THE PLAYERS Championship: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values, and Sleepers for Large-Field GPPs on DraftKings

The PGA TOUR has reached one of the biggest weeks in the calendar—THE PLAYERS Championship. While the four majors are always awesome theater and exciting competitions, three are held on different courses each year. The stability and familiarity of THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass make this one of my favorite weeks of the year. The event is almost as prestigious and historic as a major and brings out an exceptional field each year.

TPC Sawgrass is always a star. It’s iconic, well-known, and also extremely difficult. The volatility of the course and the risk/reward opportunities at every turn make for a memorable and enjoyable event every season.

The format is a typical full-field event with 144 players starting the week and the top 65 and ties making the cut, which follows after Round 2. The volatility due to wind, angles, and weird bounces usually leads to some big names missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass, and even the top players have widely varied results in their course history. For more info on the field, the course, the weather, and some key stats, check out this First Look from RotoGrinders.

The focus of this post is strong GPP options who have lower ownership projections than their potential performance. Finding high-leverage plays is critical for GPP success, so the picks here go against the grain, looking for under-owned options.

All Strokes Gained metrics referenced are from the Rabbit Hole.

Usually, I rely heavily on the Stroked Gained Model in FantasyLabs, which is very predictive of results. I also tend to lean toward players who excel in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is more sustainable week-to-week than a hot putter.

Since these are GPP picks, we can accept more risk in exchange for getting a higher ceiling. High-risk, high-reward options with low ownership create the “boom-or-bust” style lineups that often lead to large-field success. To find guidance for all contest types, check out our full Daily Fantasy Golf coverage each week.

No matter what type of format you prefer, be sure to use the FantasyLabs PGA Models to help you make the best choices. These models use stats and simulations to highlight different players’ strengths and weaknesses. A few critical new stats for GPP play are Perfect% and SimLeverage, which are further explained here.

As you dig into the numbers, you can enjoy the many tools FantasyLabs offers, including the Lineup Optimizer, which effortlessly creates up to 300 lineups. Alternatively, you can use the Lineup Builder if you prefer a more hands-on approach.

Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.

Editor’s note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.

High-Priced PGA DFS Picks

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

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Xander Schauffele $11,100

The salary spread this week is much wider than normal, with three players over $11,000 and the lower salaries stretching all the way down to $5,000. Near the top, the ownership is fairly concentrated, but Schauffele is one way to get some pay-up leverage by being aggressive and getting back on Xander early.

He missed over two months with a rib injury and looked rusty in his return last week at Bay Hill. However, he battled back from a bad Round 1 and made the cut last week, finishing T40 at the API. He finished with a 69 on Sunday for his best round of the week.

When he’s at his best, Schauffele has the kind of game to compete at THE PLAYERS. He has finished runner-up twice at this event, including last year, but there’s a high degree of risk since he’s still just getting back to work after his long layoff.

He has the sixth-highest Perfect% in the field this week. His ownership projection is under 10%, though, so he makes sense as a pure leverage play if you believe in his upside.

Wyndham Clark $9,400

Clark had a rough start to the year but has been playing much better lately. He finished runner-up with Schauffele last year and has the kind of well-rounded game that plays well on difficult courses like TPC Sawgrass and at the majors. He finished in the top 30 in each of his last two trips to this event.

Clark has the third-highest SimLeverage in the field this week since his ownership projection is under 7%. He only has the 11th-highest ownership projection, so like Schauffele, he presents a good chance to take some extra risk to get leverage.

In two events this season, Clark has held the solo lead after the first round, but he hasn’t been able to overcome his accuracy issues off the tee and on approach. He has been boom-or-bust from round to round, but he has shown flashes of a high enough ceiling that he can be a strong GPP play this week.

Neither Clark nor Schauffele are safe enough for cash lineups this week, but they bring enough upside to be tournament targets.

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

Mid-Priced PGA DFS Picks

All Strokes Gained metrics referenced are from the Rabbit Hole.

Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.

Editor’s note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.