Josh Culp's Blog, page 56

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Course Preview

I don’t do this every week but thought I’d give this a whirl since the tournament will be played at three different courses this week. If you play in a league where you can sub players from round to round, knowing which course is the easiest and which course to avoid will be key information.

Round 1 through 3 Stats Since 2011

Course 1: Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble Beach is a Par 72 course that has played at an average of 71.83 since 2011. The easiest of the three courses. Also the featured course, where the final round is played. Over the last three years, Pebble Beach has yielded more than twice as many Eagles than Spyglass before the cut (56 at Pebble vs. 24 at Spyglass). If you are looking at Round by Round subs, Pebble Beach is where you want your golfers to be playing, ideally. It has played under Par each of the last three years and also yields the most Par Breakers of the three courses.

Key Stats since 2011: 56 Eagles, 21.6% Rounds in the 60s, 38.4% Rounds over Par, 3.69 Average Par Breakers, 14.75 DraftKings Points per Round

Course 2: Monterey Peninsula AKA The Shore Course

The Shore Course is not much harder than Pebble Beach. If you play in a daily sub format this secondary option after the host course itself. The Shore Course is a Par 70 which throws things off a little as it limits the upside, but it still plays slightly under Par most years.

Key Stats since 2011: 41 Eagles, 1 Albatross, 44.6% Rounds in the 60s, 38.6% Rounds over Par, 3.39 Average Par Breakers, 14.2 DraftKings Points per Round

Course 3: Spyglass Hill

The third and final course, also the toughest of the three. This is the only course that has played over par since 2011. The average score here since 2011 is 72.55, which is 0.55 strokes over par. As you can see from the key stats, over 50% of rounds played at Spyglass since 2011 have been over par. Avoid this course in daily formats at all costs.

Key Stats since 2011: 24 Eagles, 1 Albatross, 14.1% Rounds in the 60s, 50.4% Rounds over Par, 3.28 Average Par Breakers, 13.6 DraftKings Points per Round

There you have it. A quick rundown of each course. Now we know that Pebble Beach Golf Links and The Shore Course are both pretty easy, while Spyglass is the course you want to avoid. Hope this helps in your daily leagues, and be on the look out tomorrow for the full preview.

DRAFTKINGS $12 PEBBLE BEACH CONTEST TO WIN $1,000

Waste MGMT Phoenix Open – DraftKings Edition

I’ve already done the full weekly preview but now I want to dive deeper into PGA Contests over at DraftKings and have a little fun. We are going to look at some lineup creation possibilities over at DraftKings this week. The salaries are a little soft this week, so we have a lot of wiggle room. Let’s take a look at some lineups:

Team Under Armour

Hunter Mahan ($8,700): Team Captain of the Under Armour team. Mahan won here back in 2010, and should be good for at least another Top 25.

Gary Woodland ($9,300): Has good course history and nearly won last week. Could he pull a Kyle Stanley and win the next week after blowing a lead the week before?

Scott Stallings ($8,600): He’s 3/6 on made cuts this year, which you don’t like to see, but is coming off a victory last week. Maybe we can ride the hot putter and hope it lasts another week.

Jeff Overton ($7,000): Overton has five Top 25s already during this new wrap-around season. He’s in good form, and ready to do work for the UA Team.

Tommy Gainey ($5,500): An honorary member since he used to wear Under Armour but has switched to Callaway last year. He posted a 63-65-68 before blowing the 54 hole lead back here back in 2011. Watch out now.

This leaves you with $10,900 left to spend on your 6th and final player. You can literally pick anyone in the field. With Jordan Spieth not teeing it up this week, the team will be lacking the usual firepower. Still not a terrible team.

Team Good Form

Webb Simpson ($9,600): 23rd-3rd-7th-1st

Chris Kirk ($8,600): 2nd-16th-1st-25th-36th

K.J. Choi ($8,400): 2nd-20th-14th

Graham DeLaet ($8,800): 2nd-6th-7th-72nd

Hideki Matsuyama ($8,000): 16th-25th-3rd

Luke Guthrie ($6,600): 23rd-18th-55th-74th-40th-5th

I went straight down the line picking the hottest golfers in the field. Results shown are their tournament finishes in 2014. After the first five picks, I was left with $6,600 to spend. Luke Guthrie is not exactly scorching, but five of six cuts made with three Top 25′s is pretty solid… and he fit the salary cap perfectly.

Team Golf Boys

Hunter Mahan ($8,700)

Bubba Watson ($8,800)

Ben Crane ($6,900):

Rickie Fowler ($8,200):

This leaves you with two spots to pick and $8,700 per spot. Not bad. You have a lot of good options in that range. Don’t be scared by the Fowler swing changes. He’s been consistent here in the past. Should be in the mix. Crane has a ton of course history here but has been in poor form in 2014. He did make the cut last week, so things might be looking up. Bubba will need to make some putts if he wants to win. Even without making putts, he is a GIR machine and should at least contend.

Team Course History

Matt Every ($9,900): 9th-8th

Scott Piercy ($7,600): 3rd-50th-8th-6th

Brendan Steele ($8,100): 6th-5th-53rd

Ben Crane ($6,900): 11th-2nd-18th-36th-72nd-4th

Keegan Bradley ($9,900): 24th-15th

Bill Haas ($9,500): 6th-19th-29th-99th-9th

That is creepy, folks. I went straight down the line of best course history and the salary fit perfectly with the first six golfers. That is scary. I won’t be using this lineup, but it does have some upside since they’ve all done well here at Scottsdale. Results shown are their results here since 2008.

Those are a few options for you to consider this week. Most of those lineups were just for fun, but I could see all of these lineups actually having a chance to win this week over at DraftKings. So go Enter Now.

Waste Management Phoenix Open Fantasy Preview

The DraftKings PGA Launch was a big success last week. All the contests filled, including the monster $50K contest. Then Tiger had to go and ruin everyones week. It wasn’t just Tiger either. Other favorites like Brandt Snedeker and Phil Mickelson were also out of the tournament come Saturday. On the other end of the spectrum, Scott Stallings was basically unowned in all contests. He putted out of his mind to grab the victory. One of those weeks to forget about for most. Onto next week.

This week we head to Phoenix to watch the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The tournament is hosted by TPC Scottsdale and is known as the Greatest Show on Grass. It’s a week long party that used to feature Caddie Races and rambunctious crowds. The crowds will still be rowdy but Caddie Races have now been banned. The show must go on though.

The course is TPC Scottsdale. It measures 7,152 yards on the scorecard this year with a par of 71. Phil Mickelson went into a zone last year and woke up four days later 28-under par, holding a trophy in his hands. His aching back makes him a really risky pick this week. Most years the winner here will be closer to 15-under, so keep that in mind.

Correlated Stats

There aren’t many stats that jump out this week. Winners have been all over the place. Par 5 Scoring and Adjusted Scoring are two stats to glance at. Par 4 Scoring is always key to finishing high, but many of the winners here have been very average at Par 4′s, so you can avoid that stat this week. Driving Distance is good to have this week, but isn’t required, as proved by Mark Wilson in 2011.

Correlated Tournaments – Last 3 Winners

Northern Trust – John Merrick, Bill Haas, Aaron Baddeley

Farmers Insurance – Scott Stallings, Tiger Woods, Brandt Snedeker

RBC Heritage – Greame McDowell, Carl Pettersson, Brandt Snedeker

FedEx St Jude – Harris English, Dustin Johnson, Harrison Frazar

Sony Open – Jimmy Walker, Russell Henley, Johnson Wagner

Players to Watch

Brandt Snedeker: As you can see above, Sneds has had plenty of success on the Correlated Tournaments. However, his opening round 77 last week is enough to scare me off for a while. He’s dead to me until further notice.

Harris English: I faded English his last time out and that worked out relatively well. I am back on the train now that he’s had a week to rest and regroup. English already has strung together four Top 25s this season, and all seven of his performances have ended in Top 40s. English won the FedEx St. Jude last season which has a decent correlation to success here in Phoenix.

Billy Horschel: I’m usually on the fence about Horschel because of his terrible course history at most courses. This week is different because Billy posted 24 birdies in Phoenix last year and posted all four rounds in the 60s. Combine that with his current form (Top 25s in four of last five). Horschel should thrive on the Phoenix boisterous atmosphere. Look out.

Webb Simpson: Not much to say about Webb. He is swinging it well right now. Three Top 10s in his first four appearances this year. Webb will go super low in at least one round this week. If he can stay under 70 in the other three, he may just walk away as the winner.

Gary Woodland: Woodland has a spot in my heart because when I picked up fantasy golf a few years ago thanks to @jacobgaer, I didn’t know a thing, and was quickly attracted to Gary Woodland’s play style. He was apart of my all Under Armour team along with the likes of Hunter Mahan and Scott Stallings. I think Tommy Gainey might have even been Under Armour back then. Anyways, Woodland wasn’t actually good back then but he has since found his groove. He is now a legitimate contender week to week. Woodland’s length should help this week, and I expect to see him contending come Sunday.

Matt Every: What happens when great form meets great course history? Tune in this week and find out with Matt Every. Five of his eight career rounds here have been 68 or lower. Every likes to partake in a good party now and then, I suggest you join the party this week.

Bubba Watson: Watson put on quite the putting clinic last week. He was DFL in the field with -1.43 Strokes Gained Putting. That is always the issue with Bubba. This is another course that fits his play style, though. If he can find a way to make a few putts, a Top 10 is in the cards. That is a big ‘if’ though.

Hunter Mahan: Mahan made his 2014 debut last week. It was pretty mediocre, but he should be good to go now. Mahan should be safe this week, and he has a better winning pedigree than most of the field. Got to put him in your Top 5 this week.

Kevin Na: I’m finally climbing on the Kevin Na train. Na has four Top 5′s at this event in eight tries. Na has two Top 10 finishes this year already. If you can handle his slow play, Na should be worth his mediocre price tag on all sites this week.

Rory Sabbatini: This course should play into Sabbatini’s aggressive play style. Rory is always a high risk play because he finds himself pooping the bed quite often. He already has three finishes outside the Top 100 this season. He also has a couple Top 25s thrown in there, which is what you’re hoping to get if you take a risk with him this week.

Ben Crane: Hard to find anyone with better history here at TPC Scottsdale. Poor form is only thing holding him outside of the Top 10. He has finishes outside of the Top 60 in four of his five starts this year.

Spencer Levin: This is more of a gut feeling than anything. Levin has been teetering with mediocrity all year in his return from injury, but it feels like he is ready to have a great week. Levin was the 54 hole leader here back in 2012 so it wouldn’t be shocking if he strung together some nice rounds this week.

Brendon de Jonge: Hate what the big fella’ did last week to my DraftKings teams, but I’m not holding a grudge. Six of his last 10 rounds in Phoenix have been sub-68. Mr. de Young can go low.

Graham DeLaet: I said last week that is was one of those Top 10 weeks for DeLaet. This week will not be the same. This Canuck has one round in the 60s here in eight tries. That’s really awful since it usually take four rounds of sub-68 golf to win this tournament. I can’t see DeLaet magically discovering how to play this course. FADE.

Ian Poulter: See DeLaet, Graham. Poor course history. Poulter has some surprisingly high finishes here for how poorly he plays the course. Poults has one sub-68 round here in eight tries. He will need four of those if he wants to win. It is all mental with Poulter and I don’t want to try to figure out how is brain is working this week. FADE.

Ryan Moore: I don’t hate him this week, I actually like his chances this week. He is just too risky for me to fully support. His last four rounds here are sub-68, but he had five straight rounds of 70+ before that, including a 77, 78, and 79. He dropped just outside of my Top 25 due to the risk. I don’t want to risk having those 75+ rounds on any of my teams.

My Top 25 for the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open

1. Webb Simpson

2. Hunter Mahan

3. Gary Woodland

4. Keegan Bradley

5. Harris English

6. Billy Horschel

7. Bubba Watson

8. Chris Kirk

9. Matt Every

10. Kevin Na

11. Bill Haas

12. Charles Howell III

13. K.J. Choi

14. Rory Sabbatini

15. Brandt Snedeker

16. Brendon De Jonge

17. Pat Perez

18. Hideki Matsuyama

19. Rickie Fowler

20. Marc Leishman

21. Phil Mickelson

22. Nick Watney

23. Ben Crane

24. Lee Westwood

25. Bo Van Pelt

Fantasy Golf Contests

GolfLogix Fantasy Golf: Powered by the GolfRadar platform, this is an awesome free contest to enter. You have 100 coins to pick up to 10 golfers. You get more bonus points if your lower priced golfers do well. Winner gets a $100 gift card.

GolfWeek Fantasy Golf: Also powered by the GolfRadar Platform. Same rules as the GolfLogix contest above. Enter this contest as well for another chance at a $100 gift card.

DraftKings: The new kid on the block. Starting off strong, with a massive $50,000 contest this week. Salary-cap format. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try them out this week.

Fantasy Feud: The PGA Feud of Champions is live, and has $15,000 up for grabs. You must earn your seat into this tournament throughout the year. There are 40 seats up for grabs. Then there will be a four week tournament to decide who goes home with the $2,000 first place prize. Check it out for sure.

Fantasy Golf Tour: FGT is running their featured $12.50 contest. The $12.50 featured contest has a purse of $6,000 in prizes. Check it out.

DraftStreet: Draftstreet is one of the largest Daily Fantasy Sports sites, and offers the tightest salaries among the industry. If you want a true challenge, DraftStreet is a great site for you.

GolfZing: Free to enter, pick 7 players each week and earn points for every player that makes the cut. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers each week, along with 4 Quarterly Prizes and 1 Tour Champion. Plus earn 100 ZINGPOINTS! every time you play! Over $50,000 in prizes will be given away over the course of the season.

Pro Tour Fantasy Golf: A premium fantasy golf game consisting of 3 different formats including One & Done and Pick 3 each week. Contests start throughout the season lasting 24 to 32 weeks. Most league sizes limited to 100-125 teams with 1:5 chance of winning a cash prize.

DraftDay Fantasy Golf: DraftDay is another Daily Fantasy Sports site, and one of the few that actually offer PGA contests. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from $1 to $219.

FanThrowdown: FanThrowdown is another Daily Fantasy Sports site. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from 25 cents to $109. They even offer a weekly freeroll if you want to try it out.

Farmers Insurance Open Fantasy Preview

Last wednesday when making our weekly picks on GolfRadar, my girlfriend asked about Patrick Reed. She has a special spot in her heart for him because she picked him last year for his maiden win. He was 5 coins at the time on GolfRadar. Oh, how times change so quickly in golf. Reed and now a 20 coin golfer on GolfRadar, and he just put on a clinic last week at the Humana on his way to his second PGA Tour victory since changing from Nike to Callaway mid-season last year.

When asked about Reed, I told my girlfriend that his wife is pregnant so she won’t be caddying for him like usual, and I don’t know how that would affect him. Well, as we all know by now, Patrick Reed put on a dominant performance last week and my girlfriend hit me with this gem halfway through the tournament:

No wonder Patrick Reed is killin it. Wife’s not there nagging him all weekend.

During the winning press conference, Reed made it very clear that Callaway was a big reason for his success. That includes the massively overhyped return of the Big Bertha, known as the Alpha. The Big Bertha was all over Twitter for a week or two, including Phil Mickelson saying he finally found a driver he can hit the fairway with. That made me laugh. Everyone knows that there isn’t a driver in the world that would help Lefty hit the fairway consistently. So, while Reed claims it was the clubs, my girlfriend had the real reason why Patrick Reed dominated last week; his wife wasn’t on the bag to nag him the whole tournament.

Enough about Patrick Reed, onto this week where we have the Farmers Insurance Open. Also known as the Tiger Woods Open. Tiger has dominated here at Torrey Pines, winning the Farmers seven times and also winning the 2008 U.S. Open when it was staged at Torrey Pines South. Torrey Pines is the longest course on the PGA Tour, nearly 7,700 yards. I rarely tout Driving Distance as a key stat, but this is one of the few weeks were it is actually important.

Speaking of key stats, Par Breakers, Par 5 Scoring, and Adjusted Scoring are the three most important to look at this week, with Driving Distance a close fourth. Let’s have a look at who should compete this week:

Tiger Woods: This is Tiger’s tournament. He’s won here five of the last six times he’s teed it up at the Farmers. 6 of his last 10 rounds at the Farmers are in the 60s. The only bad thing about taking Tiger this week is that anything other than a win will be disappointing.

Brandt Snedeker: In a last minute change, I decided to use Summerhays as my One-and-Done last week instead of Sneds. I wanted to save Sneds for this week at the Farmers. Snedeker is a master at poa annua greens. That already gives him a huge leg up on the competition. Sneds has averaged 5.2 Par Breakers over his last 10 rounds at Torrey Pines. That leads the entire field. If his ball striking is on point, then he should be challenging Tiger this week.

Phil Mickelson: Lefty led the Tour in Par Breakers last year, one of the key stats this week. 7 of his last 10 rounds here are under par, but you have a 75 and a 77 thrown in there, in true Mickelson fashion. Phil finished 2nd last week in Abu Dhabi. Jet lag, anyone?

Graham DeLaet: This tournament requires distance. Graham has distance. DeLaet was one of the best, if not the best, with his long irons in 2013. That will certainly come in handy and DeLaet’s putting struggles will be neutralized this week as the rest of the field will be brought down to his level thanks to the poa annua greens. This is one of those Top 10 weeks for DeLaet.

Rickie Fowler: Fowler has been working with the infamous Butch Harmon to clean up his swing. He says he wants to be known for his golf game more than for what he wears. Sounds like he could be in for his best season yet. Torrey Pines is just an hour from where Rickie grew up. This would be a good place to get the momentum rollin’.

Ryo Ishikawa: Mr. Kawa has been playing solid golf as of late. Ishikawa has placed 26th or better in eight of his last 10 tournaments starting with the Frys.com Open in October. He even had three Top 10s prior to that (Web.com Events). Most of those fields were mediocre at best, but it should have Ryo’s confidence at an all-time high. I like Ryo to slide in for a Top 25 this week.

Hideki Matsuyama: Don’t forget about the other Asian protege, Matsuyama. It’s hard to trust him right now as he seemingly withdrawals last minute from every tournament. If he actually golfs, he should be a lock for a Top 25, as usual.

Keegan Bradley: Anytime you play a par 72 course, Par 5s are going to be key. That’s why Keegan Bradley should have a lot of success this week. Keegan led the Tour in Par 5 Scoring Average last year, was 11th in Driving Distance, 24th in Par Breakers, and 10th in Adjusted Scoring. I’d be very surprised if he finished outside the Top 25 this week.

Jonas Blixt: Jonas can really putt the lights out. He is also very streaky. Blixt has played 8 rounds here at Torrey, and has 4 or more Par Breakers in six of those eight rounds. That percentage is right up there with Tiger, Sneds, and Bubba. Those Par Breakers haven’t really translated to success yet as he only has one round in the 60s at Torrey, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Jonas got things to click this week.

Vijay Singh: All signs point to a good week for Vijay. He hasn’t finished outside of the Top 40 each of the last six times he’s played this tournament. The poa annua greens neutralize his terrible putting and puts the rest of the field on his level. Vijay is used to missing four or five footers, so it’s not frustrating for him. 7 of his last 10 rounds are under par here at Torrey. It’s still hard to pick Vijay because he always crashes and burns whenever I pick him. Definitely someone to consider though.

Jhonattan Vegas: Like Vijay, Vegas is quite risky but could really pay off in a salary cap game. Vegas rattled off six straight rounds in the 60s here at Torrey Pines which is unheard of. He has since regressed and his last four rounds are 70 or worse. You know those sub-70 rounds are in there, though. Will he unleash them this week? It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mr. Vegas near the top of the leaderboard.

K.J. Choi: I can’t say I’m happy about Choi almost making my Top 10, but I can’t find a reason to drop him any lower. He’s finished Top 30 each of the last three trips here, he has success at Zurich, which is a correlated tournament, and he’s had 4+ Par Breakers in 7 of his last 10 rounds at Torrey Pines.

Jimmy Walker: The hottest golfer in the world. At least up there with Kirk, ZJ, and English. This week he is paired with Tiger Woods for the first time in his career. Welcome to the big times, Jimmy. Read this article about when Tiger asked Walker to play through during a practice round. It’s safe to say, Walker thinks very highly of Tiger, and will likely have a lot of nerves. It may not affect him, but I don’t want to take a chance. I’m fading Walker this week.

Victor Dubuisson: This is a guy I am interested in this week. I won’t be picking him anywhere, but I want to see how he does in a PGA Tour field. This 23 year old frenchman has climbed to 32nd in the World Rankings and has six Top 25s in his last eight tournaments. That includes a win at the Turkish Airlines Open where he beat out Justin Rose, Tiger Woods, and Henrik Stenson.

My Top 25 for the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open

1. Tiger Woods

2. Bubba Watson

3. Keegan Bradley

4. Hunter Mahan

5. Brandt Snedeker

6. Phil Mickelson

7. Nick Watney

8. Bill Haas

9. Rickie Fowler

10. Jason Day

11. Jimmy Walker

12. K.J. Choi

13. Charles Howell III

14. Graham DeLaet

15. Charley Hoffman

16. Lee Westwood

17. Vijay Singh

18. Jordan Spieth

19. Ian Poulter

20. Marc Leishman

21. Camilo Villegas

22. Brendon de Jonge

23. Hideki Matsuyama

24. Ryo Ishikawa

25. Jonas Blixt

Fantasy Golf Contests

GolfLogix Fantasy Golf: Powered by the GolfRadar platform, this is an awesome free contest to enter. You have 100 coins to pick up to 10 golfers. You get more bonus points if your lower priced golfers do well. Winner gets a $100 gift card.

GolfWeek Fantasy Golf: Also powered by the GolfRadar Platform. Same rules as the GolfLogix contest above. Enter this contest as well for another chance at a $100 gift card.

DraftKings: The new kid on the block. Starting off strong, with a massive $50,000 contest this week. Salary-cap format. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try them out this week.

Fantasy Golf Tour: FGT has two free contests and a featured $12.50 contest. The $12.50 featured contest has a purse of $6,000 in prizes. Check it out.

DraftStreet: Draftstreet is one of the largest Daily Fantasy Sports sites, and offers the tightest salaries among the industry. If you want a true challenge, DraftStreet is a great site for you.

GolfZing: Free to enter, pick 7 players each week and earn points for every player that makes the cut. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers each week, along with 4 Quarterly Prizes and 1 Tour Champion. Plus earn 100 ZINGPOINTS! every time you play! Over $50,000 in prizes will be given away over the course of the season.

Pro Tour Fantasy Golf: A premium fantasy golf game consisting of 3 different formats including One & Done and Pick 3 each week. Contests start throughout the season lasting 24 to 32 weeks. Most league sizes limited to 100-125 teams with 1:5 chance of winning a cash prize.

DraftDay Fantasy Golf: DraftDay is another Daily Fantasy Sports site, and one of the few that actually offer PGA contests. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from $1 to $219.

FanThrowdown: FanThrowdown is another Daily Fantasy Sports site. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from 25 cents to $109. They even offer a weekly freeroll if you want to try it out.

ClickitGolf: Another free one to enter. Just like a one-and-done league. You pick one player per week and can’t reuse them all season. They gave away weekly gift cards last year, so I assume it will be similar this year.

Fantasy Feud: The Feud is back, and they’ve made a big announcement in their return. The PGA Feud of Champions is live, and has $15,000 up for grabs. You must earn your seat into this tournament throughout the year. There are 40 seats up for grabs. Then there will be a four week tournament to decide who goes home with the $2,000 first place prize. Check it out for sure.

DraftKings PGA Scoring Breakdown

By now you have heard the news. DraftKings has unleashed their Golf product, and they came in like a wrecking ball while doing it. They aren’t just testing this out with a couple mediocre contests. DraftKings came at us hard with a $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool contest. That’s not all though, they also have a $10,000 GPP in addition to a $3,000 GPP for all the $2 Balla’s out there.

The first thing we must do when a new site offers golf is to check out their scoring rules. Fantasy PGA doesn’t really have an industry standard when it comes to scoring, or anywhere close to an industry standard for that matter. Take NBA for example. You can guarantee any site will give you points for rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, etc. However, there are no givens when it comes to Fantasy PGA scoring. Some sites just give you points based on the final standings, some sites give you points for birdies/pars/bogeys/etc, and some sites base their scoring on your teams total strokes under par much like real golf. So let’s take a look at DraftKings scoring and talk about what it all means.

DraftKings PGA Scoring

The first part of DraftKings scoring is their Per-Hole Scoring. Each golfer will earn fantasy points based on their score on each hole. As you can see from the chart on the right, this scoring really encourages going low. Birdies and Eagles are weighted much more heavily than Pars or any negative outcome holes.

This means Par Breakers are your friend at DraftKings. I’m talking best friend. As you can see from that link, Phil Mickelson led the PGA Tour in Par Breakers last season, Tiger Woods was 3rd, and Brandt Snedeker was 6th. You want as many of these guys in your lineup as you can fit.

The second part of DraftKings scoring is Tournament Finish Scoring. Each golfer that finishes in the Top 50 will earn a bonus for their respective finishing place. 1st Place gets an extra 30 Points when all is said and done. 2nd Place = 20 Point Bonus, 3rd Place = 18 Pts, and then the bonus gradually decreases. Click Here for the full Bonus Chart. This makes the scoring quite top heavy, and puts an emphasis on getting as many guys in the Top 50 as you can.

The last part of the DraftKings PGA Scoring equation is the Streaks and Bonuses. These are extra bonuses your golfers can earn for individual achievements in a round, or over the course of the tournament.

Streak of 3 Birdies or Better: You will be surprised how little your golfers earn this streak bonus this week at Torrey Pines. Last week at the Humana would be a different story. To put it in perspective, Tiger Woods won this tournament last year at 14-under par. He did not have a streak of 3 Par Breakers the entire tournament.

Bogey Free Round: This is another bonus that won’t be commonplace this week at Torrey Pines. If you shoot for players that are consistent, you might get one or two Bogey Free Rounds out of them this week.

All 4 Rounds Under 70 Strokes: In some weeks this will be common, but not this week. When the course is tough, and the par is 72, getting four rounds in the 60s in going to be tough. I had to go back to 2011 Farmers to find the first instance of this (Phil Mickelson, 2011). It might have been better if DraftKings had made this All 4 Rounds Under Par since the courses change from week to week. Although, there is something sexy about a round in the 60s, so I won’t complain about how it is.

Hole in One: I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of this bonus because it is all luck. Anyone that has played golf knows that getting a hole in one is mostly luck. Golf Digest suggests that the odds for a PGA Tour player to get a hole-in-one are something like 3,000 to 1. Sometimes those happen in practice rounds, sometimes they happen in rounds with their friends. There is no way to handicap or predict this bonus. The good news is that it won’t have a huge effect on the scoring because it rarely happens. There is probably less than one Hole-in-one per PGA Tournament. There is also a good chance it comes from a golfer nobody has even heard of.

Picking a Roster

Now that we’ve reviewed the Scoring Rules, what kind of players do we want to pick? First and foremost, you want to pick the winner. Duh! Over the last three years at Torrey Pines, the winner has averaged 125.5 DraftKings Points. Average points for 2nd and 3rd place are 103.63 points and 102.83 points, respectively. That’s a 20 points drop off, so pick the winner!

If you can’t pick the winner, at least pick the streaky guys. Par Breakers are huge, so that is a good place to start. More importantly, look at Course History. It’s not surprising that the Scoring Average leaders over the past five years at Torrey Pines are Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, Rickie Fowler, and Tiger Woods. What is surprising is golfers like Ben Crane, Lucas Glover, D.A. Points, and Aaron Baddeley are right behind them. You’re going to need at least one off the radar pick if you want to win the huge GPPs.

Last, but probably most important, pick guys that make the cut. While you do want ‘streaky’ players, it is important that these streaky players aren’t so streaky that they miss the cut. Having a player on your roster that misses the cut is going to be devastating with DraftKings cumulative scoring. While your golfer with a missed cut is sitting out round three and four (earning 0 fantasy points), even the mediocre golfers will be earning 10+ fantasy points per round.

Set a target score. The greatest thing I have learned from the smart people over at RotoGrinders is to set a target score and search for value. I did some quick calculations and determined that 500 is a good target score. With a salary of $50,000 to work with, that means each golfer needs to earn 10 times his salary. For example, Tiger Woods’ salary is 11,200 this week. Take 11.2 x 10 and that equals 112. You need Tiger to win in order to make value. Thinking about someone with the salary of $8,000? They would need to finish in the Top 10 to make value. How about that very last guy on the list, Wes Roach at $5,000. If he makes the cut, then he makes value. This is all based on the assumptions below:

Winner = 125 DraftKings Points

Top 3 = 100 DraftKings Points

Top 5 = 90 DraftKings Points

Top 10 = 80 DraftKings Points

Top 25 = 70 DraftKings Points

Top 50 = 60 DraftKings Points

Good luck and happy golfing. Enter DraftKings Contests Now.

DraftKings announces PGA Contests

DraftKings just made a huge announcement! This announcement is great for the Daily Fantasy Sports world, and amazing for fantasy golf enthusiasts. They are now offering PGA Contests! Buy-ins range from $1 all the way up to $5,000. You can play Head-to-Head or you can play against a field of 1,700 people. There are a lot of options, folks.

They currently offer three featured contests (shown above). If you got the cash, $200 entry will get you into the big dog. 280 entries will be allowed in this, top 55 get paid, winner will take home $7,500. DraftKings is also offering some lower-price contests such as the $20 entry, Medium Scramble as well as the $2 entry, Mini-Scramble. Winners of these two contests will take home $2,000 and $450, respectively.

This is huge news for the fantasy golf world, so be sure to enter this week. I can almost guarantee you there will be overlay this week, which means free money. Check back here tomorrow as I will break down the DraftKings PGA scoring format as well as the DraftKings salaries this week for the Farmers Insurance Open.

Humana Challenge Fantasy Preview

Here we are, back on the mainland. It was fun while it lasted in Hawaii but you can’t play the entire season in Hawaii. Jimmy Walker took home the bacon last week as he continued his torrid form in 2014. This week we head to La Quinta, California where the players will tee off at the Humana Challenge.

This is a unique tournament for many reasons. First, there is a three day Pro-Am. These pros will be golfing with amateurs and/or celebrities throughout the tournament. This adds an entirely different feel to it already. Then throw in the fact they play on a three course rotation, Thursday through Saturday. I don’t say this often, but this tournament is kind of a crapshoot. In fact, take a look at the average statistical profile of the champions here since 2007:

82nd in Driving Distance, 97th in Driving Accuracy, 100th in Greens in Regulation, 96th in Strokes Gained Putting, 74th in Birdie Percentage, 116th in Bogey Avoidance, 86th in Par 3 Scoring, 104th in Par 4 Scoring, 60th in Par 50 Scoring, 105th in Scrambling, 91st in Adjusted Scoring, 32 years old.

In case you can’t notice, those stats are pretty awful. People will often say shootout like this come down to a putting contest. However, that doesn’t mean great putters will necessarily win. That is a common misconception. Four of the last six winners were outside the Top 100 in Strokes Gained Putting the respective years they won here at Humana. With easy courses like this, you can put yourself in position for a lot of birdies without even having to make the tough putts. Ball Striking will be just as important as putting this week.

La Quinta is Key!!

All three course here at PGA West are super easy by PGA Tour standards. However, I dug a little deeper and found out the key to success here at Humana. The first thing to know is that everyone plays good on the Nicklaus course. It might be the easiest course on Tour. If you’re in daily leagues, you want to make sure you start anyone playing the Nicklaus course. The second, and most important, is La Quinta CC. During the last two years, golfers that finished in the Top 10 averaged 66.45 on this course. Pretty damn good considering golfers that missed the cut by one stroke averaged 70.89 per round at La Quinta CC. Thats more than a four stroke difference, and is a much more noticeable difference than the other two courses.

Need more evidence that La Quinta is key? Eight of the last nine winners have shot 68 or better at La Quinta on their way to winning. Charley Hoffman was the only outlier, as he shot 70 at La Quinta CC back in 2007. I am going to focus my attention on La Quinta course history this week to hopefully make this less of a crapshoot. Let’s use this information to see who should be on our radar this week:

Brandt Snedeker: I’m going to lead off with my heavy hitter this week. Sneds is going to be my workhorse in all contests this week and most likely my One-and-Done pick as well. It’s funny because I had Sneds penciled in at the Farmers where he has historically owned that tournament. New plan though, as he will likely have low ownership this week due to that same fact. Take a look at Sneds’ last four on La Quinta CC: 67-66-70-66. That’s what I like to see.

Zach Johnson: Same advice as last week, use him while he’s hot. This will be his third week in a row playing which can sometimes take a toll on a player physically but more importantly, mentally. ZJ on LaQuinta CC: 66-65, yum.

Harris English: I’ve become a big fan of English as an up-and-comer on the Tour, but I am saying AVOID this week. For whatever reason, English likes to schedule long stretches where he plays week after week. If we look at last year, there were seven tournaments where English was playing for at least the third consecutive week, he didn’t finish Top 50 in any of those tournaments. He finished Top 50 in 12 of the other 19 tournaments on his schedule including eight Top 25s. It’s hard to stay focused week after week. There is a reason why veterans like Tiger and Stricker have a very limited schedule. It’s quality, not quantity. English will learn over time.

Stephen Ames: Old man alert! This is a true horse for the course. Check out Ames’ finishes at Humana: 37th – 22nd – 33rd – 5th – 44th – 41st – 20th. If you’re in a salary-cap game, take a look at Mr. Ames this week.

Kevin Chappell: With rounds of 68-65-69, Chappell knows how to play La Quinta CC. That is enough to skyrocket him in my rankings. Plus he can go low. Remember last year when he pulled a 9 or 10 under out of nowhere? Keep Chappell towards the top of your lists this week.

Robert Garrigus: Garrigus gets the Horse for the Course icon by his name this week, just like Tim Clark did last week. That led to a withdrawal by Timmy. Hopefully the same doesn’t happen to Garrigus this week. Garrigus has four Top 20s in five attempts here. His last two rounds at La Quinta CC have been 67 and 64. Barring an injury, Garry Gus should be in the Top 25 this week.

John Senden: Look out for my darkhorse this week, John Senden. Senden has four career Top 10s here and has gone sub-70 at La Quinta CC each of his last five rounds there. Senden had a rough 2013 but is looking to bounce back in 2014. He finished 4th at The McGladrey and followed that up three weeks later with a 3rd place finish at the Australian Open, finishing behind only Rory and Adam Scott.

Jason Kokrak: Kokrak is in a very similar situation as Brian Stuard last week. Both have been playing good golf this year and have good (but limited) course history. Kokrak finished 8th here last year, missed the cut the following year, but that was largely due to a third round of 78. Six of his seven rounds here have been sub-70 and more importantly his rounds at La Quinta CC have been 63 and 66. Look for Kokrak to hang around the top all week.

Matt Jones: Jones did big things in 2013 and is really on the verge of having a great 2014, in my opinion. Jones has never finished outside of the Top 30 in four attempts here, and that was back when he was a mediocre golfer. 12 of his last 14 rounds at Humana are sub-70 rounds. He’s taken his game to a whole new level, and we might finally see a win out of Jones this week.

Keegan Bradley: Keegan has only played here once and that was back in 2011. That was when it was a five day extravaganza but Bradley finished 7th. Keegan should do really well on courses like this where it really benefits to play the Par 5′s well. In 2013, Keegan was 1st in Par 5 Scoring Average. Definitely someone to keep an eye on, but I prefer someone with more proven course history, so I’ll pass this week.

Bill Haas: Talk about deep tournament history. Haas has five Top 25s in nine attempts, but the tournament has changed quite a bit of the years. There must be something about the latest changes that don’t tickle Haas’ fancy. Five of his last seven rounds at Humana are 70 or worse and only two of his last five rounds at La Quinta CC are sub-69. It wouldn’t be surprising if Haas won this event again, but he has certainly been trending in the wrong direction the last few years.

Charles Howell III: Howell and I have never really gotten along. He likes to do well when I don’t pick him and underperform when I do. Now that I’ve wasted him in my One-and-Done, look for Howell to go on and win this week. He did lose in a Playoff here last year and is in great form right now (8-7-6-27-7-5). So he’s got what it takes to do it again.

My Top 25 for the 2014 Sony Open

1. Brandt Snedeker

2. Webb Simpson

3. Charles Howell III

4. Zach Johnson

5. Robert Garrigus

6. Bill Haas

7. John Senden

8. Kevin Chappell

9. Jason Kokrak

10. Keegan Bradley

11. Matt Jones

12. Ryan Palmer

13. Kevin Stadler

14. Bryce Molder

15. Billy Horschel

16. Charley Hoffman

17. Stephen Ames

18. Brendon De Jonge

19. Daniel Summerhays

20. Rickie Fowler

21. Harris English

22. Justin Leonard

23. Stewart Cink

24. Brian Gay

25. Pat Perez

Fantasy Golf Contests

GolfLogix Fantasy Golf: Powered by the GolfRadar platform, this is an awesome free contest to enter. You have 100 coins to pick up to 10 golfers. You get more bonus points if your lower priced golfers do well. Winner gets a $100 gift card.

GolfWeek Fantasy Golf: Also powered by the GolfRadar Platform. Same rules as the GolfLogix contest above. Enter this contest as well for another chance at a $100 gift card.

Fantasy Golf Tour: FGT has two free contests and a featured $12.50 contest. The $12.50 featured contest has a purse of $6,000 in prizes. Check it out.

DraftStreet: Draftstreet is one of the largest Daily Fantasy Sports sites, and offers the tightest salaries among the industry. If you want a true challenge, DraftStreet is a great site for you.

GolfZing: Free to enter, pick 7 players each week and earn points for every player that makes the cut. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers each week, along with 4 Quarterly Prizes and 1 Tour Champion. Plus earn 100 ZINGPOINTS! every time you play! Over $50,000 in prizes will be given away over the course of the season.

DraftDay Fantasy Golf: DraftDay is another Daily Fantasy Sports site, and one of the few that actually offer PGA contests. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from $1 to $219.

FanThrowdown: FanThrowdown is another Daily Fantasy Sports site. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from 25 cents to $109. They even offer a weekly freeroll if you want to try it out.

ClickitGolf: Another free one to enter. Just like a one-and-done league. You pick one player per week and can’t reuse them all season. They gave away weekly gift cards last year, so I assume it will be similar this year.

Fantasy Feud: The Feud is back, and they’ve made a big announcement in their return. The PGA Feud of Champions is live, and has $15,000 up for grabs. You must earn your seat into this tournament throughout the year. There are 40 seats up for grabs. Then there will be a four week tournament to decide who goes home with the $2,000 first place prize. Check it out for sure.

Sony Open Fantasy Preview

Week number one is in the books for the 2014 PGA Tour season. Zach Johnson beat out Jordan Spieth to secure his 10th PGA Tour win. Oh wait, the season started way back in the Fall. Nevermind that, this is still week number two in my eyes. The golfers will stay in Hawaii for the Sony Open, but will be joined by a much larger field than last week.

The course this week is Waialae Country Club. A 7,000 yard par 70 course. Just a little guy, distance is not key this week. The defending champion is Russell Henley. Henley put on a clinic as a rookie last year on his way to setting records with a 24-under par winning total. Previous winners before that include Johnson Wagner (-13), Mark Wilson (-16), Ryan Palmer (-15), Zach Johnson (-15), and K.J. Choi (-14) to name a few. As you can see, most of the winning scores are hovering around 15-under par.

Correlated Tournaments/Courses include Farmers Insurance, Hyundai ToC, John Deere Classic, Pebble Beach, and The Humana Challenge.

This is particularly useful for youngsters like Jordan Spieth. He doesn’t have any Sony Open history but he won the John Deere Classic last year and finished second last week at the Tournament of Champions. Two tournaments that correlate nicely. That should bode well for his success this week at the Sony Open. Let’s take a look at some more options you should consider this week at the Sony Open.

Zach Johnson: If you want to ride the hot hand, I can’t blame you. He’s been swinging a hot club since the final months of the 2013 season. However, you can’t ignore the pressures of coming off a victory on the PGA Tour. I took a look at all of ZJ’s previous victories and how he did the following week. His best finish following a victory was a 6th place finish in the 2007 Heritage. Like a majority of golfers, he’s never won back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour. His average finish following a win is 27th place plus one withdrawal. If we’re looking at salary-cap formats, he is too expensive on most sites. If we are talking one-and-done, there are at least two other tournaments I’d rather save him for. A solid finish is likely this week, he is just a little overvalued for my tastes.

Charles Howell III: Mr. Howell had one of his best seasons statistically last year but doesn’t have any wins to show for it. Chris Kirk and Jimmy Walker are two golfers that played too good not to have a win in 2013. They both cemented victories in the Fall Series, and now it is Howell’s turn. Look for Howell to be near the top this week as this is a short course. The kind of course that is very manageable for Charles. Yeah, Charles and I are on a first name basis, now. With four Top 5′s here in the last five years, a win wouldn’t be too shocking this week.

Tim Clark: Clark is our leading horse for the course. His last four trips here have resulted in finishes of 2nd place, 2nd place, 25th place, and 12th place. Just like Howell, Clark is a golfer that loves to take advantage of short courses.

Chris Kirk: Kirk is someone you can’t ignore right now. His 2014 season has started off with finishes of 36th, 25th, 1st, and 16th. Kirk has finished inside the Top 40 all three times he’s played Waialae including a 5th place finish last year. Good Course History + Good Form = Success.

Ben Martin: If you want an off the board pick that could hit, look at Ben Martin. This fellow had 13 Top 25′s on the Web.com Tour last year and looks to be settling in on the PGA Tour. In four starts this year he has a 16th place finish, a 31st place finish and just barely missed the cut at the McGladrey. While risky, Martin is certainly someone to keep an eye on this year.

Marc Leishman: This Aussie must like being closer to home as his record at Waialae is pretty stellar. In four starts, he’s never finished worse than 27th and has a scoring average of 67.88 in those 16 rounds. There aren’t many occasions when I actually recommend Leishman, but I definitely like him this week.

Cameron Tringale: Okay, this is a guy you should AVOID. I had to include him because of his awful course history here and how laughable it is. His last four stops at the Sony Open have been 119th, 117th, 119th, 81st. You have to applaud his effort to keep trying, but that is embarrassingly bad.

My Top 25 for the 2014 Sony Open

1. Charles Howell III

2. Jordan Spieth

3. Chris Kirk

4. Zach Johnson

5. Matt Kuchar

6. Adam Scott

7. Tim Clark

8. Brian Gay

9. Harris English

10. Russell Henley

11. Hideki Matsuyama

12. Marc Leishman

13. Rory Sabbatini

14. Jerry Kelly

15. Brian Stuard

16. Boo Weekley

17. Jimmy Walker

18. John Rollins

19. Jason Dufner

20. Brendon De Jonge

21. John Huh

22. Spencer Levin

23. Pat Perez

24. K.J. Choi

25. Scott Brown

Fantasy Golf Contests

GolfLogix Fantasy Golf: Powered by the GolfRadar platform, this is an awesome free contest to enter. You have 100 coins to pick up to 10 golfers. You get more bonus points if your lower priced golfers do well. Winner gets a $100 gift card.

GolfWeek Fantasy Golf: Also powered by the GolfRadar Platform. Same rules as the GolfLogix contest above. Enter this contest as well for another chance at a $100 gift card.

Fantasy Golf Tour: FGT likes to switch it up. No free contest this week but they do have their $12.50 featured contests with $6,000 in prizes. Check it out and keep your eyes peeled for their freebie in the coming weeks.

DraftStreet: Draftstreet is one of the largest Daily Fantasy Sports sites, and offers the tightest salaries among the industry. If you want a true challenge, DraftStreet is a great site for you.

GolfZing: Free to enter, pick 7 players each week and earn points for every player that makes the cut. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers each week, along with 4 Quarterly Prizes and 1 Tour Champion. Plus earn 100 ZINGPOINTS! every time you play! Over $50,000 in prizes will be given away over the course of the season.

DraftDay Fantasy Golf: DraftDay is another Daily Fantasy Sports site, and one of the few that actually offer PGA contests. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from $1 to $219.

FanThrowdown: FanThrowdown is another Daily Fantasy Sports site. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from 25 cents to $109. They even offer a weekly freeroll if you want to try it out.

ClickitGolf: Another free one to enter. Just like a one-and-done league. You pick one player per week and can’t reuse them all season. They gave away weekly gift cards last year, so I assume it will be similar this year.

Hyundai Tournament of Champions Fantasy Preview

The PGA Tour is back this week and it kicks off in Hawaii. The field is kept to a very manageable 30 golfers, and they are unique because they all won at least once on the PGA Tour last year. That is why it is called the Tournament of Champions, duh.

This small field of 30 is teeing it up at the Plantation Course at Kapalua. This course sits at 7,411 yards and is a Par 73. Hold up, did you just say Par 73? Yeah, that’s a little weird. Anyways, Dustin Johnson is our defending champion to look at. Prior to winning last year, Johnson finished 9th, 16th, and 11th in his previous three attempts at the ToC.

Something new I am incorporating this year is Correlated Courses. The five courses that are most correlated with Kapalua are Montreux (Reno-Tahoe), The Old White TPC (Greenbrier), Innisbrook (Valspar), Sedgefield (Wyndham), and Muirfield Village (The Memorial). This really comes in handy because it increases the course history sample size. Enough about the size of the sample, let’s talk winners.

Matt Kuchar: Kooch is my man this week. He has played this Tournament of Champions event three times and hasn’t finished outside the Top 10. If we check our handy new capping device of Correlated Courses, we see that Kuchar is pretty remarkable at Innisbrook and Muirfield Village, as well. This makes Kuchar my favorite this week, by a pretty large margin.

Adam Scott: Since it’s a new tool for me, I am going to stick with the new correlated courses theme. Adam Scott is very mediocre in the two correlated courses he has played at more than once (Innisbrook and Muirfield Village). He has also finished 21st and 18th the last two times playing here. He is still Adam Scott after all, and considering how many first timers there are in this event, you should still expect a Top 10 finish.

Martin Laird: Laird is a funny case. He is ranked 57th in the World currently and has three career PGA Tour wins. That is fun. However, he was 139th in Par Breakers last season. 121st in All-Around Ranking, 149th in Par 4 Performance. None of that is fun. You don’t know which Laird you are going to get. But wait, there is more good news when you look at course history. Laird has finished Top 5 both times he’s played here at Kapalua. He also loves playing Montreux, which is the most correlated course. If you want an outside shot at a winner, Laird is your man.

First Time Winners: This is a very unique tournament. You have to win to get a chance to play in it. There are only 29 other golfers to compete with. It takes place in the beautiful vacation spot of Maui. It would be easy for first timers to get complacent and treat this more like a vacation than a regular PGA Tournament. The list of first time winners is rather large this year. 13 of them will be competing this week: Russell Henley, John Merrick, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Harris English, Michael Thompson, Kevin Streelman, Billy Horschel, Scott Brown, Derek Ernst, Sang-Moon Bae, Ken Duke, and Jimmy Walker. This list includes some great up-and-comers (Spieth, English, Reed) and also some of the hottest golfers on the planet (Walker, English). You just never know how they are going to react to this unique winners-only tournament, and that is why I will be going with golfers that have been here before.

My Top 20 for the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions

1. Matt Kuchar

2. Webb Simpson

3. Bill Haas

4. Zach Johnson

5. Billy Horschel

6. Dustin Johnson

7. Brandt Snedeker

8. Adam Scott

9. Martin Laird

10. Patrick Reed

11. Jordan Spieth

12. Jason Dufner

13. Kevin Streelman

14. Harris English

15. Gary Woodland

16. Ryan Moore

17. Jimmy Walker

18. Chris Kirk

19. D.A. Points

20. Russell Henley

Fantasy Golf Contests

GolfLogix Fantasy Golf: Powered by the GolfRadar platform, this is an awesome free contest to enter. You have 100 coins to pick up to 10 golfers. You get more bonus points if your lower priced golfers do well. Winner gets a $100 gift card.

Fantasy Golf Tour: They are running their free contest this week. You can enter up to seven different lineups, or just one if you know the winning picks. $1,000 in prizes up for grabs with the winner taking $225 home.

DraftStreet: Draftstreet is one of the largest Daily Fantasy Sports sites, and offers the tightest salaries among the industry. If you want a true challenge, DraftStreet is a great site for you.

GolfZing: Free to enter, pick 7 players each week and earn points for every player that makes the cut. Prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers each week, along with 4 Quarterly Prizes and 1 Tour Champion. Plus earn 100 ZINGPOINTS! every time you play! Over $50,000 in prizes will be given away over the course of the season.

DraftDay Fantasy Golf: DraftDay is another Daily Fantasy Sports site, and one of the few that actually offer PGA contests. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from $1 to $219.

FanThrowdown: FanThrowdown is another Daily Fantasy Sports site. It is salary-cap format. Buy-in ranges from 25 cents to $109. They even offer a weekly freeroll if you want to try it out.

ClickitGolf: Just like a one-and-done league. You pick one player per week and can’t reuse them all season. They gave away weekly gift cards last year, so I assume it will be similar this year.

Draftstreet NBA Qualifier Plays – December 27th

The 12th DraftStreet Basketball Championship Qualifier is taking place tonight. The good news for all you low-rollers out there is that the buy-in is only $22. Give yourself a late Christmas gift by turning $22 into $100,000. Sounds like a good plan to me. 11 of the 30 spots have been filled, so make sure you get your seat tonight.

Suggested Plays

Trey Burke ($10,526) – The sky is the limit for a player like Trey Burke. That makes him perfect for a Qualifier like this. The matchup doesn’t get any juicier than a Point Guard facing the Lakers. They don’t really play defense which could translate to one of those Triple Double alert nights for Burke.

Gordon Hayward ($14,080) – The price tag on Hayward is relatively cheap for a player that just posted 47.75 DraftStreet points in his last matchup. Now he faces the defenseless Lakers squad. Look for Hayward to easily eclipse 30 Draftstreet Points tonight.

Andray Blatche ($9,203) – This is a really scary play, but one that just might win you a GPP or qualifier. Blatche has been horrendous lately. He has 21 or less DraftStreet Points in each of his previous four games. Milwaukee is one of the worst teams against bigs, and Blatche has monster game potential in him. He has a fair share of 30+ DraftStreet Points performances this year. It would not surprise me if this is another one of those nights. Very risky indeed, though.

Anthony Davis ($18,249) – It’s tempting to go with Kevin Love as the stud of the night. Especially after love dropped 70+ DraftStreet Points in his last game. However, I think Davis is ready to have a monster game against the Nuggets, who can’t really guard any big men. Add in Faried’s questionable status, and the rebounds should come rather easy.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($9,551) – Alphabet has been one of the few bright spots for the Bucks this season. Four of his last five games have resulted in 20+ Draftstreet Points, and he is somehow getting consistent minutes. At this salary, 20+ DS Points is really all you need.

Join Now: $22 Draftstreet Qualifier