We have arrived at the culmination of our work. Months have elapsed and money has been made. One last event remains to craft that perfect PGA DFS lineup. The Tour Championship is the final nesting doll on the PGA Tour, bringing every hour of research and every number crunched to an abrupt final wobble of the spinning top.
It has been a pleasure to write this column for the fine folks in the DFS lobbies, yearning for snowballing bankrolls and running pure. All the sweats and tilts have been worth it. Let’s go out with a bang (or a bink).
The Tour Championship determines the winner of the FedEx Cup playoffs and a massive $25 million top prize. For unfathomable reasons, they will use a graduated starting score format to “reward the body of work” leading up to the final event. The 30-man field will begin with a leaderboard as follows:
| Scottie Scheffler | -10 |
| Xander Schauffele | -8 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | -7 |
| Keegan Bradley | -6 |
| Ludvig Åberg | -5 |
| Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay | -4 |
| Sungjae Im, Sahith Theegala, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott, Tony Finau | -3 |
| Ben An, Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre | -2 |
| Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Matthieu Pavon, Taylor Pendrith | -1 |
| Chris Kirk, Tom Hoge, Aaron Rai, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Justin Thomas | Even |
With such a small field and crazy scoring settings, it will require some creative lineup building to be optimal. I will have a maximum of five unique lineups this week. My scope of contests will be limited to single entry and three-max. There are quite a few different angles to take in lineup construction to somehow find leverage where not much is available. Don’t let that fool you into doubting my confidence in my most condensed pool of the year. We’re locked and loaded and ready to close the book with a happy ending.
PGA DFS & Picks: Tour Championship (2024)
(Salary Prices Courtesy of DraftKings)
East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia is a gem of a track. Immediately following last year’s romp by Viktor Hovland, East Lake underwent a massive facelift. New grass was laid in the fairways and on the greens to elicit more rollouts and runoffs. The course was extended from a 7,300-yard par-70 to a nearly 7,500-yard par-71. The same tight fairways are lined with thick Bermuda rough and lead to tricky Bermuda greens guarded well by bunkers and water hazards.
For the third consecutive week, the golfers will need the entire bag to be dialed in to win. Faster fairways mean more of an emphasis on shot-shaping and nearly eliminate the bomber’s advantage of yesteryear. Good drives gained is a very important stat, as is proximity on approach. Trouble lurks for wayward shots, so scrambling and bogey avoidance are heavily weighted in my modeling. The final arrow in the quiver is on recent form, especially on courses with Bermuda surfaces. With a bowl of peach cobbler a la mode, let’s dig in.
High-Priced ($9,000 & Above)
- Chalk Plays: Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama
- Chalk Fades: Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay
- Leverage Plays: Collin Morikawa
Mid-Priced ($7,600 to $8,900)
- Chalk Plays: Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland, Wyndham Clark
- Chalk Fades: Adam Scott, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau
- Leverage Plays: Keegan Bradley
Value-Priced ($7,500 & Below)
- Chalk Plays: Sungjae Im, Russell Henley, Aaron Rai
- Chalk Fades: Shane Lowry, Ben An, Sepp Straka, Taylor Pendrith, Tom Hoge
- Leverage Plays: Christiaan Bezuidenhout
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