European Tour Preview- BMW PGA Championship

To kick-off the addition of the European Tour on Draftkings, we are offering this preview complimentary this week.  We will be offering this and all of our other tools as an additional membership in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy it on us.  We couldn’t think of a better way to kick it off than to announce the addition of Pari, or you might now him as @HitTheHighDraw to Team FGI.  He is a well-respected columnist and voice in the DFS Golf industry.  We are always striving to bring our members the absolute best talent and insight, and we are very excited to have Pari help us do that.

BMW PGA Championship
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Wentworth Club (UK) – 7,302 yards, Par 70
Defending champion: Byeong Hun An

The layout is fairly long at 7,302 yards, but what makes the course so difficult isn’t the length, that honor goes to the trees that line the fairways at Wentworth. When looking at the past two champions (Byeong Hun An & Rory McIlroy) one may think that this is a bombers course. Looking past the last two years shows us that this course tends to fair just as friendly to shorter hitters and ball strikers – Matteo Manassero, Luke Donald [b2b], and Anders Hansen all ranked outside the Top 50 in driving distance (on the European Tour) the years they won this event. Let’s not forget that even though Rory and BHA are considered bombers, they’re also considered ball strikers as well – An led the field in greens in regulation last year, and Rory’s putter is what helped him achieve victory in 2014. When looking at the actual course online, it looks very similar to Firestone CC in Akron where the WGC Bridgestone Invitational is held so it might be of interest to find players who’ve had success at that event as well; IE- Shane Lowry.

 

$12,200 – $10,100

Danny Willett [$12,200] – The reigning Masters Champion had a chance to grab one from King McIlroy last week, but lost his footing with a Sunday 77 and slid all the way down to 23rd. Danny’s ball striking and long distance putting are what helped him lead after rounds one and two, and if not for Rory’s phenomenal weekend play who knows how the tournament would’ve ended up. His game is very close right now, and we all know he has the ability to win big events. Suggestion: GPP

Russell Knox [$11,200] – Knox has been knocking at the door all year it seems and this week is no different. Knox is 11/15 cuts made this year and has five Top 25’s including two 2nd’s and a win. Not exceptionally long off the tee, Russell’s ball striking (4th in Greens in Regulation & Scrambling last week) is what set him apart from others this week. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Shane Lowry [$11,000] – The WGC Bridgestone defending champion deserves a look this week after having the weight of his nation on his shoulders at last week’s Irish Open. All the talk was about Rory, but you have to think Shane “McLowry” was feeling some pressure as well. Enter this week, no pressure coming off a T23 (his price combined with lack of recent “success” may drive his ownership down) makes me think he’s a perfect pivot off of the top two players for GPP purposes. Suggestion: GPP

Francesco Molinari [$10,700] – Molinari has never seen this kind of pricing on the PGA Tour, so Americans seeing his price in this event may force them to look elsewhere for a cash game staple. Molinari has led this event on prior occasions after 18, 36, and 54 holes so I don’t think fading him in GPPs is a wise decision. We all know how accurate he is off the tee, and as long as that putter is working he should have no problem making it rain birdies again this week. Molinari is having a nice little stretch these past few weeks and returning to familiar territory might be the one thing that helps get him over the T15 blues. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Martin Kaymer [$10,400] – Kaymer is a bit of a different type of player when playing on the European Tour, meaning he seems to take advantage of playing events with weaker fields (unfortunately the level of play on the Euro Tour is a bit less than that of the PGA Tour).His lack of Top 10 finishes at Wentworth are a cause for concern as well as the form he brings. Suggestion: Fade or GPP

Byeong Hun An [$10,100] – The defending champion will have a lot of press functions to handle this week and for a young talent like BHA, its tough to gauge how he’ll react. His game is trending nicely after being bounced from the first playoff hole at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. BHA is a pure ball striker who hasn’t lived up to the hype on the PGA Tour yet, but I’m chalking that up to inexperience and the pressures that come with being a Korean phenom on the world’s biggest stage. – Suggestion: GPP Only

 

$9,900 – $8,000

Lee Westwood [$9,900] – Westy has made the European Tour his tour of choice this year due to personal issues and I don’t think his bank account minds at all. He’s no longer the Major threat he once was around the links at The Open or at Augusta, but Westy is still a contender of Top 10’s (T10 last week and a 2nd two months ago as well as a T10 here in 2010, and a T9 in 2013). As with a lot of the players in the field this week, his ball striking and ability to scramble around these greens will determine how much more money his bank account sees come Sunday. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Luke Donald [$9,700] – A two time champion at Wentworth, Luke Donald clearly isn’t the player he once was, but like a lot of European players seems to play much better on this side of the pond. His tournament history points in the right direction with his back-to-back wins in 2011 & 2012 along with a 2nd in 2010 and a pair of 3rd place finishes in 2008 & 2014. I have an inkling that he’ll be a very popular play in cash games this week so it might be worth it to be contrarian in GPP’s and select a player listed below. Suggestion: Cash

Rafa Cabrera-Bello [$9,600] – RCB has been on quite a roll on both the European & PGA Tours this year sporting three Top 10’s (including two Top 5s in his last six events). Some people may look at his tournament history (MC-16-MC-15-MC-17-MC) and go another direction, but I think he’s the perfect GPP option this week as the Spaniard is a form player who hits a lot of greens and doesn’t take a lot of putts to get the ball in the hole. Suggestion: GPP

Joost Luiten [$9,400] – Many American DFS players loathe Joost for his inconsistent play on the PGA Tour the past two years and for good merit, but now is not the time to hold grudges. Joost has been lighting up the European Tour to the likes of back to back 2nd place finishes which were preceded by a bevy of Top 10’s. His recent form has cooled off a bit, but Wentworth sets up to be a place of familiarity where he’s cracked the Top 12 in three of his past six appearances. Suggestion: GPP

Matthew Fitzpatrick [$9,000] – Fitzy got everyone’s hopes up for future success with a T7 at The Masters and proceeded to miss every cut since. While that doesn’t bode well for the folks that only look at current form, his game seems to set up well for Wentworth. The talent is no doubt there, it’s just a matter of it all coming together for this young lad and this week could very well be the week we see him shine. Suggestion: GPP

Jamie Lovemark [$8,500] – Jamie Lovemark is finally healthy and showing the world what we knew all along, the “kid” has talent. Lovemark flies to the UK with five Top 10’s this year in some pretty strong fields and barely missed out on getting his first PGA Tour win at Zurich (where he and Ben An lost to Brian Stuard in a playoff). He’s definitely the most skilled American in the field this week and it would only be fitting for him to notch his first win at such a value of a price. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Thorbjorn Olesen [$8,300] – Olesen comes in with great form fresh off a Top 10 at the Irish Open following a T15, T8 and T19. Thor (as I call him) is purely a “one off” GPP play (meaning I will select him and a few others at his price point and rotate them into my core GPP players) this week considering some of the players around him. His greens in regulation numbers indicate a strong ball striker, so that does calm any worries I have about him giving himself opportunities to make some red numbers. Suggestion: GPP

Bradley Dredge [$8,200] – Bradley may not be someone you’ve heard of in the states, but he’s making plenty of noise over on the European Tour after his T2 finish last week at the Irish Open. In fact, he hasn’t missed a cut since last year and has sprinkled in a 4th place finish at the Qatar Masters and a 7th place finish at the Shenzhen International. Looking at his DK points, he averages about 18 points per event in birdies and 44 in pars, which is a lot more consistency than some of these other guys we see every week on the PGA Tour. Suggestion: GPP

 

$7,900 – $7,000

Thonghchai Jaidee [$7,800] – Mr. Jaidee hasn’t had much success in the states and some may overlook him based on what they’ve seen in the few WGC events & major championships he’s competed in, but this is not the tournament to do so. “Thailand Jim Furyk” has made the cut here in 12/13 attempts with a best finish of 2nd last year to Ben An. I’m not expecting another Top 5 finish this week, but anything inside the Top 15 at this price is gravy. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

James Morrison [$7,500] – Often confused with Doors frontman Jim Morrison, James the golfer, is someone to keep an eye on this week. According to reports, James has a home nearby (we love any kind of “home game” narrative regardless of site) and has had some pretty good success at Wentworth – T11 in 2015, T10 in 2012 – and comes in fresh off a Top 10 at the Irish Open. The kicker here for me is how he finished at a course with a similar layout (Valderrama – T4) with a much stronger field. Suggestion: GPP

Graeme McDowell [$7,600] – Golf seems to be taking a back seat for GMAC since he got married, which is fine for he and his family, but not for us DFS players. Whether he’s stateside or in the UK, on tracks he has a good history on or not, he just can’t seem to resist slamming his trunk come Friday afternoon. Suggestion: Fade

Thomas Pieters [$7,500] – Pieters’ track record at Wentworth is pure rubbish in two appearances. The problem with that is his talent exceeds the results he’s seen here in the past. Even though he hasn’t cracked a Top 25 in his past eight events, I still think he has legitimate Top 25 upside and at this price we’d gladly take that end result. Suggestion: GPP

David Lingmerth [$7,300] – “The soft swede” (Henrik is the Big Swede so Lingmerth has to be the soft one, right?) is another PGA Tour mainstay making his way to Wentworth this week after disappointing punters and DFS players alike. He hasn’t had much to speak of from a finishing position standpoint, but when Lingmerth’s putter gets hot, he’s sneaky elite which is what you’re looking for in GPP plays. I do think a lot of American DFS players will gravitate to him because they recognize his name, so if you’re looking to be contrarian I’d go elsewhere, but he makes for a fine play this week. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Miguel Angel Jimenez [$7,000] – The Most Interesting Man in the World returns to the site of this memorable moment. That may be the sole reason I roster him this week (aside from his cut making ability and Top 30 upside). His form is pretty good for a man with his career longevity (aka he’s kinda old) having made two of his last three cuts and a high finish of 13th. I’m not sure if he’s steady enough for cash games, but he’s definitely got some GPP appeal. Suggestion: GPP

 

$6,900 & Below

Nicolas Colsaerts [$6,700] – Nicknamed “The Muscles from Brussels”, Colsaerts is a masher of the ball who comes in undervalued in my opinion (based on current form and tournament history). His tournament history is limited (T24 in 2013 & T22 last year), but at $6,700 I’d gladly take a Top 30 before lineups lock (while I’m sound asleep).His form suggests he should be priced a bit higher as well, finishing his last two events 23rd & 3rd respectively. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Kiradech Aphibarnrat [$6,600] – Whether you know him as “The Body” or “BarnRat”, Kiradech is a guy I want on my teams this week. Finishing T27 last year is a plus, as well as the three Top 18’s in his last six events (including a good showing at the Match Play & The Masters). Kiradech’s strength is ball striking as he’s currently hitting 69% of greens in regulation on the Euro Tour and converting a decent clip of those into birdies. The only concern is his putting stats (which aren’t very detailed), but as we all know, all it takes is a warm putter to jump the leaderboard. As with Lingmerth, I expect ownership to be somewhat high due to name recognition. Suggestion: GPP

George Coetzee [$6,300] – Soon to be the only South African in the Olympics, Coetzee hasn’t been playing much golf on either Tour the past few months, but when he does he’s been worth a look finishing with two Top 40’s in his last three events. His accuracy off the tee is a bit of a concern considering the trees that line the fairway at Wentworth, but my hope is that he hits the ball far enough to mitigate any potential miscues. He also seems comfortable here with three Top 30’s including two Top 25’s in his last four tries. Suggestion: Cash & GPP

Thanks for reading,

-Pari, (@HitTheHighDraw)

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