Tour News
DraftKings Fantasy Preview: The Players Championship
It’s Players Championship time!
This is a big event with a fantastic field, and DraftKings has taken notice.
In addition to the usual $100,000 prize pool contest (first place receiving $10,000) at a $3 entry fee, DraftKings has on tap a $20 entry fee game with a $150,000 prize pool and a $20,000 first prize along with a $300,000 prize pool and $50,000 first price if you submit $100.
Big potential for sure, but if you’re still only comfortable splurging that $3 buy-in, that still leaves you open to a potentially large payout with the top 7,850 positions all earning cash. And remember, if you enter the $3 contest through the link below and beat my top lineup’s score, you get your money back!
Anyway, onto my analysis…
The Course
This Pete Dye track makes a player think, with numerous tee shots that portend trouble if the ball wobbles too far offline. There’s no reprieve on the approach game either, as misses in the wrong spots can drastically increase the chances of bogey.
TPC Sawgrass’ reputation speaks to that of a worthy champion. Most people, including Rory, have claimed that the layout doesn’t suit anyone’s game in particular, an argument for an all-around player. But a few have given Sawgrass the “ball-striker’s paradise” moniker as well.
As the tee shot danger would imply, driving accuracy has also garnered much value when analysts, like Brandel Chamblee, break down TPC Sawgrass.
Did my recent five-year sample of the top-10 finishers at the Players concur with all this?
For maybe the second time since I started doing this feature, yes, the assumptions were mainly correct.
Harking back to the more popular, Rory-backed theory, that vision of Sawgrass has plenty of traction. In my five-year sample, there was a very small disparity between driving, approach play, short game and putting. All proved important to competing well at TPC Sawgrass at very similar levels.
Still, there was a tiny separation. Driving was paramount, with approach play a close second, short game a close third and putting a close last. Therefore, the player that profiles best in this aspect is most important of the all-around sort, and to a lesser extent one that tends to be strongest in ball-striking.
Length nor ball flight came out too significant from this group, although longer, high-ball hitters are slightly more advantaged than the norm. Driving accuracy held significant sway in facilitating a top-10, but I do think it is overrated at TPC Sawgrass.
In the five-year set, I found 12 contenders that would be classified as wild drivers. I would definitely still lean toward a precise golfer off the tee, but don’t go all in on that front.
Six-Man Roster (Last time: 343.5 points, 28422nd of 36800)
- Justin Rose, $10,500
- Bubba Watson, $9,200
- Lee Westwood, $8,400
- Charley Hoffman, $7,400
- Chris Kirk, $6,700
- Kevin Chappell, $6,400
Rose has just played too well of late and has too sound a game for this course (excellent all-around player especially in ball-striking categories) for me to avoid him. He finished T4 last year at Sawgrass as well.
I think Watson is a huge steal this week, and it’s sort of confusing why exactly he’s this low. He’s played just one bad tournament (the Masters) the whole year and while his record at Sawgrass isn’t great, it’s not a nightmare by any means. It also seems like Bubba gets a reputation for being wild, which doesn’t bode well at a position golf course like Sawgrass. Yet, Augusta is a position layout too and Watson has thrived there. And Bubba, far from wild, actually has pretty good accuracy for the distance he hits it and is a great iron player. His putting has come around as well, which really puts him closer to that all-around mold. I think this is the week Watson finally sees some prosperity in Jacksonville.
As for the rest, Westwood has been in sneaky good form this year and seems on the verge of a big performance (a win in Indonesia doesn’t count). His last two trips to the Players have netted top-10s, and his game has been far better on and around the greens in recent years.
Hoffman’s play was scorching about a month ago, and he really is the best fit among this group. His strength is in ball-striking, but he’s tended to be above average in all facets.
Kirk remains way underrated, his Deutsche Bank win was not as surprising as the media made it out to be (or at all, really). He has yet to put a season together where all parts of his game are clicking, but his ability in driving, approach play, short game and putting have all been apparent at times.
Chappell burned me in New Orleans, but I’m not backing off because he can jump out at any moment and this is a good course for him.
Ultimate Sleeper Roster
- Brendon de Jonge, $6,500
- Kevin Chappell, $6,400
- Shawn Stefani, $6,400
- Sang-Moon Bae, $6,400
- Graeme McDowell, $6,300
- Carl Pettersson, $5,700
Really watch out for de Jonge. He has been on a severe hot streak lately, which three consecutive top-25s actually understates. He’s known as a ball-striker and is accurate off the tee, but he’s an adequate-to-solid putter and short game player as well.
As for Stefani, his game was subtly in a really good groove with four straight top-26s through Houston.
Bae hit a rough patch for a bit, but I think is finding his way back and he’s developed a solid all-around game.
A rough season so far for McDowell, but he is healthy again after a lower left leg issue in March, he possesses the all-around game for this course and was closer at Hilton Head than T26 implies.
Petterson’s probably less accurate off the tee than you think, but he’s also in this all-around realm and has flashed some good play of late.
Alternate Six-Man Roster (Last time: 456.5 points, 9219th of 36800)
- Jordan Spieth, $12,800
- Henrik Stenson, $10,400
- Ian Poulter, $7,200
- Harris English, $7,000
- Brendon de Jonge, $6,500
- Carl Pettersson, $5,700
Let’s see: a position golf course that rewards an all-around game? Yeah, that’s Spieth’s dream to a T. I would be shocked if he finishes worse than top 5.
Stenson’s history at Sawgrass isn’t as robust as you might think (one top-10 since win in 2009), but he appears healthy again and when he’s been 100 percent this year, his results have been dominant.
Poulter has played well of late and he’s a better ball-striker than he gets credit for. No discernible record here since his runner-up in 2009… just remember the form he’s in.
And finally we have English, who is my biggest wildcard. He’s a pretty well rounded player who could acquire a huge win any week now. And hey, what do you know, he was in the final group at the Players on Saturday just three years ago.
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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TJS
May 6, 2015 at 1:17 am
Yep Nick, only US & Canada for most all the Fantasy sites.
Kevin, Augusta National and The Stadium Course are two vastly different courses. Bubba doesn’t exactly like this course by his own admission…he’s priced that way because of his odds to win (set by very smart people). Lastly, why the ultimate sleeper line-up? It’s a donation…sleepers are meant to be mixed in with the chalk, not paired together in a ridiculous entry.
Kevin Casey
May 6, 2015 at 2:21 am
Hey TJS, appreciate the comment!
You bring up some good points, here are my clarifications:
1. If it came across that I was trying to imply that Augusta and Sawgrass are basically the same, I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that their similar in the positioning aspect, a characteristic that I think some people would point to as kryptonite for Watson, which his success at Augusta proves wrong. They are definitely significantly different courses, but they have a similarity in making you really strategize and hit to certain positions in order to avoid danger.
2. My bad on that, I should’ve mentioned Watson’s public words last year about Sawgrass not fitting his eye. That being said, his thoughts there didn’t really take me aback much when I was making the pick. If Watson had said that amidst three straight missed cuts at the Players, then yeah we could see that the course was having a massive negative effect on his game that wasn’t showing signs of dissipating. But his last three finishes, while underwhelming, have all been made cuts and top-50s and he was in a decent position for a top-10 (or at least a top-20) last year before a semi-implosion in the final round. So while the course is having a negative effect on him from a visual perspective, it’s not very drastic. And I think he’s helped by a few aspects of his game boding well for the course. It also seems we are seeing more and more progress with him at TPC Sawgrass from results rather than comments. Overall, I think this course is a better fit for him than his comments suggest and he appears to be not far off from finding a groove here considering his recent results at the event.
3. My rationale behind the ultimate sleeper line-up is just to give a full list of options for players that could be useful when gamers are down to their final picks with limited money. It’s not supposed to function as an actual roster. I have been toying with changing that section, though, so we’ll see how much longer it remains…
Nick Tweed
May 5, 2015 at 8:16 pm
Can this only be entered if you live in the US? I’m from England…only gives the options of US or Canadian address.