2020 PGA Championship Fantasy Picks

The first and only golf major of the year is up next in this shortened 2020 PGA season which was turned upside down by the Covid-19 virus. Usually, the first major of the year is the Masters tournament in April but this year we only get one and it’s the PGA Championship in August. Amazingly the 2020 golf season is almost over so this is the last chance for fantasy players to take home a Millionaire Golf Contest as I don’t think there be any more until next year.

The 2020 PGA Championship is being played at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. This course has never held a major championship before and hasn’t really hosted any consistent PGA Tour event since the 1960’s. There will be no course history to lean on here but that is not a big deal as most of the time the PGA Championship is held at a different course every year and any course history is usually a few years old.

PGA Championship Notes

PGA Championship DFS Picks

When it’s a golf major I tend to go for a Stars and Scrubs lineup, meaning I will load up my fantasy lineups with 3 studs in the highest tier and then fill out the rest of my lineup with low end sleepers. There are so many guys below $7500 on DraftKings and below $8500 on FanDuel that there are sure to be many sleepers that make it into the top 20. This is where you will need a bit of lady luck on your side to hopefully select the right ones but as far as winning the tournament, Majors get won by the stars the majority of the time. You can check out our PGA Championship Sleeper Report for many more sleeper picks other than the one I will give you below.

Just look at the last few winners of the PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka (2019, 2018), Justin Thomas (2017), Jimmy Walker (2016), Jason Day (2015) and Rory McIlory (2014). Besides Jimmy Walker in 2016 all past recent winners are the top echelon of golf and that’s why it’s a smart move to get as many stud golfers as you can in your lineups.

Top Tier Golfers This Week

Justin Thomas
Brooks Koepka
Rory McIlroy
Jon Rahm
Bryson DeChambeau

Xander Schauffele
Webb Simpson
Patrick Cantlay
Tiger Woods
Dustin Johnson

Top Tier Pick

Patrick Cantlay

Going with the California native as my top tier pick this week. He is coming off 2 sub par weeks having finished 35th at the St. Jude Classic and 32nd at the Memorial Tournament. He has still managed to put up an average of 75 DK points in his last 3 events despite those mediocre finishes.

What I Like About Cantlay

• 3 for 3 in cuts made at the PGA Championship. He finished 3rd in 2019 and 27th in 2018.
  
  
• Out of all the studs in the top tier I expect him to be somewhat lower owned. Most of the ownership should go to Thomas, Koepka and McIlroy. He has just a good a chance at winning as all the others so to me he’s great value this week.
  
  
• You are going to need to be consistent with your ball striking at TPC Harding as this will be a difficult course. It ranked as one of the hardest fairways to hit when they played on it in 2005. Cantlay is 7th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green and 21st in Greens in Regulation.

Projected Highest Owned From This Tier
Justin Thomas

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Mid Tier Golfers This Week

Daniel Berger
Collin Morikawa
Viktor Hovland
Jason Day
Rickie Fowler
Hideki Matsuyama
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Patrick Reed

Tyrrell Hatton
Gary Woodland
Tony Finau
Adam Scott
Justin Rose
Abraham Ancer
Jordan Spieth
Tommy Fleetwood

Top Mid Tier Pick

Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki has been quiet so far since we re-started play in 2020 and pretty inconsistent to be honest. That being said, last week he finished 20th and put up a respectable 75 fantasy points. He seems to be rounding into better form right now where he has been good in 3 out of the last 4 he’s played.

What I Like About Matsuyama

• He plays well in the PGA Championship and is an impressive 7 for 7 in cuts made with an average finish of 22nd place.
  
  
• 2nd in SG:T2G and 10th in GIR. His problem continues to be his accuracy off the tee and this is a dangerous tournament to take him in if he’s wild with his driver. He’s worth the risk in my opinion as he could be a surprise winner this week.

Projected Highest Owned From This Tier
Colin Morikawa, Matthew Fitzpatrick

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Low End Golfers This Week

Billy Horschel
Brendon Todd
Bubba Watson
Chez Reavie
Adam Hadwin
Byeong-Hun An
Henrik Stenson
Joaquin Niemann
Scottie Scheffler
Danny Willett

Harris English
Matt Wallace
Max Homa
Erik Van Rooyen
Ian Poulter
Kevin Kisner
Kevin Streelman
Tom Lewis
Cameron Champ
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Top Sleeper Pick

Billy Horschel

Going with Billy Ho this week as my top sleeper pick of the low tier guys. I actually think he will be high owned unfortunately so it’s not ideal but he is just playing too well to ignore.

What I Like About Horschel

• The PGA Championship is where he tends to perform the best out of The Masters, The Open and US Open.
  
  
• At the PGA he has gone 6 for 7 in cuts made. He finished 23rd last year and 35th the year before.
  
  
• He has been putting great this year and ranks 22nd in strokes gained putting. There won’t be to many birdies out there at TPC Harding so I want my sleeper pick to be one the better putters this week.
  
  
• His last 3 events – on average 81 DK points and an average finish of 15th. He’s playing great and now is a good time to ride his hot streak.

Projected Highest Owned From This Tier
Billy Horschel, Scottie Scheffler