This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
BMW Championship
Medinah, Illinois
Medinah Country Club (No. 3) - Par 72 - 7,613 yards
Field - 69 entrants
Purse - $9.25M
The Preview
The second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will determine the 30 golfers who get a chance to tee it up at the season-ending TOUR Championship. We were treated to a side show leading up to this point, as Bachelor-level drama brewed between several high-profile cardholders based on slow-play feuds, and last week's Northern Trust provided us with a "say it to my face" moment as personalities collided. Now, our attention shifts to back to the course, and what will be an elite concentration of talent among the 69 entrants in one of the strongest fields of the season. Medinah Country Club features a robust par-72 layout that stretches over 7,600 yards. Unfortunately, there isn't much recent data to examine, with just a Ryder Cup and two PGA Championships being played here in the past two decades. Scattered showers and storms throughout tournament week would make the course play even longer, but softer greens and higher FIR percentages could work to improve scoring conditions.
Recent Champions
2018 - Keegan Bradley
2017 - Marc Leishman
2016 - Dustin Johnson
2015 - Jason Day
2014 - Billy Horschel
2013 - Zach Johnson
2012 - Rory McIlroy
2011 - Justin Rose
2010 - Dustin Johnson
2009 - Tiger Woods
Key Stats to Victory
GIR percentage - The putting surfaces at Medinah CC are quite small in comparison to the Tour average, and the course's noteworthy length will require precision on a handful of approach shots from over 175 yards out.
SG: Putting - Medinah's undulating bentgrass greens can run at least 12.5 on the Stimpmeter when dried out. Three-putt percentages will inflate.
Scrambling - The difficulty that accompanies both hitting greens in regulation and putting well places a more profound emphasis on scrambling. Prowess with the putter ties greatly into this metric.
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Rory McIlroy - $46
The PGA Tour's leader in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total racked up 22 par-breakers at the Northern Trust last week, despite hitting less than 60 percent of the greens in regulation. McIlroy has bounced back from a missed cut on home soil at the Open Championship in Northern Ireland by finishing T6-T4 in his last two starts, gaining nine combined strokes putting during this brief span as well. He has teed it up on the PGA Tour 17 times this season, and has recorded a whopping 13 Top-10 finishes -- two clear of the next golfer on this list, and five clea
Jon Rahm - $44
One of the hottest golfers in the world right now, Rahm has strung together results of T3-7-T11-Win-T2-T3 over his last six international starts while rising to fifth in the OWGR. The Spaniard broke 70 in all four rounds at Liberty National, where he also tied for first in GIR percentage and collected 22 birdies in the process. Rahm has gained a galactic average of 7.95 strokes from tee to green throughout his past four measured events dating to the U.S. Open.
Glue Guys
Adam Scott - $35
Scott disappointed fantasy owners by finishing T40-MC at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Open Championship, but he turned in a solid performance at the Northern Trust with a solo fifth and seven final-round tweeters. The Aussie ranks fourth on Tour in SG: Approach, sixth in SG: Around-the-Green and ninth in birdie average, and he also gained strokes putting for the first time since early June last week at Liberty National.
Paul Casey - $34
Fresh off a brief rest period after electing to sit out The Northern Trust, Casey will be making his first appearance of the playoffs on the heels of a T13 at the Wyndham Championship, where he gained five strokes on approach shots. The Englishman has finished on the positive side of SG: Tee-to-Green in eight straight measured tournaments and ranks ninth or better in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: T2G and GIR percentage this season.
Patrick Reed - $31
The win drought has come to an end for Reed, as he picked up his first victory since the 2018 Masters last week at the Northern Trust. Reed put himself in position to win by playing his first 50 holes of the tournament in bogey-free fashion. Reed's impressive short game is a constant, but he has also gained strokes off the tee in six straight events. He has rapidly ascended to the No. 2 spot in the FedExCup Standings and ranks ninth on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green.
Bargain Bin
Louis Oosthuizen - $29
Plenty of folks will flock to a similarly-priced Jordan Spieth coming off a T6 at the Northern Trust, but Oosthuizen also tied for sixth and Liberty National and led the entire field in scrambling. The South African also ranked third in GIR percentage and second in SG: Approach, gaining over nine strokes on the field with his stellar iron play. Oosthuizen has posted three consecutive top-20s dating to the Open Championship and is a valuable pivot at his cost.
Billy Horschel - $26
The putter was en fuego for Horschel en route to a T21 at the Northern Trust, as he rebounded from a first-round 72 to place top-25 for a third consecutive event. He finished even better in the two tournaments before that, strolling to results of T6-T9 at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Horschel led the tournament in SG: Putting at Liberty National and posted the fourth-best scrambling percentage at 77.42 percent.
Brandt Snedeker - $20
Snedeker gained strokes across the board last week at Liberty National on the way to a T6, ultimately finishing eighth in SG: Approach in addition to gaining 3.6 strokes with the flat stick. He makes up for a lack of power off the tee with his lethal short game, having gained strokes around-the-green in all but one start dating back to the 2018-19 season opener. Snedeker's iron play has steadily improved since late July, as he has gained at least 2.7 strokes on approach shots in each of his last three tourneys.
Strategy Tips on Yahoo this week
The absence of a 36-hole cut will entice many gamers to deploy a studs-and-duds strategy when building lineups, given that all six selections will be guaranteed four rounds. The opportunity to select multiple favorites is heightened in this blueprint. Despite a gleaming course history at Medinah CC that includes PGA Championship victories in 1999 and 2006, Tiger Woods' ownership figures to be lower than usual due to an unfavorable price tag of $45 and questions surrounding his back stiffness and mild oblique strain. Although risk tolerance is increased significantly due to the limited 69-man field, Tiger likely won't be involved in the recipe for success this week.
