The second major of the year starts on Thursday at Oak Hill Country Club. Let's get into my 2023 PGA DFS: PGA Championship DraftKings Preview.
I've been really hot with my DraftKings plays from this article for the last two weeks. I've had back-to-back weeks of only one of my ten plays not making the cut. I provided the eventual winner in both events (Wyndham Clark/Jason Day).
At the Byron Nelson, seven of the ten golfers given in this article finished in the Top 25, and four of those plays cracked one hundred points on DK for the event.
It was a good week for my 10 official #Draftkings plays at the #ByronNelson You can find my DFS plays each week on my article on @fantasysixpack or our show on their YouTube channel Two Off The Tee, and finally on Wednesday at 1pm-1:45pm ET on @ESPNPC1043 Inside Drive with host… https://t.co/E1dI00ogzY pic.twitter.com/pmm9E8xb5R
— Keith Flemming (@KeithFlemming) May 14, 2023
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @KeithFlemming to see all of my favorite DraftKings plays and bets for that week's PGA event!
2023 PGA DFS: PGA Championship DraftKings Preview
The PGA Championship is unfairly considered the least important of golf's four majors. However, in recent years the top names in the world of golf have hosted the Wannamaker Trophy. Brooks Koepka went back to back by outdueling Tiger Woods in 2019. The 2020 event was the first major championship post-Covid-19. It was won by one of the best young stars in the game, Collin Morikawa.
In the 2021 PGA Championship, the unthinkable happened when Phil Mickleson won his sixth major championship. His win made him the oldest player ever to win a major championship and the first to do so in their fifties. Last year Justin Thomas rallied from seven shots down on Sunday to earn his second PGA Championship and major. He won in a playoff against Will Zalatoris.
Since 2010 twelve of the last thirteen PGA Champions ranked inside the top 50 in the OWGR going into the event. Nine of the champions were ranked inside the top 14 in the OWGR and five of the winners ranked inside the top 5. This week you need to use as many of the top players in the world in your DraftKings lineups as you can fit. Then fill out the rest of your lineup with value plays who can make the cut.
Past Winners/Odds #PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/xgcU5UwvtC
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) May 15, 2023
Venue (Oak Hill Country Club)
Oak Hill has hosted a PGA Championship once every ten years since 2003. In 2003 Shaun Micheel held off Tiger Woods and Chad Campbell to win at -4 by two shots. In 2013 Jason Dufner won his first and only major by holding off Jim Furyk for a two-shot victory at -10. The PGA Championship returns again to Oak Hill in 2023 but this is not the same course it was the last two times it hosted this major championship.
In 2019 Andrew Green renovated the famous Donald Ross-designed East Course at Oak Hill CC. He remodeled every green complex, as well as fairways and landing zones to revitalize the original character and spaciousness of the course. In the process they removed hundreds of trees opening up new sightlines to the skyline in Rochester New York.
In removing those trees players will not need to be as precise off the tee or have as many shots into greens where they have to shape the ball around trees. This doesn't mean accuracy will not matter at this course. It still has plenty of tight fairways, water hazards, and deep-faced bunkers to avoid.
He also added an additional two hundred yards of tee space that lengthened the course to 7,400 yards. You will need to target players with length off the tee this week, especially guys who carry the ball a long way. The turf will still be fairly soft with the tournament taking place in May instead of August in the past. There are also several long par 3s, including two that can play 240+ yards.
Combined PGA Championship/U.S. Open course history going back to 2017.
-Includes average finish position and Strokes Gained per round in each category. Players are sorted by SG: Total.
-Why include U.S. Open courses? PGA Championship layouts have usually been "U.S. Open-lite"… pic.twitter.com/hKThhf7MFl
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) May 15, 2023
Comp Courses
- The Country Club
- Bethpage Black
- Muirfield Village
- Riviera Country Club
- East Lake
- Winged Foot
Keys Stats
- Par 4 scoring (450-500 yards)
- Major History
- Bogey Avoidance
- Strokes Gained Scrambling
- Strokes Gained Putting (Bent)
- Strokes Gained Tee to Green
- Strokes Gained Approach (200+ yards)
My 2023 PGA DFS: PGA Championship DraftKings Lineup
Jon Rahm ($11,400)
Let's pause for a min to appreciate the run Jon Rahm is on
—1st in OWGR
—1st in Data Golf Ranking
—1st in strokes gained total
—1st in birdie %
—1st in eagle %
—1st in par 3 scoring
—1st in par 4 scoring
—1st in par 5 scoring
—1st in early wave scoring
—1st in late wave scoring— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) May 13, 2023
As you can see from the above tweet from Dan Rapaport, Jon Rahm is the top player in the world, and it is not really close. Four of the last eight eventual PGA Champions were ranked in the top 5 of the World Golf Rankings going into the tournament. Rahm has finished inside the top 10 in ten of his last twenty-one majors played.
His golf game has no weakness at this point. The way he won at Augusta in April over a difficult weekend and the fact he's won four of his ten events in 2023. Rahm is the most expensive player in the field for good reason. I hope that leads to others not paying the price to have him in their lineups. Rahm has a great chance to win his second straight major come Sunday and I have zero hesitation having him as my anchor for my DK lineup this week.
Another option in this price range: Brooks Koepka ($10,100)
Sahith Theegala ($8,100)
Sahith Theegala chips in for birdie on No. 16 to move into a tie for third place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/bMrbBmYLKt
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023
Theegala has continued the stellar play we saw last year in his rookie season. He has four top 10s in his last eight events on tour. He plays long and difficult courses well. He finished 9th at Augusta, 6th at the comp course Riviera Country Club, and top 25 at another comp course Muirfield Village at the Memorial.
Another option in this price range: Cameron Smith ($9,300)
Joaquin Niemann ($7,900)
It’s major week let’s get it Joaquin @PGAChampionship 🇨🇱🇨🇱🔥🔥🔜🔜 pic.twitter.com/QCfjDxYnlV
— Joaquin Niemann Tracker 🇨🇱 (@joacotracker) May 15, 2023
Niemann is one of my favorite plays this week. I have him in my DraftKings lineup and will have him on my betting card as well. Niemann is a true ball striker who plays difficult venues well. He has made the cut in nine straight majors. He finished 16th in his first major since joining the LIV Tour at Augusta in April. I love the fact he has back-to-back top 30s at the last two PGA Championships. Especially when I believe the winning score for a third straight year is going to be under double digits under par.
Adam Scott ($7,800)
Best opening round for @AdamScott since 2014 💪
He shoots an impressive 8-under 63 @ATTByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/ihWrjhgCJp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 11, 2023
I said last week on my Wednesday weekly appearance on ESPN NW Florida Radio why I liked Adam Scott at the Byron Nelson this past week. He was having an underwhelming season predominantly due to uncharacteristically bad iron play. That is something thqt has always been a strong part of Scott's game. He's now gained over six shots on the field in the last two weeks in strokes gained approach and he continues to putt really well. Scott has a long history of playing well in majors and I love him at this price this week.
Keegan Bradley ($7,700)
It's a perfect fit for Keegan Bradley and his family: A return home.https://t.co/v95d4o260f
— Jim McCabe (@JimMcCabeGolf) May 9, 2023
Keegan is a former PGA Champion winner having won the Wannamaker in 2012. He is from the Northeast part of the country and normally plays well in events in that area. He's made the cut in eight of his last ten PGA Championships with four top 20s. Bradley is the exact kind of player I am looking for this week. He's playing well with a win and a runner-up finish in the eight months and is the definition of a ball striker.
Another option in this price range: Rickie Fowler ($7,600)
Seamus Power ($7,000)
🟩PGA Championship Pick⬛️
👀2022 PGA Champ: T9
👀2022 US Open: T12
⬆️First-time appearances
📈Last 2 starts: T18, T19
🦺Bogey Avoidance: 16th
🕳️SG Bentgrass: 19th💰Seamus Power: 190-1 @FDSportsbook pic.twitter.com/lHshcNNjxL
— The Model Maniac (@TheModelManiac) May 15, 2023
Seamus Power has made the cut in four of the five major championships he's played in. Including a top 10 at another difficult PGA Championship venue last year. He has back-to-back top 20s on the PGA Tour entering this event and is one of the better Bent green putters on tour. I think is a crazy good value at this price.
Another option in this price range: Gary Woodland ($7,100)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now that you have read the 2023 PGA DFS: PGA Championship DraftKings Preview, be sure to check out the rest of our golf content, including my show Two off the Tee on the Fantasy Six Pack YouTube Channel Tuesday night. Each week, my cohost Allen and I will break down the tournament for that week and give betting/DFS plays.
