The Masters 2022 DraftKings Preview
augusta national prepped for the greatest show in golf
Some things come around once every year -- Birthdays, Holidays, Anniversaries -- none of those quite hit like Masters week. There's a golf tournament every week but for as long as I can remember, The Masters reigns supreme. A field of 91 will gather inside the gates of Augusta National Golf Club, including the goat, Tiger Woods. Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.Â
What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.Â
That's correct. Tiger 'MFing' Woods is back. The man continues to defy the odds. It's unknown what type of impact Tiger will have on the actual outcome of The Masters. Anyone lucky enough to be on the grounds at Augusta National this week will certainly be witnessing something special.
All of the course data, player stats, and most of the information below can be found on Fantasy National Golf Club (FNGC). At FNGC you can view historic course conditions, course scoring breakdowns, tournament history, simulators, and official strokes gained data provided by the PGA Tour. Start building your models at Fantasy National now!
The Field and Tournament Details for the masters
The most glaring name in the field is Tiger. Every day we get closer to the first tee time and Tiger's name remains on the tee sheet. I am trying to control my optimism but with all the new technology at ANGC, we have a chance to see every single swing Tiger makes in The Masters.
There are other players in the field too. Pretty much all of the best. Scottie Scheffler will make his debut as the World #1. Scheff tops the DraftKings salaries at $11,000. Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, and Rory McIlroy round out the $10k and above. Cameron Smith, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Kopeka, Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Bryson DeChambeau, and Daniel Berger fill in the $9ks. Tiger sits in the middle of the $8ks at $8,500.
JJ Spaun was the last player to make it into the field off the back of his first PGA Tour win at the Valero Texas Open. A recent push up the world rankings has also given five players a tee time on Thursday at ANGC. Thomas Pieters will make his first appearance since 2018. Russell Henley is also back for the first time in four years. Harold Varner III, Seamus Power, and Cameron Young will be making their Masters debut.
If you want to fine-tune your knowledge on some of the international players teeing it up at The Master this week, check out DB and TJ's DP World Tour expert, Mark Hill, breaking down the contingent here. DB also has a video on his favorite sleepers.
Harris English has WD due to a hip injury bringing the field down to 91. There will not be any replacements in the field. The top 50 and ties will make the cut. A number of question marks surround some key names. DB breaks down what we know about some of these injuries in the latest TJ upload.
Past Masters Champions
Hideki Matsuyama returns to the site of his first major championship and the scene that secured his legend in his home country of Japan. Deki posted a 278 (-10) 72-hole total, beating Zalatoris by one stroke. Schauffele finished T3 with Spieth. Rahm and Marc Leishman tied for 5th.
Recent Masters champions include Dustin Johnson (2020*), Tiger Woods (2019, 05, 02, 01, 09), Patrick Reed (2018), Sergio Garcia (2017), Danny Willett (2016), Jordan Spieth (2015), Bubba Watson (2014, 12), Adam Scott (2013), Charl Schwartzel (2011). The average winning score over the last 11 years is 276 (-12).
* DJ won in 2020 which was played in November. I would largely ignore this event as the course played quite differently. However, in terms of course history, just being there if it was still your first time is a significant boost.
the masters Course Breakdown
- Course: Augusta National Golf Club
- Location: Augusta, GA USA
- Yardage: 7,475
- Par: 72
- Architect: Allister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones Jr. (1933)
- Grass: Bentgrass
- Comp Courses: Kapalua, Whistling Straits, Riviera CC, Quail Hollow
This is the 86th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC). It's a course like no other. Every golfer's dream destination. Course management is key. Patience and strategy are a must. The fairways are large and relatively easy to hit. Gotta set yourself up for the second shot. So many bad lies await off the tee. Smart golf gets the jacket.
Datagolf ranks ANGC as the sixth hardest course since 2015. The lightning-fast and large, undulating Bentgrass greens are the main defense. Hitting the proper tier is important. Lots of ability to feed balls to the hole or run them off the green. Veterans get an edge when it comes to reading these tricky greens. In fact, ANGC ranks #1 in the value of course history.
The rough isn't very thick or penal at ANGC but it quickly turns into trees and pine straw which we will see a lot of shots from. Water is in play on five holes and 44 bunkers offer more defense. Weather can be a factor. There is some precipitation in the forecast and some potential gusty conditions. ANGC is equipped with sub-air systems that can control the speed no matter what the forecast has in store,
Key Stats for the masters
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Course History
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Bogey Avoidance
- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
- Par 5 Scoring
- Par 3 Scoring
We, unfortunately, aren't able to get official strokes gained data from The Masters but what is available points directly at approach stats. Augusta is another second-shot course that demands you hit the green. Greens in regulation are below average at ANGC. More than half of the shots into the greens are from 175+. Much higher than the PGA Tour average.
Along with GIR%, scrambling and three-putt avoidance are also below average. The greens at ANGC are among the toughest. Putting is key. Bogey avoidance is a great stat to look at in a major week. The setups aren't easy and bogey avoidance correlates well to putting stats.
Strokes gained off the tee and specifically driving distance yield some massive strokes on the field. ANGC is a long course and not missing the fairway by much won't hurt ya. Driving distance is the fifth-highest correlated stat to producing success. Even more important than distance but directly related, is Par 5 scoring. Only one player (Willett) has won The Masters without being at least -3 on the four Par 5s. A similar line for the Par 3s. Every Masters champ in the last 12 years has played the Par 3s +1 or better.
Finally, course history. Don't ignore it. You want guys to have some recent form but, we know from years and years of The Masters, as soon as guys enter that gate, it's game on.
Here's a tidbit from our Nut Hut in-house caddie: "Updated on Tuesday"
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the masters Picks & Fades
Each week we will give you some plays and a fade from each DraftKings salary range. For all of DB and Pat’s thoughts and picks make sure to check out and subscribe to the Tour Junkies Podcast.
To Play or Not to Play Brooks Koepka
Let me offer you some nuggets. BK is #1 over the last six years in majors in wins, rounds led, score to par, scoring average, strokes gained total, rounds in the 60s, and birdies or better. His nickname is the 'Big Game Hunter'. The form is pretty solid. The confidence has to be high after beating Rahmbo in the Match Play and barely losing to DJ. BK finished runner-up at The Masters in 2019, losing to Tiger by one stroke.
$9K & AboveÂ
- DB: Play - Scottie Scheffler | Fade - Rory McIlroy
- Pat: Play - Will Zalatoris | Fade - Scottie Scheffler
- AC: Play - Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka | Fade - Hideki Matsuyama
I think one of the most inspired and motivated players in the field this week will be JT. Seeing his bestie, Tiger, getting prepped has to ignite a spark if the aura of ANGC wasn't enough. JT ranks 6th in total strokes gained at The Masters since 2016. The form isn't bad either with a T3 at The Valspar a couple of weeks ago. JT also has 'Bones' on the bag now who looped for several Masters and major championship wins.
We last saw Cam at The PLAYERS. He won. Blew the field away with his putter. Cam has three top 10s in his last four Masters starts and great form to go along with it. Excels in Par 5 and Par 3 scoring with some hot irons.
There is definitely something wrong with Hideki. On top of that, he has tons of duties this week. Even if he has WD or avoided playing over the last few events to save himself for this, it's just not worth the risk when there is so much talent surrounding him.
$8K Range
- DB: Play - Louis Oosthuizen | Fade - Talor Gooch
- Pat: Play - Shane Lowry | Fade - Tiger Woods
- AC: Play - Nobody | Fade - Everybody
This is such a weird range that I think will go largely under-owned. It's filled with guys who either have solid course history and shit recent form or shit course history and solid recent form. Then you have Tiger. What do you do with Tiger? I don't see myself playing anyone from here but I lean toward Talor Gooch. I've played him every week this season. He's making his Masters debut.
$7K Range
- DB: Play - Matthew Fitzpatrick | Fade - Sergio Garcia
- Pat: Play - Sergio Garcia | Fade - Webb Simpson
- AC: Play - Russell Henley, Corey Conners, Cameron Young | Fade - Sergio Garcia
Give me a healthy dose of the 7ks. This is always my favorite range to attack and especially so, in majors. Due to the nature of stars and scrubs builds, this range always sees a healthy dose of chalk but these guys can ball, Henley finally returns to Augusta after a four-year hiatus. A T15 and T11 in 2018 and 2017 bode well for the Georgia native. He also has two back-to-back T13s at The PLAYERS and API.
Conners ranks #2 in ball striking at The Masters over the last four years which includes top 10s in his last two starts. The form is pretty decent with a 3rd at the WGC Match Play and a solid _5 final round at the Valero. There might be some Canadian bias but if you don't think CoCo can win the Masters, you've never heard of Mike Weir.
I can't get enough of Cam Young. His style of play is something I can get behind. So far in his career, he has tamed everything put in front of him quite well. He's 2nd in this field over the last three months in SG: OTT and 2nd in opps gained. He's also 20th in bogey avoidance and 9th in scrambling.
Sergio. Nope. A great addition to your miss-the-cut parlay. Too bad Kuch isn't here.
$6K Range
- DB: Play - Gary Woodland, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Stewart Cink
- Pat: Play - Gary Woodland, Kevin Na
- AC: Play - Gary Woodland, Sepp Straka, Stewart Cink
The resurgence of Gary Woodland has been a long time coming and I'm aboard the train. He played well over the weekend at Valero. Recent results at Valspar, API, and Honda are also promising. The history at Augusta isn't great but I think he's a bit mispriced. Expect some chalk.
Sepp has Georgie ties and finally also has a PGA Tour win. After taking down the Honda Classic, he followed it up with a T9 at The PLAYERS. The big Austrian is making his Masters debut and has lots of upside.
Cink has 44 rounds at ANGC and ranks 15th in SG total. He's got seven top 20s with his best being a T3 in '08. In 2021, he finished T12. A T7 at the Valspar shows some form as well
There ya go. It's MASTERS week! Let's goooooo! Small field. Eliminate a bunch of guys. You can toss out a lot of the old guys, amateurs, and invitees from your player pool. At least 50 guys will make the cut but that's not good enough this week. Do you want the Milly? You better get creative. Get your ass in the Nut Hut. We will have a ton of info coming this week. Good luck!
THE INS & OUTS
*The field is 91