FanDuel Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions – Dell Technologies Championship

2017 Dell Technologies Championship FanDuel Fantasy Preview

We are down to the top-100 players in the FedExCup as the best golfers from the 2017 season head to Boston for the Dell Technologies Championship.

The second leg of the playoffs has a lot to live up to after one of the more epic showdowns ensued last week when the current top-two players in the Official World Golf Rankings, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, went head-to-head in a playoff; Johnson eventually claiming the trophy and earning his way back to the top spot in the standings.

The stakes will once again be quite high at the par-71, 7,342-yard TPC Boston as the field is cut to 70 for next week’s BMW Championship. This event is atypical of most with its schedule, going from Friday to Monday with the Labor Day Weekend, and should be a must watch during any festivities on the holiday.

Of course the field this week will be stellar as the best players in the world gear up to make a run at the $10 million payday given to the golfer leading the standings after the TOUR Championship. The favorites once again will be last week’s winner, Dustin Johnson, and the runner-up, Jordan Spieth, who rank first and second respectively in the standings. Rounding out the top-five is No. 3 Justin Thomas, No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama, and No. 5 Jon Rahm.

Dustin Johnson of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the…

Dustin Johnson of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the second round of the 144th Open Championship at The Old Course on July 18, 2015 in St Andrews, Scotland. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

A trio of golfers, Bubba Watson, Harold Varner III, and David Lingmerth, were able to use their performances in The Northern Trust to earn a spot in the field this week; Watson moving up the most to 72^nd as he looks to punch his ticket to the BMW Championship with another solid week. Adam Scott is another notable who is currently on the outside looking in as he sits in 73^rd after choosing not to play last week due to the arrival of his newborn son.

Last year’s FedExCup winner, Rory McIlroy, used a win in this event to vault him to the top of the standings after beginning the playoffs outside of the top-30. He will need to have another big week to start moving up the ladder with a current standing of 43^rd. McIlroy turned in a gutsy performance last season at TPC Boston, coming back from a poor start to make up a six-shot deficit on Paul Casey; beating him out by a pair of strokes with his 15-under score.

You can expect to see another close finish as there has not been a victor who took home the trophy here with a margin of victory greater than two strokes since Charley Hoffman beat out the trio of Jason Day, Luke Donald, and Geoff Ogilvy by five strokes in 2010. In that year, Hoffman match Vijay Singh’s 2008 tournament record mark of 22 shots better than par, a score that would again be matched by Henrik Stenson in 2013.

Daily fantasy sports have become a great source for the casual fan to become more involved in this fantastic game and FanDuel’s platform is a great place to play.

The players below represent golfers who we believe the course and situation set up well for as we continue with the FedExCup playoffs. It is important to get a mix of high ceiling and high floor players in most any of your lineups; gearing more towards high ceiling in tournaments and high floor for games such as double ups and 50/50s.

Dell Technologies Championship FanDuel Fantasy Picks

Dustin Johnson – $10,200 – Well he’s the number one player in the world, topping the FedExCup standings, and is fresh off his fourth win of the 2017 season, so there is a chance the DJ will be quite popular this week. Johnson showed earlier this year that when he gets on a tear, he is nearly unstoppable, and put together a stretch of five straight starts in which he won three times in a row while being sandwiched between a third and a runner-up.

As usual, he is mashing the ball to the tune of 314.8 yards per drive (2^nd on TOUR), leading to 69.64% greens in regulation (8^th on TOUR), and the most total strokes gained on the field (2.264).

Johnson has had some mixed results at TPC Boston, but does have three top-eight showings since 2009 (7 starts) and is someone you want to ride while he’s feeling it.

Rickie Fowler – $9,000 – Fowler is a former winner here, taking home the hardware back in 2015 when he went 15-under and ousted runner-up Henrik Stenson by a single stroke. He will look to repeat in the coming week and he heads to Boston with some great showings of late with a visit to the weekend in eight of his last nine starts; of which included four top-five finishes and a top-25 in every cut made.

Fowler sits behind only Johnson in total strokes gained (1.992) and been able to get a birdie or better on 24.57% of his holes played (4^th on TOUR). His scoring average (68.926) is second-best among his peers and he is strong in all parts of his game; especially with his putter (0.800 strokes gained, 2^nd on TOUR) and out of the sand (68.64% sand save, best on TOUR).

Fowler will continue to put up nice performances and we predict he will win one of the next three events.

Rickie Fowler acknowledges the crowd on the sixth green during the…

Rickie Fowler acknowledges the crowd on the sixth green during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston on September 7, 2015 in Norton, Massachusetts. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Louis Oosthuizen – $8,100 – Oosthuizen has missed just a single cut over his 16 starts on the PGA TOUR this year and is currently playing his best golf of 2017. He nearly grabbed a second career major win with a tie for second in the PGA Championship and tied for tenth last week behind 77.78% greens in regulation (third in field).

The great play should continue once again in Boston as he has owned this course in his last three starts; earning an average finish of seventh and coming in as the runner-up by a single stroke to Rory McIlroy in 2012. His consistency this year has come from his ability to perform above-average in all facets of the game as he ranks in the top-50 in strokes gained off the tee (0.351, 47^th on TOUR), with his approach to the green (0.439, 33^rd on TOUR), around the green (0.256, 27^th on TOUR), putting (0.371, 29^th on TOUR), and from tee to green (1.046, 18^th on TOUR).

With there being no weaknesses in his game and a great track record here, Oosthuizen provides a nice floor for a price that won’t break the bank.

Jason Dufner – $7,500 – Dufner is certainly more of a wildcard than the first few players on the list and over his last 10 starts he is 7-for-10 in making the cut with a win at the Memorial Tournament and four other top-20s; including a 14^th at the Wyndham Championship and 20^th at the Northern Trust over the past two weeks. The 40-year-old veteran has played at this event seven times since 2009 and did worse than 33^rd only once, posting a pair of top-10s and even a runner-up back in 2009.

The key to Dufner’s game is staying in the fairway (65.41% driving accuracy, 40^th on TOUR), getting on the green in regulation (67.38%, 42^nd on TOUR), and carding a birdie or better (21.83%, 29^th on TOUR); especially on the par four holes where he has a birdie or better on 18.88% of his attempts (14^th on TOUR).

Duff not the most exciting player in the field, but he comes in with a score in the 60s in seven of his last eight rounds played and has been in this position so many times that nerves will not be a factor in.

Charley Hoffman – $7,000 – Hoffman has quietly played his way into the top-10 of the FedExCup standings and jumped from 66^th to 22^nd in the OWGR since the start of the year. He has done all this by going 21-for-28 (75%) in cuts made with a pair of runner-ups and third places.

Hoffman is having the best season of his career thanks to so many top showings and comes in hot with 14 straight visits to the weekend. Even though this is possibly going to go down as the best year in his career, Charley has been a solid professional for quite a while, finishing in the top-50 of the FedExCup standings six times since 2007 and is a regular at TPC Boston where he won in 2010 and finished third in 2015.

Hoffman is getting loads of scoring done with birdies or better on 22.74% of holes (14^th on TOUR) and has done a nice job of bouncing back with a birdie after a bogey (22.14%, 51^st on TOUR). Just like Oosthuizen, Hoffman should provide your lineup with a nice floor of points despite paying a very reasonable price.

Charley Hoffman reacts to his putt on the 18th hole during the final…

Charley Hoffman reacts to his putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio AT&T Oaks Course on April 24, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Webb Simpson – $6,900 – Simpson has been making some big moves up the standings of late and brings a streak of 10 consecutive cuts made into this round of the playoffs. The 2011 winner here has made the cut in this event in five of the last six seasons, earning a top-25 three times and is looking at staying within the top-30 in order to get to the TOUR Championship for the fifth time in seven years.

Simpson has used his elite scrambling skills (65.54%, 2^nd on TOUR) along with an above average ability out of the sand (63.12%, 4^th on TOUR) to gain 0.475 strokes around the green (4^th on TOUR) and is one of the best on TOUR at bouncing back from a poor hole (25.48%, 9^th on TOUR); a stat that gets you extra points on FanDuel.

Webb remains a cheap option and will outperform his value this week.

Bubba Watson – $6,400 – Watson was outside of the top-100 going into last week’s event, but changed that with a great four days of golf, finishing in a tie for 10^th and moving all the way to 72^nd in the standings. It was his fourth top-10 of the season, and while he is certainly not performing like the player with two major wins among his eight career PGA TOUR victories, he is playing much better of late and can go all out with his current position.

Watson continues to be exceptional off the tee, gaining 0.659 strokes (8^th on TOUR), and has torched par fives to the tune of a birdie or better on 49.73% of his opportunities (12^th on TOUR).

Bubba will want to play another week and while we do not think he has what it takes to win, we believe we will see another top-20 and a trip to the BMW Championship in his future.

Jason Kokrak – $4,800 – You can roster Kokrak for peanuts this week as the 32-year-old is near minimum price; allowing you to get Johnson into your lineup and still feel good about the other players you are getting. He has earned his spot in this event thanks to 19-of-27 cuts made (70%) and a top-25 in each of the last two weeks. He has six rounds of 69 or better during that stretch and added an amazing Saturday 63 at the Wyndham Championship.

Kokrak has a big driver (306.6 yards per, 16^th on TOUR), allowing him plenty of opportunity for scoring, which he has translated to his fifth consecutive visit to TPC Boston. Twice in the last three seasons he has been in the top-20 here, coming away with a 16^th in 2013 and then an eighth just last year.

At this price there really aren’t any golfers that we would say are a sure thing, but Kokrak has shown he can do well at this venue and he comes in with a hot hand.

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