Charles Schwab Challenge DFS Preview

If you did not notice…the golfing world was given a jolt of energy last week as Phil Mickelson became the oldest major winner in PGA Tour history. The scene at Kiawah Island was truly remarkable and I believe it is a good sign of things to come for the world of golf. I did read somewhere that the PGA Championship killed the NBA Playoffs in terms of viewership, which is not surprising at all, but I do believe the sports world will be changed once we come out of this pandemic. Writing these DFS preview articles are insanely fun when you have golfers like Phil shaking things up. The PGA Tour will be leaving Kiawah to head west to the Colonial Country Club in Texas. There will be 120 or so golfers in the field and a little more than half are scheduled to make the cut, so do not be shocked to see plenty of competitors having all 6 golfers playing on Saturday. Former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth is the favorite at 10/1.

Colonial Country Club is a shorter course than what we witnessed last week at the PGA Championship. Instead of 7,800 yards…Colonial is around 7,200 yards. The greens are tree-lined and are pretty tight…so Greens in Regulation will be a part of my formula in cooking up a sweet lineup. Accuracy and Approach my friends…those are what we will be looking at. Winds look like they could play a factor as well, with every day reaching gusts of 10+ MPH. I am not too worried about putting…just a good Iron player will get you in a good spot come Sunday. Just like last week…I will be looking at the RBC Heritage results for guidance…and I threw in the Valspar for good measure.

Tier 1: Corey Conners ($9,400)

Maybe not a Tier 1 priced golfer…but Conners is certainly a great one. In approach and Greens in Regulation…Conners ranked among the best at Valspar and RBC. I tend to lean towards the Canadian in most tourneys…and I often pair him with Morikawa (which I am picking as well), but I figured the readers would know of my strategy. Conners led Day 1 of the PGA Championship and is on the brink of a victory in Texas. Bovada has him at 25/1 to win.

Tier 2: Emiliano Grillo ($7,900)

Photo Credit: the lines.com

I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to pick the Argentinean ball-striker…and I think the Colonial is the perfect place. At the RBC Heritage…Grillo was top-5 in Greens in Regulation and Approach. In terms of overall…he is the 3rd best in Greens in Regulation. Why does DraftKings have him priced below $8k I am not sure…but Grillo at 50/1 is a bargain. He did miss the cut at the Valspar, but shot a 66 on Day 1 of that tourney.

Tier 3: Adam Schenk ($6,500)

How have I never really noticed this Purdue product? Schenk was 2nd in Greens in Regulation and 9th in Approach at Valspar…and 5th in Approach at RBC. He also finished in the Top-25 in both events. I feel very ashamed to admit Schenk has never came across my strategy board, but he is my dark horse this week. One telling stat is that he hasn’t gotten a top-10 this season, but with these skills…200/1 is a great play for Adam Schenk.

References: Yahoo!, PGA Tour, Bovada