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BMW Championship 2021 DraftKings Picks

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Welcome to a new installment of DraftKings picks from staff writer and host of the Inside Golf Podcast, Andy Lack.

The PGA Tour travels to Owings Mills, Maryland, this week for the BMW Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The top-70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will be in attendance this week at Caves Valley Golf Club, a course that has never hosted a PGA Tour event before.

Despite having zero data on Caves Valley to draw from, we can still gleam an understanding of the course through the hole by hole descriptions on the website and other PGA Tour courses designed by Tom Fazio. Caves Valley is a Par 72, measuring 7,542 yards.

I’ve alluded to the fact that the Baltimore area course is a Fazio design, and the famed modern designer has done design or re-design work on other PGA Tour courses such as Quail Hollow, Conway Farms, Congaree, Shadow Creek, and Kamusigaseki. With all players in the field seeing the course in competition for the first time, I will be leaning heavily on recent form and how players have performed on similar comp courses.

Last week, all five of my selections made it through to the weekend. Let’s keep the momentum going and dig into this week’s DraftKings slate!

$10,000 range

Brooks Koepka, $10,200 (Projected ownership: 4.82%)

For the second week in a row, I will be rostering Brooks Koepka in the $10,000 range. I have already discussed my love for Koepka in my betting column, so I promise not to belabor the point, but this ownership makes little sense to me. Yes, the four-time major champion shot back-to-back 74s over the weekend at Liberty National, but both of those rounds got off the rails extremely quickly and immediately removed him from contention. There’s an opportunity here for us to capitalize on recency bias and roster one of the best players in the world at sub-five percent ownership on a course that fits his game to a tee.

$9,000 range 

Viktor Hovland, $9,100 (Projected ownership: 11.62%)

Viktor Hovland was the last man out on my betting card, yet I will gladly roster him on DraftKings at an extremely fair price and reasonable ownership. There are a few things about Hovland this week that I really like. First of all, this course measures a robust 7,532 yards, and the two-time PGA Tour winner is number one in this field in weighted proximity from 175 yards plus.

Secondly, he enters the week with great ball-striking form, yet he is still flying slightly under the radar given his recent middle of the pack finishes, which were all due to a faulty short game and putter. Finally, Hovland played his college golf at Karsten Creek, another 7,400 yard plus, Bent-grass, Tom Fazio course, and he has performed admirably on other Fazio designs such as Quail Hollow, Shadow Creek, and Kasumigaseki.

$8,000 range

Sungjae Im, $8,000 (Projected ownership: 2.84%)

Similar to Koepka, let’s make it two weeks in a row for Sungjae Im. He was my favorite DraftKings play on the board last week, and I feel just as strongly about the former Honda Classic winner here as well. Im is coming off three starts in a row where he has gained over a stroke off the tee, and seven starts in a row where he has gained strokes on approach.

The ball-striking is definitively back for Im, and we are getting a massive ownership discount because the perception is that Caves Valley is not a “Sungjae Im course.” Calling Im a specialist who is only capable of competing on short, Bermuda courses in Florida is really selling him short. We are still talking about a player who finished runner-up at Augusta National, on Bent-grass, in his first appearance at the Masters. Im is really rounding into form right now, and I expect him to continue his momentum into East Lake.

$7,000 range

Shane Lowry, $7,900 (Projected ownership: 1.13%)

Once again, Shane Lowry is criminally under-owned. I played him last week at $7,500 and 7% ownership, and I will gladly roster him again at a slightly steeper price but even lower ownership. The former Open champion is coming off a week at the Northern Trust where he gained 7.2 strokes on approach, good for his best measured iron week of his career.

While I am not overlooking Lowry’s struggles off the tee, the fairways are so narrow at Caves Valley, that even the most accurate drivers will be missing them as well. In which case, I am getting one of the best iron players in the world from there on out.

$6,000 range 

Max Homa, $6,400 (Projected ownership: 11.62%)

In my opinion, Max Homa is the most mis-priced player on the entire slate. I cannot understand for the life of me, why a player who has already won this year, on a Fazio re-design nonetheless, is $1,200 cheaper than Harold Varner, and priced below the likes of Keith Mitchell and Emiliano Grillo. Homa is quite simply in a different tier from those aforementioned players, and once again, we can take advantage of recency bias and get a massive discount on a player that is quietly rounding into former.

The two-time PGA Tour winner gained 4.1 strokes ball-striking last week at the Northern Trust, which good for his best ball-striking week in over two months ago. The former winner at Quail Hollow now returns to another Tom Fazio course, where I expect him to continue to his string of success.

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19th Hole

Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

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According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

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On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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