This article is part of our DFS Golf series.
LIV GOLF LAS VEGAS
Purse: $20M individual, $5 million team
Winner's share: $4M individual, $3M team
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Course: Las Vegas Country Club
Yardage: 7,089
Par: 70
For more information, check out RotoWire's LIV Golf Optimizer.
Tournament Preview
The second tournament of the LIV Golf circuit kicks off Thursday, Feb. 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Country Club is about 20 minutes away from Allegiant Stadium, which will host Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11. Given that the tournament concludes on Saturday, fans and players sticking around in Sin City will have a day's break before taking in the Big Game. Hopefully, the same buzz generated by the Super Bowl will filter through to the tournament starting Thursday.
In the first tournament of the season in Mayakoba, Mexico, Torques GC captain Joaquin Niemann fired a 12-under in the first round and overcame a two-stroke penalty in the second round to outlast Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff following the final round Sunday. It was Niemann's first tournament victory on the LIV circuit, with his previous best performance coming in the final event of the 2023 season in Miami. The El Camaleón course was dominated by the team captains, with seven of the 13 finishing in the top-10 for the tournament.
In his LIV debut at Mayakoba, Jon Rahm finished the event at 10-under and shared third place with Dean Burmester. It was an impressive debut not only for Rahm, but for his team, Legion XIII, which as a foursome fired a 14-under final round to capture the team event by four strokes. Tyrrell Hatton fueled that effort with a 7-under 64 to finish the tournament tied for eighth, while teammates Caleb Surratt (four-under final round, T13) and Kieran Vincent (two-under final round, T38) also helped with the final push to the top of the podium. Crushers GC -- captained by Bryson DeChambeau (T25) -- finished second in the team event at 20-under while Torque GC, who led through the first two rounds, finished third at 17-under.
The LIV Circuit will make its first appearance at the Las Vegas Country Club in its three-year history. The course is no secret to many of the players, however, as it has hosted 19 PGA and LGPA events since it opened in 1967. Iron Heads GC captain Kevin Na has won two professional events at the course, while DeChambeau has one win to his name. LIV Golf Commissioner & CEO Greg Norman won the Las Vegas Invitational in 1986.
The course itself is slightly shorter than El Camaleón, but will still provide a challenge with its narrow fairways and heavy bunker presence. The Las Vegas course carries a projected green speed of 12.5 – noticeably faster than the 10.8 from Mayakoba – so discipline on approaches and putts will be required. This weekend's tournament could favor those who display patience and accuracy, rather than raw driving distance.
DraftKings Value Picks
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Joaquin Niemann - $9,800 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +1200)
It's hard to not include the winner of the Mayakoba event, especially given he has a DFS of under $10,000. His 12-under 59 on the opening round of the tournament was the best of the weekend, and he could have very well avoided a playoff with Garcia had he not incurred a two-stroke penalty after the second round. Niemann didn't jump off the page with his putting average (1.52 per hole, T20 in the field), but he ranked first in the field in Greens In Regulation (GIR - 75.93 percent), second in driving distance (303.4 yards) and tied for second in fairway accuracy (52.38 percent). His GIR and fairway accuracy will be particularly important for a shorter Vegas course.
Tyrrell Hatton - $9,700 (+1100)
Hatton had a strong finish to his LIV debut when he stroked a seven-under 64 in the final round at Mayakoba, which helped Legion XIII capture the team event. He started the round hitting six birdies over the first eight holes and elevated him from 24th place to a tie for eighth. Hatton finished third in the field at Mayakoba with 1.43 putts per hole, and if he's able to bring that to Las Vegas, he should be in contention for another top finish.
Dustin Johnson - $9,600 (+1600)
Johnson shot a four-under 67 in the first and final rounds at Mayakoba, but he was hampered by an even-par 71 on Saturday, when his five birdies were outdone by three bogeys and a double. His fairway accuracy was middle of the pack, but he finished near the top in average puts (1.44 - T6), scrambling (70.0 percent - 11th) and GIR (62.96% - T17). Johnson and his 4Aces GC teammates will look to bounce back in Vegas after finishing second-to-last place in the team event at Mayakoba.
Tier 2 Values
Sergio Garcia - $9,100 (+2200)
Much like Johnson, Garcia had a strong start and finish to Mayakoba, but came up short in the playoff against Niemann. Garcia could very well replicate his success in Las Vegas, given the shorter course and that he led the field last weekend in scrambling (78.57 percent) and was tied for second with Rahm in GIR (74.07 percent). Garcia's performance in Mayakoba was his best placement since joining the LIV Golf circuit in 2022 and he'll look to continue that momentum into Las Vegas and help Fireballs GC to a podium finish,
Charles Howell III - $9,000 (+3500)
Despite finishing T5 at Mayakoba, Howell enters this weekend's event tied with Mito Pereira for the 13th-highest odds in the field. Howell had seven bogeys over the first two rounds last weekend that hampered his climb up the leaderboard, but he finished strong with a bogey-free three-under 68 on Sunday. Despite finishing in the bottom half in GIR, he was the best in the field in putting average (1.37) and T5 in scrambling (75.0 percent).
Dean Burmester - $8,900 (+1800)
Burmester continued his hot stroke at Mayakoba, finishing in a tie for third with Rahm. Burmester has now placed in the top 20 in 10 straight LIV Golf tournaments, five of which were top-10 finishes. He has the 11th-highest DFS salary and 9th-highest Draftkings Sportsbook odds, which is reflective of his strong performance from mid-2023 to present. At Mayakoba, Burmester finished seventh in average driving distance (300.4 yards), eighth in scrambling (75.0 percent) and T13 in GIR (64.82 percent).
Tier 3 Values
Anirban Lahiri - $7,500 (+5000)
Sitting at two-over heading into the final round last weekend, Lahiri rattled off a four-under 67 final round on Sunday to finish T21. He and Howell each played well enough Sunday to catapult Crushers GC to a 13-under final round and a second-place finish in the team event. He struggled at times to find the green in Mayakoba, but was efficient when he was on and he finished T14 in the field in average putts (1.48).
Brendan Steele - $7,400 (+6000)
After shooting a four-over 75 in the first round at Mayakoba, Steele responded with a strong five-under 66 in Saturday's round that included five birdies and an eagle to just two bogeys. He and Cameron Tringale (three-under) were the only two teammates on HyFLyers GC to finish under-par last weekend, with captain Phil Mickelson finishing at 11-over for the tournament. Steele was middle of the pack in most statistics last weekend, but he did finish T17 in GIR (62.96 percent).
Kevin Na - $7,000 (+8000)
Na had a strong start to Mayakoba and was four-under through the first nine holes of the first round, but he lost all momentum when he scored two double bogeys on the back nine. He finished the tournament shooting 70-70-70 for a share of 17th place, and the Las Vegas native will hope to rebound on home soil. Na finished last weekend's tournament tied for second in fairway hit percentage (52.38 percent) and second behind Garcia in scrambling (78.26 percent), both of which should translate well at Las Vegas Country Club.
Tier 4 Values
Caleb Surratt - $6,900 (+8000)
Surratt got progressively better over the course of last weekend's tournament, culminating in a four-under 67 on the final round Sunday. He scored a double bogey in every round, but he managed to stay even or better with timely birdies. After scoring a double bogey on the 17th hole Sunday, he rattled off five consecutive birdies. His T13 finish was third-best on Legion XIII behind captain Rahm and Hatton. In Mayakoba, Surratt finished T7 in fairway accuracy (47.62 percent), eighth in GIR (68.52 percent) and 15th in scrambling (64.71 percent).
Matt Jones - $6,700 (+10000)
Jones shot two-over 73 in each of the first two rounds at Mayakoba. However, he started to build momentum on the back nine Saturday when he finished the round with four birdies over the last eight holes. He continued that momentum into Sunday with a bogey-free five-under 66 that included an eagle on the fifth hole. Although Jones finished near the bottom of the field in GIR (46.30 percent) and fairway accuracy (30.95 percent), he was able to recover quite well, reflected in his 10th rank in scrambling (72.41 percent) and T3 in putting average (1.43).
Sam Horsfield - $6,400 (+15000)
Horsfield finished Mayakoba in a share of 17th place, his best LIV performance since Chicago in 2023 when he finished T14. He managed to shoot two-under 69 in each of the last two rounds last weekend and was the only member of Majesticks GC to finish the tournament under par. Horsfield finished last weekend T10 in putting average (1.46), 15th in driving distance (294.2 yards) and T22 in scrambling (62.50 percent).
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