PGA Championship 2022 DraftKings Preview
Tiger Woods joins a star-studded cast set to tee it up at southern hills
After a scorcher of a week at the Byron Nelson where KH Lee shot 25-under par and successfully defended his title, golf's elite will be begging for birdies this week. It's MAJOR SZN once again and the best in the game have gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tiger Woods is among them as he looks to continue his remarkable comeback at a familiar place. The second major championship of the season is on deck as the PGA Championship returns to Southern Hills after 15 years. Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.
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
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 Pga championship
This field is stacked. Of course, it is! It's the PGA Championship. One of four "major" grand slam golf events every year. The PGA Championship rotates around some of the best and toughest tracks the USA has to offer. This year, Southern Hills will host the PGA Championship for the fifth time (1970, 1982, 1994, 2007). However, the course has changed quite a bit since Tiger Woods won in 2007.
The field consists of 156 players. The top 70 and ties make the 36-hole cut. A total of $12 million is in the purse with $2.1 million awaiting the eventual champion. Last year's PGA Championship was held at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island where Phil Mickelson topped Brooks Koepka. Amongst a series of controversies, Phil has chosen not to play this year.
This year's field is led by world #1, Scottie Scheffler at a salary of $11,400. Jon Rahm is right behind Scheff at $11,200. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Rory McIlroy represent the $10k range. The $9k range includes Viktor Hovland Cameron Smith, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, and Brooks Koepka.
The highlight of the field is the GOAT. Woods sits at $8,200, surrounded by the likes of Will Zalatoris, Sam Burns, Daniel Berger, Max Homa, Corey Conners, and a man we have not seen for a while, Bryson DeChambeau. Tiger impressed at The Masters just a couple of months ago. He hasn't teed it up competitively since but he says he's stronger and arrived in Tulsa on Sunday. Dechambeau has been sidelined with a hand injury since January.
Though we have an extremely impressive group of contenders, there are non-PGA Tour players in the field. In fact, 20 players have played less than 10 rounds on Tour. Give these guys a quick scratch off the list.
PGA championship Course Breakdown
- Course: Southern Hills CC
- Location: Tulsa, OK
- Yardage: 7,556
- Par: 70
- Architect: Perry Maxwell (1936) - Gil Hanse renovation (2018-19)
- Grass: Bentgrass greens
- Comp Courses: Augusta National, Bethpage Black, Chambers Bay, Shinnecock Hills, Memorial Park, Muirfield Village
The boys will have their hands full this week. As mentioned earlier, Southern Hills is going to play a bit differently than it did when Tiger won in 2007. Gil Hanse restored a lot of Perry Maxwell's original design during renovations that were completed in 2019. Some of the key changes were adding over 300 yards, chopping down trees, widening fairways, and tidying up around the greens. Southern Hills will play as a 7,500-yard Par 70. LONG!
The fairways are deceivingly wide enough from the tee box but are designed to repel the ball if landed on the wrong side. It is called Southern "Hills". Players won't get many flat lies. The Bermudagrass rough is short which will cause some trouble but won't be too penal to kick off the event. Tons of trees were removed from the course but the ones that were left can wreak havoc. It's a shot shaper's course. A lot of doglegs and the need for accuracy off the tee and into the greens.
Hanse stated that this championship would be won with the flatstick. The greens are small and slopey AF. There are a lot of crowns to these putting surfaces and nasty runoffs to whisk away errant shots. The greens are the primary defense but won't be all the players have to deal with. Water will be in play on 15 holes and 83 bunkers line the course.
The wind. Yikes. Keep an eye on that. It is going to be blowing.
Key Stats for the pga championship
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Opps Gained
- Bentgrass Putting
- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
- Strokes Gained: Around the Green
- Bogey Avoidance
- Major Championship Prowess
Southern Hills has been described as a second-shot golf course but approach play is always the most important part of success in golf. The need to have precise iron-play is elevated when you have such small greens and long distances into them. FNGC's opps gained stat will show which players give themselves the most scoring opportunities from inside 15 feet, which will be quite helpful this week.
If the course designer thinks putting is going to win this championship, you don't ignore it. Bentgrass greens typically roll pure and true without having to worry about reading grain. These greens won't be too fast either but the problem lies in the tiers, crowns, slope, undulation, and any other term for treachery on the putting surface you can think of. The last couple of events were played on Bentgrass and of course, The Masters, just a couple months back was as well.
The best tee-to-green players should come out on top this week. Approach is key, of course, but the other two stats -- Off the Tee and Around the Green -- are just as necessary. The length of Southern Hills will put a lot more stress on shorter hitters. Guys who can bomb it definitely have an edge and those with a bit more accuracy should feast on the rest. Even the best iron players won't make every green. This is where the short game will come in. Chipping, the ol' bump and run, and putting from off the green will be common this week. Guys that suffer in those categories will bleed strokes to the field.
Struggling in anything above will lead to bogeys. There will be lots. With all of the trouble in front of them, the guys who consistently avoid bogeys have an edge. These guys are generally the most experienced players. Guys who have patience, composure, and stick to their strategy. Major championships are a different ball game. There's a reason we see a lot of the same guys in the hunt every year.
Here's a tidbit from our Nut Hut in-house caddie: "Updated on Tuesday."
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pga championship 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
Brooks is in the field. He was a WD last week but said he 100% healthy and took it off to rest up for this event. Brooks hasn't been playing well but this event is his baby. He went back to back in 2018-19 and was runner-up last year. He also leads anyone on the planet by about 4 times in major championship scoring. Play.
$9K & AboveÂ
- DB: Play - Scottie Scheffler | Fade - Brooks Koepka
- Pat: Play - Rory McIlroy | Fade - Brooks Koepka
- AC: Play - Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, Patrick Cantlay | Fade - Dustin Johnson
It's JT. He checks all the boxes you want. He's a former champ. Just need to see ownership and weather. All of these guys are studs. Cam Smith won't pop in models which may keep the chalk off. Smith is elite in Par 4 scoring, putting, and approach. Yes, please. Lastly, Cantlay also knows how to elevate his game. He's a pest in these events and has an all-around game that works in difficult conditions.
There aren't any easy fades but for what they've accomplished over the last year, I think DJ stands out as being one of the weaker links up here.
$8K Range
- DB: Play - Daniel Berger | Fade - Tyrrell HattonÂ
- Pat: Play - Shane Lowry | Fade - Tyrrell Hatton
- AC: Play - Shane Lowry, Corey Conners | Fade - Bryson DeChambeau
Lowry ranks fourth in my model. He's number one in approach, seventh in Par 4 scoring, and fourth in bogey avoidance over the last six months. CoCo is ninth in my model and one of the best ball strikers on the planet. He's 10th tee to green and top 15 in Par 4 scoring and bogey avoidance. Both players had solid finishes at the 2021 PGA with Lowry finishing 4th and Coco, 17th.
Bryson isn't a strong fade. It's the easiest but it would be hard to put a penny on him this week. He missed the cut at The Masters and Valero before undergoing surgery on his hand. Even if we knew he was 100%, you're not going to find your game here.
$7K Range
- DB: Play - Luke List | Fade - The boys got off track
- Pat: Play - Matthew Fitzpatrick | Fade - The boys got off track
- AC: Play - Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Alex Noren | Fade - Abe Ancer
Man, Cam Young has been electric to start his PGA Tour career. He's making his debut at the PGA Championship but has the game to succeed here. he's first in opps gained, second off the tee, and second in par 4 scoring. Though it has been about a decade since Keegs won the PGA Championship, he still did it. He's also been playing super well this year. He's third in my model and has five T12s or better in 2022 including fifth at the players and second two weeks ago at a messy Wells Fargo. I'm a sucker for Alex Noren. He's been one of my favorites on Tour for a long time. His game has been sharp lately and he's one of the best Bentgrass putters on Tour. The approach and bogey avoidance are up there too.
I think there are lots of easy fades in this range but Ancer is one of the more popular ones I don't see cracking Southern Hills. The game isn't there yet and is not fit for this type of course.
$6K Range
- DB: Play - Lanto Griffin, Robert MacIntyre, Keith Mitchell
- Pat: Play - Aaron Wise, Anirban Lahiri, Adam Hadwin
- AC: Play - Sebastian Munoz, Mito Periera, Bernd Wiesberger
There are some gems down here. Without ownership available or even tee times with the weather looming, these won't be concrete picks. I like the boys' calls on Killa Keith, Wise, Lahiri, and Hadwin. However, I got some others. Munoz does not have a great Championship history but it's only been two tries. He's been a beast tee to green lately. The accuracy and long iron numbers should set him up well this week. Mito is solid off the tee, is top 10 in par 4 scoring, and most importantly for me, 8th in bogey avoidance over the last six months. Bernd is going to be a mega sleeper I think. We haven't seen him on the PGA this season except for the Valspar which he finished a respectable T33. He's had three top 40s on the World Tour since with a T8 in the middle.
There ya go. Major week. Max out your contests. It's fun to chase a milli-maker but there are much, much better contests for your dollars. Ownership and weather will be massive obstacles this week. Get in the Nut Hut. A huge week with tons of information in there. Good luck!
THE INS & OUTS
*The field is 156