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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

LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you

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On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.

“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350 

  • Food: $377 
  • Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé 
  • Hotel: $0 because  @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!  
  • Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car  
  • Gas: $165 
  • Entry Fee: $130 
  • Lounge Pass for caddie: $50 
  • Gym: $0 
  • Yardage book: $0 
  • Total expenses: $3672 

Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”

When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.

With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.

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54-hole golf tour deemed eligible for OWGR points…but it’s not LIV

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After a seventeen-month application process, a 54-hole golf tour was deemed eligible for OWGR points.

Unfortunately, for LIV Golf and their fans, it was the Clutch Pro Tour.

After the decision, which is effective immediately, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued a statement.

“This is a significant milestone for golf, and OWGR is deeply encouraged by the achievement and the continued efforts in developing the sport of golf in the United Kingdom.”

“We look forward to watching the progress of the Clutch Pro Tour as it continues to play a key role in the development of players from the region,” Dawson added.

The Clutch Pro Tour operates in the United Kingdom and features a 36-hole cut. It also has an open qualifying school.

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Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open

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As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.

Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.

If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.

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