DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: The CJ Cup
Daily fantasy golf requires a new approach for each and every event.
The course and field change week after week, making no two contests alike. That means you need to refine your approach for each PGA Tour event to try to find golfers who are primed to excel for your daily fantasy golf lineups.
Each week, we have a course primer, and our daily fantasy golf projections and lineup builder can help you get started, but these golfers stand out specifically on DraftKings for The CJ Cup.
This Week's Course
The PGA Tour travels to Jeju Island off the Korean Peninsula this week for just the second edition of The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges. The Club course is a 7,196-yard par 72 with bentgrass from tee to green, and unlike last week's event, this short par 72 poses a formidable challenge for the world's best golfers. With limited history and small sample (or no sample) for this field, starting out with basic stats and current form seems like the way to go. Approaching the green and scoring are integral every week, and targeting the birdie opportunities presented by par 5s makes sense on a par 72 course. The field failed to post a score double digits under par last year, which means saving par when they miss is all the more important. With fewer birdies and no cut, finishing bonuses will matter more than normal this week. Pro tip: Pick the guys who end up at the top of the leaderboard!
Key Stats
| Key Stats for the CJ Cup at The Club at Nine Bridges |
|---|
| Strokes Gained: Approach |
| Birdies or Better Gained |
| Strokes Gained: Par 5s |
| Scrambling Gained |
| Strokes Gained: Putting (Bent) |
All stats are from Fantasy National Golf Club and are for golfers in the field over the last 50 rounds, unless otherwise noted.
High Priced Studs
Justin Thomas (DraftKings Price $11,600 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds 11:2) - Thomas once again tops the betting odds and DK pricing this week, and with good reason. After a T5 finish last week, JT has seven straight top-25's, five of which he finished T8 or better. He is first in strokes gained: tee to green and approach, second in birdies or better gained, and third in strokes gained: par 5s. Unlike last week, however, Thomas is joined at the top of the ranks by a few of the world's best golfers and is not a must-play this week.
Brooks Koepka ($11,200 | 17/2) - Koepka kicks off his 2019 season after sputtering through the playoffs and failing to make a push for the FedEx Cup despite taking down two major championships last year. Still, his A-game might be better than anyone's right now. He is first in birdies or better gained, second in strokes gained: par 5s, third in scrambling gained, and fourth in strokes gained: tee to green. Koepka proved he could dominate in difficult conditions by winning at Shinnecock Hills, the hardest course last year in terms of scoring average relative to par. This week he gets a crack at last season's fourth hardest course.
Hideki Matsuyama ($10,400 | 13) - Matsuyama has dominated this time of year the last two seasons, with eight combined finishes of T6 or better from October to January. He quietly closed the 2018 season strong with five straight top-15 finishes, and he is ranked 6th in birdie or better rate, 7th in strokes gained: approach, and 12th in strokes gained: tee to green. Not known for this work with the short stick, Hideki has been hot of late as he ranks fourth in the field putting on bentgrass over his last 12 rounds.
Mid Priced Options
Adam Scott ($9,200 | 30) - The Aussie is one of the best iron players in the world and has been for over a decade. He is 7th in strokes gained: approach, 8th tee to green, and 15th in birdies or better gained.
Gary Woodland ($9,100 | 35) - Woodland is always first in line at the buffet line on par 5s, and in fact he ranks first in strokes gained on those holes over the last 50 rounds. He does his best ballstriking off the tee, but he is still a solid approach player (20th in the field) and a born and bred birdie-maker (7th). Woodland improved his finish in each round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs before turning in a T5 last week at the CIMB Classic.
Alexander Noren ($8,900 | 35) - Noren does not have the ballstriking pedigree that some of the other names in this range have, but he makes up for it with his ability to avoid big numbers and get to the next hole. Noren is 1st in scrambling gained, 10th in strokes gained: putting on bent, and 12th in strokes gained: par 5s.
Sungjae Im ($8,000 | 45) - The leading money winner for 2018 on the Web.com Tour makes his second start of the season this week in his home country of South Korea. Like the course this week, there is a lot of unknown with Im, but he offers a ton of upside that should come with low ownership at this price given the studs at the top and the value in the $7k range and below. Im rode a hot putter to a T4 finish at the Safeway Open to kick off the year, another bentgrass course.
Low Priced Options
Abraham Ancer ($7,700 | 55) - Ancer came through big time last week with a T5 finish marked by a Sunday 65. He is 23rd in strokes gained: tee to green and 26th in scrambling. He does most of his damage on par 4s but is still a respectable 30th in strokes gained: par 5s.
Ian Poulter ($7,600 | 55) - The image of Poulter's triumphant scream on the 18th green at the Ryder Cup after chasing down Dustin Johnson in their singles match could make some DFS players experience symptoms similar to a stomach virus, but fight through it and plug Poulter in for cash lineups this week. While his stats don't really jump off the page, he is solid across the board, ranking 14th in strokes gained: approach and 24th in both birdies or better gained and strokes gained: par 5s.
J.B. Holmes ($7,500 | 70) - Holmes is coming off strong finishes to start the swing season, as he placed 9th at the Safeway Open and T13 at the CIMB Classic. He is 8th in strokes gained: par 5s, 10th in birdies or better gained, and 11th in strokes gained: tee to green. While not known for his scrambling (51st in scrambling gained this week), he did gain 4.1 strokes around the green at the Safeway.
Bargain Basement
Joel Dahmen ($6,900 | 250) - The odds are long, but Dahmen has been one of the most consistent low-priced golfers in the field. His statistical profile would stand out in any range, but in particular among the lowest end golfers, Dahmen is an outlier. He pops in all the non-putting key stats: 5th in approach, 6th tee to green, 9th on par 5s, 12th in birdies or better gained, and 15th in scrambling gained. If dipping into this range when building rosters, Dahmen is the linchpin that can hold lineups together.
Mike Rodden is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Rodden also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mike_rodden. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
