This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Purse: $8.5M
Winner's Share: $1,530,000
FedEx Cup Points: 2,000 to the Winner
Location: Atlanta
Course: East Lake Golf Club
Yardage: 7,385
Par: 70
2015 champion: Jordan Spieth
Tournament Preview
The 10th season of the now wildly successful FedEx Cup playoffs concludes this week with the TOUR Championship, the final event of the 2015-16 PGA season (the 2016-17 season starts in about 20 minutes, but that's another story). A half dozen or so golfers in the elite 30-man field have a real shot to walk away with the Cup and fill it with the $10 million that comes along with it. The top five in the standings -- Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Paul Casey -- would automatically win the Cup by winning the tournament, and Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, Nos. 6 and 7, would likely emerge as the playoff champ with a victory on Sunday night. This week presents some serious challenges for gamers looking for a DraftKings edge. As always, it's key to find a hidden gem. The only problem is, there are only 30 golfers and none of them are hiding. Cash game lineups tend to be more conservative while GPP lineups generally carry more risk, but is that even possible with such a small field and no cut? Not particularly. If you decide on a couple guys you think could win the tournament -- pay no mind to the FedEx Cup championship, just this tournament -- along with four others who you think could finish in the top 10 or 15, you'll have done your job. Now, who to pick at East Lake, the annual home to the season-ender and boyhood golf home of Bobby Jones? It's a long par-70 track at over 7,300 yards, so driving distance matters, right? Yes, but ... the golfers will need to keep it in the fairway because the rough is penal. We'll examine things a little more closely below, but the longest hitters are nowhere to be found in the past six East Lake champs. Weather-wise, Atlanta temperatures are expected to be in the 80s with little chance of rain and minimal wind. The conditions should not impact your lineup. Besides, with the small field, there really are no drastic differences between early and late tee times.
Key Stats to Winning at East Lake
• Driving accuracy
• Greens in regulation
• Scrambling
• One-putt percentage (putts per GIR)
Past Champions
2015 - Jordan Spieth
2014 - Billy Horschel
2013 - Henrik Stenson
2012 - Brandt Snedeker
2011 - Bill Haas
2010 - Jim Furyk
2009 - Tiger Woods
2008 - Vijay Singh
2007 - Tiger Woods
Champion's Profile:
Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Henrik Stenson, Brandt Snedeker, Bill Haas, Jim Furyk. See any bombers there? Didn't think so. In their victories, Stenson and Horschel were first in greens in regulation. Spieth was ninth, but he was also first in strokes gained: putting; and as we say almost every week, a hot putter will cure most any deficiency in a golfer's game. Off the tee, Stenson was 27th in distance but third in accuracy. Horschel was 12th in distance and a surprising 21 in accuracy; Spieth 16th in distance and seventh in accuracy.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Dustin Johnson - $11,700 (Winning odds at golfodds.com: 9-2)
Johnson has the top price on the DraftKings board, but that should not scare off gamers. Neither should him being 135th in driving accuracy. He was accurate in winning the BMW, and his putting was lights-out. Johnson was fifth in his past two visits to East Lake.
Adam Scott - $10,100 (9-1)
In honor of the great Moses Malone, who passed away last week, Scott has finished "four, four and four" in the first three playoff events. He has had an up-and-down history at East Lake: he didn't make it last year, won the event in 2006 (the year before the playoffs started) and has two top-10s in the past five years. But form obviously matters, and Scott is back on form after a so-so summer. He is third on Tour in GIR.
Paul Casey $9,500 (15-1)
Casey has second-place cashes the past two weeks. Plus, he was fifth last year in the TOUR Championship and fourth in his only other visit, in 2010. Plus, he's second on Tour in GIR. Before the playoffs, Casey hadn't had a top-10 since the Masters, but getting hot at the right time makes all the difference in the world -- just ask Billy Horschel. Yes, Casey will be a popular pick, but don't overthink this one.
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Bubba Watson - $8,400 (25-1)
Watson won't win the Cup, but all eyes will be on him with the final Ryder Cup pick being made right after the tournament ends. He was fifth in two of his last three starts at East Lake, including last year. And despite having a sub-par season, Watson is 19th on Tour in GIR.
Matt Kuchar - $8,200 (25-1)
You could do worse things than pick Kuchar every single time he plays. He's never really contended in the TOUR Championship, but was 10th two of the past four years and 13th in 2014. He's accurate off the tee and 17th on Tour in strokes gained: tee to green. And, he was T4 last week at the BMW.
Russell Knox - $8,000 (30-1)
Knox is completing his finest season, albeit one week short of when he wanted to, as he was bypassed for the European Ryder Cup team. He's sixth on Tour in GIR, and this course seems well-suited for his Americanized game. The only concern? He's never played East Lake before.
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Gary Woodland - $7,800 (40-1)
Woodland has been a personal whipping boy here, but he made it to the final event of the season for a reason. He has notched a top-25 finish in all three playoff events, and he's doing it by getting on the green in a timely fashion, as he is 22nd on Tour in GIR. He's still horrid in Sunday putting -- 119th in number of fourth-round putts -- but he's obviously doing enough else right. And his price is favorable.
Brandt Snedeker - $7,500 (30-1)
The fine folks at golfodds.com obviously think highly of the former East Lake and FedEx Cup champion, with better odds than some golfers listed above him on the pricing chart. Snedeker has never had a top-15 here outside of his 2012 win, but we don't need him to win, and he's finally reversed some troubling slides the past two years. It doesn't hurt that he is also one of the top putters on Tour.
Daniel Berger - $7,000 (40-1)
Berger, along with Watson, Jim Furyk, and Justin Thomas, is getting the most attention for the final spot on the American Ryder Cup roster. He has played East Lake only once before, finishing 12th last year to complete this Rookie of the Year campaign. He has been trending upward every week of the playoffs as well, going from 70th, to 41st, to 10th last week. Berger doesn't really stand out in any one area; it's the totality of his game that gets results.
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Ryan Moore - $6,800 (40-1)
Moore considered to be a Ryder Cup possibility, although he is likely behind several other golfers. Before last week's stumble at the BMW (64th out of 69), he had been enjoying a great late-summer run, following up his John Deere win with top-10s at the first two playoff events. Moore hasn't gotten to East Lake often, but he was third in 2012 and ninth in 2010 in his only two trips. He's one of the most accurate on Tour off the tee, is good around the green, and has been putting well.
Kevin Na - $6,500 (50-1)
Na has finished in the top-20 his past two trips to the TOUR Championship (yes, that doesn't mean as much in a 30-man field). He has been top-25 at five of his past six starts overall, however, with only a missed cut at the Barclays.
Jason Dufner - $6,400 (60-1)
Is there anyone in the 30 who got to East Lake any more quietly than Dufner? While $6,400 is not the lowest price in the field -- that distinction goes to Kevin Kisner at $6,100 -- it seems a bit of a bargain for a guy who was ninth in his last start in the Tour Championship in 2013. Dufner's success this year can be attributed to his strong play from tee to green. He's seventh on Tour in ball striking and fifth in GIR. Putting always matters, but not as much at East Lake as some other courses.
