We head to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 104th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club this week. This is the second major championship of the 2021-22 season and features 156 PGA Tour players and club professionals from across the country competing for the Wanamaker Trophy. As always, it's an elite field of golfers offering up plenty of potential stud and sleeper picks for PGA DFS lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo.
Southern Hills was built in 1936 and has played host to seven major championships: Three U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships. It was the site of Tiger Woods' 13th major victory, his 2007 PGA Championship at the prime age of 32. I don’t think anyone thought he’d only win two more majors over the next 15 years. Southern Hills also hosted the 2001 U.S. Open in which Tiger finished tied for 12th. In those two major championships, only a combined nine players finished with scores under par. These players will be tested, and just as important as making birdies, will be knowing when par is good enough.
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PGA DFS strategy for the PGA Championship 2022
The course went through a major overhaul in 2019 to prepare for this tournament. It will play as a Par 70 and stretch out as far as 7,556 yards from the championship tees. Augusta National is a very fair comparison course in that they both feature relatively wide fairways, small fast contoured greens (with sloped edges), right to left doglegs, big elevation changes, and strategically placed bunkers. I will key in on players that excel off-the-tee, approach, around the green/scrambling, bogey avoidance, putting and history in major championships.
We will see temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s to begin the week, but remember that it will be more of a dry heat. There looks to be rain in the forecast for Friday afternoon/evening, which will cool things down for the players competing on the weekend. While rain doesn’t look like it will have a big impact this weekend, the wind will. Those midwestern winds will be in the mid-to-upper teens throughout the weekend.
PGA Championship DFS picks 2022: Studs, sleepers, & values
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Scottie Scheffler (Yahoo: $49 | DraftKings: $11,400 | FanDuel: $12,000)
I really should not have to give you a lot of reasons to put Scheffler in your DFS lineup this weekend. He’s won four tournaments in four months, including the Masters. He is No. 1 in FedEx Cup points, ranks third in "Greens in Regulation," 17th in "Strokes Gained: Approach," 22nd in "Strokes Gained: Tee to Green," 25th in "Strokes Gained: Putting," and 33rd in "Bogey Avoidance." No one deserves to be the top-priced player more than him, and I think he’ll reach his value this weekend.
Justin Thomas (Y: $44 | DK: $10,700 | FD: $11,700)
He is very quietly putting together a terrific season, albeit with no victories. Thomas has made 10 starts since the start of 2022, and he has six top-10 finishes, including the Masters and just last week at the Byron Nelson. JT fits this course perfectly, ranking top five in "Scrambling," "Strokes Gained: Approach," "Bogey Avoidance," and "Strokes Gained: Tee to Green." Also top 30 in both "Greens in Regulation" and "Strokes Gained: Off the Tee." The putting will be key to his success; if he gets hot with the flat stick, watch out.
Shane Lowry (Y: $33 | DK: $8,700 | FD: $10,700)
The Irishman has had a fantastic start to the season. He has three top-five finishes (including the Masters) and another two top-15 finishes over his past seven starts. Besides not being a huge hitter off the tee, he fits the mold for success on this course perfectly. He currently ranks top 10 in "Scrambling," "Strokes Gained: Approach," "Bogey Avoidance" (first on Tour), and top 25 in both "Strokes Gained: Putting" and "Strokes Gained: Tee to Green." We need smart course managers, and he’s one of the best playing on the PGA Tour.
Marc Leishman (Y: $27 | DK: $7,700 | FD: $9,200)
Since Leishman missed the cut at the Open Championship in mid-July, he missed just two over his past 18 starts on the PGA Tour. He also has seven finishes of 21st or better. The big Aussie knows how to play at Augusta, making the cut in five straight trips with three top 15 finishes. Leishman is pretty consistent throughout the bag ranking top 50 in "Scrambling," "Strokes Gained: Approach," "Bogey Avoidance," "Strokes Gained: Putting," and "Greens in Regulation." Leishman is especially attractive when the conditions are going to be windy.
Alex Noren (Y: $23 | DK: $7,000 | FD: $8,500)
Noren has made the cut in nine of his past 10 starts and has five top-20 finishes in that span. Alex played his college golf at Oklahoma State and knows the terrain better than most in this field. He’s also one of the best course managers in the world, ranking top 12 in both "Bogey Avoidance" and "Scrambling." He will never wow you off the tee, but he makes up for it in other ways, from his ball striking to his touch around the greens. He will likely be overlooked by most playing daily fantasy golf this weekend.
Tiger Woods (Y: $20 | DK: $8,200 | FD: $10,000)
I’m going to keep this short and sweet because there isn't much left to say about Woods. We know how much he loves Augusta, and this course plays right into his strengths. You should put him in your lineups.
MORE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP DFS PICKS:
Rory McIlroy
Xander Schauffele
Joaquin Niemann
Talor Gooch
Robert Macintyre
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