Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – 2015 PGA Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2015 PGA Championship

The 2015 PGA Championship Fantasy Preview

The air is buzzing with excitement as we enter the fourth and final major week of the season.  And with another $1 million in DraftKings prize money on the line we’re more than excited to dive into this week’s fantasy picks.  In fact, our fantasy braniacs have successfully picked the winner in all three of this season’s majors (Spieth for the Masters and U.S. Open and Zach Johnson at the British Open) so we’ll be pulling out all the stops in a shot to make it an impressive 4 for 4 on the season!

The big news this week is that fantasy powerhouse (and world No. 1) Rory McIlroy will be returning to golf after recovering from an ankle injury—Rory’s last appearance was at the 2015 U.S. Open.  While he’s been out Jordan Spieth has wasted no time in trying to pass McIlroy as World No. 1 and now has a shot to take over the top spot in the OWGR with a win this week.

Speaking of Jordan, Speith will get a second chance to win his third major of the season after finishing only one shot out of the playoff in Scotland.  He’ll certainly be chasing history as only two other men have won three majors in a season (Hogan in 1953 and Woods in 2000).

Despite his dismal play of late Woods actually has an opportunity to play himself into the FedExCup playoffs as he comes into Whistling Straits ranked 185th in FedExCup Points.  With only one event standing between this major and the playoffs, a solid outing from Woods this week is key to determining whether he signs on to play the Wyndham next week for additional points.

With the biggest fantasy golf prize pool of all-time on the line, many will be scratching their heads wondering who to pick in a field jam packed with the world’s best golfers, but fear not because we’ll help you sift through the pack in our picks segment below.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

It was a wild week at Firestone as our horse pick Dustin Johnson fell to a largely disappointing T53 due to a closing 75-76 after coming out of the gate with a promising 69-67.  Yet even with the disappointing showing by DJ we still managed to earn two T6 finishes and a T10 from Rickie Fowler to bring the week’s total fantasy earnings to $829,167.

With the 36th week in the books, our total fantasy winnings is sitting nicely at $38.059 million, which breaks down to averaging just over $1 million per week.

Additionally, the majors are where our fantasy picks have really shined this year, as we’ve successfully picked the winner at all three events thus far.

The Field

Rory McIlroy will carry the greatest share of media attention this week as fans and fantasy players look to see if he can bounce back from injury to defend his title.  Needless to say DraftKings will have him priced high (most likely in the Top 3) for their big 3.3 million dollar fantasy contest this week.

.@McIlroyRory on site for a practice round at #WhistlingStraits. #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/wI69B09ro5

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 8, 2015

We’ve seen guys bounce back from injury—like Jason Day’s recent surge after a long battle with vertigo—so you can’t rule Rory out this week, but you have to be certain before taking him since he’ll eat up most of your salary cap.

The hot-handed Spieth will most likely be the go to this week for most along recent top performers like Day and Fowler.  In all, the field will be packed with 98 of the Top 100 players in the world and you’ll only be able to choose six on your salary cap rosters so choose wisely.

Our analysis of the field this week will be dissected by stats, course history, and trending players in key  areas of strength for Whistling Straights.

Click here to view the complete field for this week’s event including pairings and tee-times.

The Course

Whistling Straits (Straits Course) measures deep at 7,514 yards but unlike last week, it plays as a par 72.  This old aircraft training base sits along the shores of Lake Michigan will play host to its third PGA Championship in the last twelve years.

Pete Dye wanted a links course feel and made sure that a challenging fescue and abundance of bunkers were present around the track.  The PGA Championship landed here for the first time in 2004 and then again in 2010—the site of the infamous Dustin Johnson club grounding penalty.

Whistling Straits is also scheduled to host the 2020 Ryder Cup.

If you’re not fired up enough already for this week’s major here are some highlights from past PGA Championships to really get you going:

(HD) PGA Championship Greatest Moments

Audio and Video Belong to Rightful Owners

Weather Forecast for Sheboygan, WI

Other than some thunderstorms predicted to roll through on Day 1, the weather is forecasted to be pleasant for most of the week in Sheboygan.

We should see winds around 15-20 mph Thursday but the breeze is expected to settle down later in the week.

Temperatures will be in the low to mid-80s all week and the weekend weather looks to be perfect.

Last Year’s PGA Championship Results

Rory McIlroy’s 2014 PGA Championship win was the last in his 3-in-a-row run at the end of the 2014 season.  With darkness moving in, Rory edged out Fowler and Mickelson to win his second consecutive major and fourth of his career.

With the win, Rory became only the fourth man in the past century to win four majors by age 25 and joined the company of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones in doing so.

Here are a few highlights of last year’s exciting final round of the PGA Championship from Valhalla GC.

McIlroy – The Comeback Kid – US PGA 2014

Final round highlights of the 2014 US PGA Championship at Valhalla GC, Kentucky, USA.

This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Thursday – Friday: 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST (TNT)
  • Saturday – Sunday: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm EST (TNT)
  • Saturday – Sunday: 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST (CBS)
• Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
  • Thursday – Friday: 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
  • Saturday – Sunday: 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST
• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the PGA Championship App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the PGA Championship this Week

This week DraftKings will be hosting their final (we think) Millionaire Maker contest of the season and at $3.3 million in guaranteed payout this one will be bigger than ever!

• PGA $3.3M Millionaire Maker ($1 Million to 1st): Here’s your chance once again to turn $20 bucks into $1 million!  Like the past three majors of 2015, the player field will be deep with well over 100,000 fantasy players turning out for this one.  We have a feeling that one of our Premium Members will be holding the big check come Monday morning!

This Week’s PGA Championship Fantasy Notes

We’ve looked at Whistling Straights in just about every conceivable way for this week’s event.  Yes, it has some serious challenges but the track can be tamed.

Long ball hitters will definitely benefit this week but it won’t be the deciding factor.  We’ll be putting a premium on course management and fundamental stats like Greens in Regulation and Putting.  The greens are big here and excellent ball strikers should be able to score well as long as their putters follow suit.  At 7,000 square feet, these greens rank as some of the biggest on TOUR so look for guys who can get their approach shots in tight.

Regarding your fantasy lineup, to win the big prize this week you’ll need to identify the strongest players priced in the $6,000 – $7,500 range so start there first and look for three solid guys with an average of $7200 or so, and then build up to the top.

For better chances of winning you can even run with your strongest sleepers and switch up the horse picks in a handful of lineups.  Sixty bucks spent on a chance to win $1,000,000 in a field of about 80,000-100,000 is money well spent in our opinion.

We’ll even throw in a few sample DraftKings rosters in our picks segment below this week to help you find a winning strategy.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2015 PGA Championship

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the PGA Championship

• Jordan Spieth (Golficity Odds 3/2 FPPG: 92.88 GPFP: 117.95 Salary:$12,500): Some people say he’s tired, fading, and throwing in the towel until the playoffs but they couldn’t be more wrong.  Remember, Spieth is still chasing history as the youngest player to win three majors (and third player) in a single season.  So far this year his stats, wins, and money earned speak volumes about the type of season Spieth is having, but he’s definitely not done.  Jordan comes into Whistling Straits fresh off of a T10 at Firestone where he led the field in par-4 scoring—a stat we love this week at WS.  Most will opt away from Spieth to create more roster room, but don’t worry we’ll show you some sample rosters with and without Spieth as your horse pick below.  But regardless, we feel he’s a must have this week.  It really boiled down to him or Rory and we just can’t take a chance on McIlroy yet.
  • GIR Rank: 55th
  • Driving Accuracy: 85th
  • Putting Average: 1st
  • Driving Distance Rank: 76th

* Most Notable Stat: Scoring Average: 1st

• Jason Day (Golficity Odds 8/1 FPPG: 87.77 GPFP: 109.71 Salary:$10,800): The vertigo hasn’t slowed him down and frankly, his game looks to be at a peak right now.  Day flipped a switch after fainting at the U.S. Open and has been a force on TOUR ever since.  After Chambers Bay (where he finished T9) Day went on to post a T4, a win, and T12.  He continues to be a fantasy stud posting solid numbers week in and week out.  Most importantly, his health seems under control now and a major championship is well in reach for this guy.
  • GIR Rank: 32nd
  • Driving Accuracy: 184th
  • Putting Average: 2nd
  • Driving Distance Rank: 3rd

* Most Notable Stat: Scrambling: 5th

• Bubba Watson (Golficity Odds 15/1 FPPG: 85.61 GPFP: 97.59 Salary:$9,900): We feel like Watson is underrated this week with so many other studs like Rose and Stenson in the mix.  Rose would have been the clear favorite in this slot but we like Bubba’s game a bit more this week.  It looks like momentum will be on his side as well with his pair of 2nd place finishes in the last two weeks.  Despite his missed cuts on both consecutive links-style majors, we think Bubba is poised to win again soon and be a serious contender for the FedExCup.  How about this season so far: 7 Top 10s including 6 of them in the Top 3 (with 2 wins)!
  • GIR Rank: 39th
  • Driving Accuracy: 151st
  • Putting Average: 70th
  • Driving Distance Rank: 2nd

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green & Total: Both 1st

• Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 16/1 FPPG: 69.88 GPFP: 70.57 Salary:$9,800): Rickie’s killing it this year with 5 Top 10s including a win at the PLAYERS in May followed by his Scottish Open win shortly thereafter.  Plus, Rickie seems to really step up his game for the big stages with Top 12 finishes in 5 of his last 7 majors.  He comes into this week off of a solo second at the Quicken Loans and a T10 at Firestone last week.  It seems like his game is improving every week and he’s becoming more dialed in with both his approach and short game.  At $9,800 Fowler is a solid pickup this week.
  • GIR Rank: 125th
  • Driving Accuracy: 86th
  • Putting Average: 38th
  • Driving Distance Rank: 41st

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around: 10th

• Zach Johnson (Golficity Odds 22/1 FPPG: 71.95 GPFP: 63.62 Salary:$8,400): There’s no denying that British Open winner Zach Johnson is an excellent pickup in this salary range.   He’s already won a major on a tougher links course a few weeks ago and his game continues to trend in the right direction.  He slipped down the leaderboard last week at Firestone with a T33 finish but overall his game shows no signs of slowing down.  Johnson has now finished in the Top 20 in nine out of his last twelve consecutive events, he also knows this course well  and placed a career-best T3 here in 2010.  Needless to say, we’re taking ZJ over Walker this week.
  • GIR Rank:  42nd
  • Driving Accuracy:  4th
  • Putting Average: 13th
  • Driving Distance Rank: 160th

* Most Notable Stat: Scoring Average: 9th

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the PGA Championship

• Brooks Koepka (Golficity Odds 32/1 FPPG: 79.44 GPFP: 85.79  Salary: $7,800): Lookup “Fantasy Golf Rock Star” in the dictionary and you’ll see this guy’s face.  With a solid 79.44 FPPG Brooks has no worse than a T18 finish in his last five starts.  He’s having a stellar summer and looks to keep it going with the chance of winning his first major and perhaps, his first FedExCup.  Koepka is fresh off of a T6 at Firestone where he posted scores under par in every round.
  • GIR Rank: 19th
  • Driving Accuracy:  155th
  • Putting Average: 63rd
  • Driving Distance Rank: 6th

* Most Notable Stat: Adjusted Scoring: 3rd

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the PGA Championship

• Jason Bohn (Golficity Odds: 50/1 FPPG: 67.72 GPFP: 54.17  Salary:$6,700): There’s a lot of chatter out there about how Bohn’s game is resembling Dufner’s in 2013.  All that doesn’t really matter because Whistling Straits is a far difference course than where Duf won his PGA Championship but regardless, Bohn is a solid pick at a perfect fantasy price tag.  He has three Top-13 finishes in his last three starts and is extremely accurate off of the tee—plus he’s a first-rate putter.  If we had to pick one guy in this price range it would be Bohn all day.
  • GIR Rank: 22nd
  • Driving Accuracy: 3rd
  • Putting Average: 2nd
  • Driving Distance Rank: 184th

* Most Notable Stat: Putting Average: 2nd

Sample Roster with Jordan Spieth

Sample Roster without Jordan Spieth

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Last Week’s Fantasy Results for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

• Dustin Johnson: T53 ($48,167)
• Rickie Fowler: T10 ($149,500)
• Hideki Matsuyama: T37 ($63,000)
• Zach Johnson: T33 ($67,500)
• Brook Koepka: T6 ($219,000)

Last Week’s Sleeper Pick to Win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

• JB Holmes: T37 ($63,000)

Last Week’s Salary Cap Sleeper Pick to Win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

• Danny Lee: T6 ($219,000)

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD Stats

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”13.09%” bar_text=”33 out of 252 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”25.00%” bar_text=”63 out of 252 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”30.55%” bar_text=”11 out of 36 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”36.11%” bar_text=”13 out of 36 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”80.15%” bar_text=”202 out of 252 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Major Winners Picked” percent=”100%” bar_text=”3 out of 3 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2015 PGA Championship with other Premium Members.

Cover Photo by Dan Perry on Flickr