safe target this week. The veteran has made 12 of 14 cuts this season with five top-25 finishes, including a win at the Valero Texas Open last month. Not only does Harman have this Texas-based win on his resume, but the course manager has been outstanding at Colonial throughout his career, with 10 finishes of T31st or better in 12 starts at the par 70.

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Alex Smalley ($7,700)

Smalley has finished T27th and T40th at Colonial, and he is in strong form, finishing T39th, T5th, and T28th in his last three starts, with that latter finish coming at last week’s PGA Championship. Smalley gained strokes on approach at each of these last three events and he has shot even par or better in 10 of these past 12 rounds. Smalley has finished inside the top 25 in seven of his 15 starts this season, and he should have been priced higher in this weak field.

Emiliano Grillo ($7,400)

Grillo has made eight of his last 10 cuts and three of these finishes have been top-25 results. Grillo has gained strokes on approach at three straight tournaments and his success at Colonial should continue in this encouraging form. At this Texas venue, Grillo has made 8 of 9 cuts and produced five top-25 finishes, most notably with a win just two years ago.

Jhonattan Vegas ($7,200)

After finishing T13th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Vegas finished T5th at the PGA Championship last week, which marks the best major finish of his career. Vegas posted a 7-under 64 in the first round, which tied for the lowest score of the PGA Championship and he was leading this major after both the first and second rounds. Vegas gained strokes in every major category at Quail Hollow and he will now look to build off this impressive showing at Colonial, where Vegas has made 5 of 7 cuts. The veteran clearly is too cheap for his current form and is a no-brainer for cash games at this low price tag.

Chris Kirk ($7,200)

Kirk has a long history of flourishing at Colonial. The veteran has made 12 of 14 cuts at the par 70 and seven of these finishes have been top-25 results, including a win at the 2015 Charles Schwab Challenge. Returning to Colonial in compelling form this week, Kirk has a ton of merit for cash games at this cheap salary. The 40-year-old has made 9 of 12 cuts this season and he has gained strokes on approach at three events in a row, which sets him up well for a second-shot course like Colonial. Of the last five winners at this track, four have finished the tournament top eight in SG: APP.

Be sure to check out all the pick’ems Sleeper has to offer with Sleeper promo code FL55. 

DraftKings $6,000 and Below Range

Matt Kuchar ($6,800)

Kuchar has made 8 of 9 cuts with two top-25 finishes this season and he has advanced to the weekend in 12 of his 14 starts at Colonial, six of which have been finishes of T17 or better, including a runner-up in 2013. Kuchar ranks fourth among this field in Strokes Gained per round at Texas venues and he is a cheap, safe bet to make the cut this week that will help you afford Scheffler.

Trey Mullinax ($6,500)

Mullinax has made five of his last six cuts and two of these finishes have been top-40 results at tournaments in Texas. The 32-year-old had made 2 of 3 cuts at Colonial and Mullinax ranking 41st in par 4 performance this season bodes well for this par 70. Riley led his field in par-4 efficiency during his win at Colonial last year and four of the past victors at this course have finished the event top three in par-4 efficiency. Mullinax should make the cut this week and is a viable punt play for cash games.

Interested in more PGA action? Check out the pick’ems on Underdog Fantasy with Underdog promo code LABS.

Pictured: Scottie Scheffler

Photo credit: Imagn

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values and Sleepers for Large-Field GPPs on DraftKings Sanderson Farms Championship: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values, and Sleepers for Large-Field GPPs on DraftKings PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Black Desert Championship on DraftKings PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Shriners Children’s Open on DraftKings

The PGA TOUR returns to Texas this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge, which will be played at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7,289 yards, bentgrass greens) in Fort Worth. This course has hosted every Charles Schwab Challenge since 1946 and Davis Riley (-14) is the defending champion after winning by five shots a year ago. There will be 135 players competing this week and a top 65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.

The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.

I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.

My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:

  • Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
  • Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
  • Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
  • Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
  • Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green

Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

Become an All-Access Member Today

Lineup builder and optimizer

Real-time DFS models & projections

Data-driven analysis & tutorials
Become a PRO Member
 

PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts

Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link! 

Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.

Tool Highlights

  • Build unlimited custom stat models with official PGA TOUR data.
  • Hundreds of filters to find the exact data split you’re looking for.
  • Save custom reports and run them again with next week’s field.
  • Download anything you want to your computer with the click of a button.
  • See expert models each week.

DraftKings $10,000+ Range

Scottie Scheffler ($13,700)

Scheffler is a must-play for cash games this week. The Texas native just picked up his first win in the Lone Star State at THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his second-to-last start and it wasn’t even close, as Scheffler won by eight strokes. Then, the world No. 1 won last week’s PGA Championship by five strokes in his next start, despite it being his first solo start at Quail Hollow Club. Scheffler is truly on another level right now and easily could run away with another win at the Charles Schwab Challenge, considering this event’s weak field and his excellent resume at this Texas track. Scheffler has been extremely close to winning at Colonial the last three years, finishing runner-up, 3rd, and runner-up, in that order. Among this field, Scheffler ranks first in Strokes Gained per round in the state of Texas.

Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.

DraftKings $9,000 Range

Jordan Spieth ($9,800)

Just like Scheffler, Spieth is a Texas native who loves competing at Colonial. The 31-year-old won the 2016 Charles Schwab by three shots and he has also finished runner-up at Colonial three times. Spieth has eight top-10 finishes in 12 starts at this par 70 and he is gaining 2.1 strokes per round at Colonial, which ranks second only to the defending champion, Riley. Spieth also ranks second only to Scheffler in Strokes Gained per round in Texas. Spieth has finished 18th or better in six of his 12 starts this season and he should contend this week.

Harris English ($9,200)

Highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2016, English has carded four top-20 finishes in nine starts at Colonial and the veteran is coming off his best performance of the season. English finished runner-up to Scheffler at the PGA Championship last week while gaining strokes in every major category at Quail Hollow. Specifically, he ranked second to Scheffler in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach. English has now finished inside the top 18 in three of his last four starts and he is less than four months removed from his win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. English ranks fifth in Total Strokes Gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he is a superb target at this price tag.

DraftKings $8,000 Range

Davis Riley ($8,600)

Riley is an excellent option in his title defense this week. Riley has finished T4th, MC and first at Colonial, and he ranks first among this field in Strokes Gained per round at the par 70. On top of the impressive resume here, Riley just finished runner-up at the PGA Championship last week while gaining strokes across the board at Quail Hollow. The 28-year-old has now advanced to the weekend in nine of his past 10 starts and three of these finishes have been top-seven results.

Brian Harman ($8,500)

Harman is a very safe target this week. The veteran has made 12 of 14 cuts this season with five top-25 finishes, including a win at the Valero Texas Open last month. Not only does Harman have this Texas-based win on his resume, but the course manager has been outstanding at Colonial throughout his career, with 10 finishes of T31st or better in 12 starts at the par 70.

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Alex Smalley ($7,700)

Smalley has finished T27th and T40th at Colonial, and he is in strong form, finishing T39th, T5th, and T28th in his last three starts, with that latter finish coming at last week’s PGA Championship. Smalley gained strokes on approach at each of these last three events and he has shot even par or better in 10 of these past 12 rounds. Smalley has finished inside the top 25 in seven of his 15 starts this season, and he should have been priced higher in this weak field.

Emiliano Grillo ($7,400)

Grillo has made eight of his last 10 cuts and three of these finishes have been top-25 results. Grillo has gained strokes on approach at three straight tournaments and his success at Colonial should continue in this encouraging form. At this Texas venue, Grillo has made 8 of 9 cuts and produced five top-25 finishes, most notably with a win just two years ago.

Jhonattan Vegas ($7,200)

After finishing T13th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Vegas finished T5th at the PGA Championship last week, which marks the best major finish of his career. Vegas posted a 7-under 64 in the first round, which tied for the lowest score of the PGA Championship and he was leading this major after both the first and second rounds. Vegas gained strokes in every major category at Quail Hollow and he will now look to build off this impressive showing at Colonial, where Vegas has made 5 of 7 cuts. The veteran clearly is too cheap for his current form and is a no-brainer for cash games at this low price tag.

Chris Kirk ($7,200)

Kirk has a long history of flourishing at Colonial. The veteran has made 12 of 14 cuts at the par 70 and seven of these finishes have been top-25 results, including a win at the 2015 Charles Schwab Challenge. Returning to Colonial in compelling form this week, Kirk has a ton of merit for cash games at this cheap salary. The 40-year-old has made 9 of 12 cuts this season and he has gained strokes on approach at three events in a row, which sets him up well for a second-shot course like Colonial. Of the last five winners at this track, four have finished the tournament top eight in SG: APP.

Be sure to check out all the pick’ems Sleeper has to offer with Sleeper promo code FL55. 

DraftKings $6,000 and Below Range

Matt Kuchar ($6,800)

Kuchar has made 8 of 9 cuts with two top-25 finishes this season and he has advanced to the weekend in 12 of his 14 starts at Colonial, six of which have been finishes of T17 or better, including a runner-up in 2013. Kuchar ranks fourth among this field in Strokes Gained per round at Texas venues and he is a cheap, safe bet to make the cut this week that will help you afford Scheffler.

Trey Mullinax ($6,500)

Mullinax has made five of his last six cuts and two of these finishes have been top-40 results at tournaments in Texas. The 32-year-old had made 2 of 3 cuts at Colonial and Mullinax ranking 41st in par 4 performance this season bodes well for this par 70. Riley led his field in par-4 efficiency during his win at Colonial last year and four of the past victors at this course have finished the event top three in par-4 efficiency. Mullinax should make the cut this week and is a viable punt play for cash games.

Interested in more PGA action? Check out the pick’ems on Underdog Fantasy with Underdog promo code LABS.

Pictured: Scottie Scheffler

Photo credit: Imagn

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values and Sleepers for Large-Field GPPs on DraftKings Sanderson Farms Championship: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values, and Sleepers for Large-Field GPPs on DraftKings PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Black Desert Championship on DraftKings PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Shriners Children’s Open on DraftKings

About the Author

Alex Hunter is an avid DFS player who produces NFL and NBA content for FantasyLabs. He has been playing DFS for nearly a decade, dating back to the DraftStreet days and has been in the fantasy/betting content business for over eight years. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at Worcester State University and has contributed content for some of the biggest outlets in the industry, such as DraftKings Network, Stokastic (formerly Awesemo) and RotoWire, covering NBA, NFL and PGA. Alex is a data-driven analyst that has multiple wins and high finishes in GPPs on his DFS resume, as well as years of being a successful cash-game player. If you have any questions or need any lineup advice, Alex can be found @Hunta512 on Twitter.