The 2016 Rio Olympics resulted in the final major of the season being bumped up to just two weeks after The Open Championship. The very best in the world will gather at the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey for the PGA Championship this week. 97 of the top 100 players in the world will compete and we took the time to break down the numbers in order to figure out the best combination of star talent and strong value options for this week’s fantasy action. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for this week’s DraftKings PGA Championship fantasy tournaments.
Jason Day, $11,700
Day rallied with a five-under score in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open to finish tied for 14th and his form was good enough for us to trust him heading in to this week’s major tournament. Day just missed a top-20 finish two weeks ago at Royal Troon but he dominated last year’s PGA Championship and he had finished in the top-10 at five-straight majors before finishing 22nd at The Open Championship. Day is the most expensive golfer on the DraftKings board for a reason but we won’t let the price point scare us away from locking him in this week.
Dustin Johnson, $11,600
No other player in the world is performing at a higher level than D.J. right now and his incredible consistency is the biggest reason why we will lock him in as our second pick. Johnson followed up back-to-back victories at the U.S. Open and WFGC-Bridgestone Invitational with another top-10 finish at The Open Championship and then a runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian Open last week. Johnson has finished in the top-10 in six of the last seven major championships and there is every reason to believe he will be in the mix again this weekend at Baltusrol.
Patrick Reed, $8,100
Reed has flown under the radar somewhat this season but he has quietly put together an excellent year with nine top-10 finishes in 21 events on the PGA Tour. He just missed out on another when he finished tied for 12th at The Open Championship and there is every reason to believe he can contend again at the PGA Championship this week. He hasn’t put up good numbers in his last two trips to this event but we are banking on the third time being the charm with Reed available at a very reasonable price.
Jhonattan Vegas, $6,500
A win at the RBC Canadian Open last weekend means Vegas will be playing with confidence when he arrives at Baltusrol and at $6.5K he appears to be an excellent value pick for this event. Vegas finished 51st in his first appearance at the PGA Championship a year ago but a lot has changed since then and if he can build upon the experience he should deliver a strong performance this week.
Andy Sullivan, $6,100
After pairing the two highest-priced players on the board at the top of our lineup and then following them up with another player at over $8K in Reed, we have no choice but to take a couple of fliers on lower priced options that we feel have considerable upside. Sullivan is one of those players as the Englishman looks for his seventh straight top-25 finish. Sullivan finished tied for 12th at The Open Championship two weeks ago and we will gladly welcome a similar result at the PGA.
Brendan Steele, $6,000
Steele is another strong sleeper option to play at the bottom of our lineup this week as his raw numbers suggest he could deliver a strong performance at the PGA Championship. Steele ranks 17th in Driving Distance and 13th in strokes gained off the tee this season and his big driver should work to his advantage at Baltusrol. Steele has finished in the top20 in five of his last eight starts including tying for 15th at the Open Championship so don’t be shy to roll the dice on him once again at the PGA Championship this week. We don’t need him to win the tournament; we just need him to make the cut and have a respectable showing.
