Only four of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf ranking and just 13 of the players that have qualified for the US Open will be on hand at this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis. That means that we have a lot of solid, but unspectacular players priced a little high and a lot of inconsistent or lesser-known players in the rest of the field. It will be a tough handicap in advance of next week at Shinnecock Hills.
We’ll try to help you with your daily fantasy golf choices by looking for the top values. Everybody can take the top guys and hope for the best, but it’s often that low-cost missing piece that makes all the difference in your GPPs, 50/50s, or H2H matchups. Keep that in mind as you read through these plays. We’re looking for cheap players with upside.
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Value Picks
Kevin Chappell ($7,800) – Kevin Chappell has not played well of late at all, as he’s missed four of his last five cuts, though, in his defense, he’s been pretty close to the cut line in some of those spots. He shot even par at the PLAYERS, which is solid at TPC Sawgrass, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t that long ago that Chappell was seventh at the Arnold Palmer. It wasn’t that long ago that Chappell was fourth at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It was last year, in fact, as he was one of five players to be in the 60s over all 72 holes. The others were Whee Kim, Phil Mickelson, Steve Wheatcroft, and Dominic Bozzelli. Chappell was also 22nd back in 2015. He didn’t play this event in 2016.
Chez Reavie ($7,600) – Old Reliable Chez Reavie has made 13 out of 16 cuts this season and is a great buy this week at TPC Southwind for this low price. Reavie is now two weeks removed from the MC in Fort Worth, which came a week after he withdrew from the AT&T. Reavie was fourth last year going 66-65-72-69 and 12th in 2015 with a 70-70-66-68 weekend. He did not play in 2016, so it’s not like he had a bad showing that year. Those are two strong finishes over the last two St. Jude Classics for Reavie, so he better be on your radar this week.
Stewart Cink ($6,800) – With this weak of a field, you need to save some money. Stewart Cink is one way to do that. Cink, who has made 11 of 17 cuts this season, has played pretty well at TPC Southwind, even in his golden years on the PGA Tour. Cink was 10th last year with a 64-68-69-73. He seemed to tire a little bit in the heat as the week went along, which is a concern this week as well, but he shot a respectable 68-70-69-71 back in 2015. This isn’t a bad spot to take a shot with the old man.
Harris English ($8,100) – The inflated price tag on Harris English is due to his 2013 win, but there is more to it than that for him this week. English was 20th last week at the Fort Worth Invitational, which was a really solid showing. Last year at TPC Southwind, he finished 10th with a final-round 65 to move up the board a bit. He was 26th in 2016, with Sunday dropping him down the board that year. This has been one of his better courses on the PGA Tour, so there is some hope that he can surprise and be up there with some of the leaders on Sunday.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat ($8,400) – It really seems like Kiradech Aphibarnrat’s time is coming. He’s still searching for his first PGA Tour victory, but he was fifth at the WGC-Mexico, made it to the quarters of the Match Play event in Texas, was 13th at last week’s Memorial and fifth at the BMW PGA Championship the week before. Aphibarnat is going to get himself one of these PGA Tour titles sooner rather than later. It really doesn’t seem like he would play this event unless he thought he had a shot at winning it.
-END OF 2018 PICKS-
A lot of players have a lot of motivation this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind. The top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking automatically get a berth into next week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Other players want to roll into that event with some momentum, like tournament favorites Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, who are going to be in the U.S. Open field regardless. TPC Southwind is one of the most challenging courses on tour, so don’t expect a lot of low scores here this week.
Our daily fantasy content at BangTheBook generally focuses on finding value. Everybody can take the top guys and hope for the best, but it’s often that low-cost missing piece that makes all the difference in your GPPs, 50/50s, or H2H matchups.
New to daily fantasy sports? Need to reload? DraftKings or FanDuel are the industry leaders in ease of use and safe, free transactions. Use these tips and the tips from BangTheBook Radio on Wednesdays with our resident golf betting expert Wes Reynolds, who outlines players to take a chance on for this weekend’s event. Also, we have golf previews for the PGA and the European Tour events each week.
All salaries are from DraftKings.
Value Picks:
Chad Campbell ($7,800) – Chad Campbell has been pretty consistent at TPC Southwind throughout his career. At the very least, he’s been consistent enough to have on your roster this week. Campbell tied for eighth last year at 7-under, which doesn’t sound great, but it was one shot behind five guys that tied for third. He made the cut in 2014 and finished inside the top 50. His only down year came in 2013, when he still played out all four days, but it came on the heels of finishing third in 2012. He was 10th at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational and 12th at the AT&T Byron Nelson, so he’s quietly playing well.
Jon Curran ($8,300) – Imagine the price you could have got Jon Curran at if he hadn’t finished second last week at the Memorial. Curran is one of those players that needs a big showing this weekend in order to get into the U.S. Open. He hasn’t missed a cut since the RBC Heritage, a span of six events. A challenging course like TPC Southwind, especially one with a low par of 70, emphasizes making the cut. Curran did that last year in his only start in Memphis. He finished 53d at 1-over, but finished with his best round on Sunday.
Jamie Donaldson ($7,800) – Another player with a lot at stake this week is Jamie Donaldson. Donaldson has not been in good form lately. He missed the cut in his last PGA Tour start and missed the cut in his last European Tour start. He was 10th the week prior at the Irish Open, but he needs a strong showing this week. He’s 64th in the OWGR. That’s an angle that will get a lot of play this week. He did miss the cut here last year, but you can’t question his focus.
Bobby Wyatt ($7,300) – Outside of a rough showing at the Wells Fargo, Bobby Wyatt has proven that he belongs. The former Alabama standout used to run neck-and-neck with Jordan Spieth in amateur rankings and it’s fair to assume that he’s come across this course a time or two, or at least a course with a similar design. He was fourth at the Zurich Classic at a TPC course and narrowly missed the cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson in his last start. It’s a tough course, but he has the ability to contend.
Lee McCoy ($6,700) – Like Wyatt, it could be a good weekend for recent college players and grads. Lee McCoy was fourth at the Valspar back in early March. He opened with a 74, but once the nerves settled down, he shot 66-69 over the weekend to climb into the top five. This is a tough track for a lot of players, but it might help some of the youngsters because they won’t overthink it. A lot of the new crop can really rip it, so that’s something to consider on a course with some long par 4s.
Players to Avoid:
Luke Donald ($8,700) – The former #1 player in the world has really struggled for a while now. He made the cut but finished 68th at the Memorial last week, firing 73-78-72 over his final three rounds. He missed the cut at the PLAYERS and really hasn’t been worth anything except for name recognition in about two months. He’s a guy to avoid this week.
Fabian Gomez ($7,200) – DFS players are going to see the reigning champion with this extremely reasonable price, but there’s a reason why Gomez is so far down the board. He is gunning for one of those U.S. Open spots, but Gomez missed the cut last week, withdrew at the Dean & DeLuca, and was 74th at the PLAYERS Championship. Course form is a big deal and Gomez has been good here, but he hasn’t been good overall and that’s the noticeable part here.
