This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
THE PLAYERS Championship
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
TPC Sawgrass - Par 72 - 7,189 yards
Field - 144 Entrants
Purse - $15M
The Preview
Extreme winds promoted carnage last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, sharpening bogey avoidance skills as another tough test awaits along the Florida Swing at the PGA Tour's fifth major. An exciting upgrade in technology is now on tap as the viewing experience for the PLAYERS Championship will be enhanced by the ability to see every shot live, so you won't miss any of the water balls that miss the iconic 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass. Unlike at Bay Hill, the weather figures to remain tame throughout the week as scoring conditions should be much improved.
Recent Champions
2019 - Rory McIlroy
2018 - Webb Simpson
2017 - Si Woo Kim
2016 - Jason Day
2015 - Rickie Fowler
2014 - Martin Kaymer
2013 - Tiger Woods
2012 - Matt Kuchar
2011 - K.J. Choi
2010 - Tim Clark
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Driving accuracy
SG: Putting (bermuda)
SG: Off-the-Tee
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Rory McIlroy - $47
McIlroy notched a ridiculous seventh consecutive top-5 finish this past week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he gained over six strokes on his approach shots and ranked third in GIR percentage, though a trio of double bogeys throughout the tournament kep him from finding the winner's circle once again. He now heads to TPC Sawgrass as the defending champion at the PLAYERS, having outlasted runner-up Jim Furyk by one shot in 2019. On the season, McIlroy is second in SG: Tee-to-Green, second in holes per eagle and first in scrambling.
Bryson DeChambeau - $41
Pacing this week's field in SG: Off-the-Tee over his last 12 rounds, DeChambeau's length and accuracy have allowed him to average 6.6 strokes gained from tee to green per event through his last five measured starts. He's racked up three straight top-5s in the process, ascending back inside of the top-15 in the Official World Golf Ranking. DeChameau notched an impressive four-under 32 on the back nine during Sunday's final round at Arnie's place, picking up some late steam as the Florida Swing carries on.
Glue Guys
Xander Schauffele - $39
Schauffele's iron play has been great since the TOUR Championship, but he finally rolled the rock well on the greens last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he gained over five strokes putting for the first time since the 2019 U.S. Open this past June. This will be Schauffele's third career appearance at TPC Sawgrass, but he gained valuable experience here in his debut when he tied for second place in 2018. Schauffele has a propensity to show up when the competition is at its strongest, as evidenced by wins that include the WGC-HSBC Champions, the TOUR Championship and the Sentry Tournament of Champions to name a few.
Rickie Fowler - $37
Fowler did more than just show signs of life at Bay Hill as he gained strokes across the entire board on the way to his first top-20 since the American Express, but a quadruple-bogey nine on the par-5 sixth hole during Saturday's third round destroyed any momentum. Nonetheless, he's now gained strokes both on approaches and with the flat stick in three consecutive starts, and Fowler also owns a win and T2 in 10 total PLAYERS Championship appearances.
Bargain Bin
Daniel Berger - $25
Berger has the same 60/1 betting odds as much more prominent names such as Justin Rose and Paul Casey according to GolfOdds.com, shining plenty of value on Berger as a DFS option at just $25 in Yahoo contests. Berger, a former FSU Seminole, has strung together impressive results of T4-T5-T9 since the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Over his last 12 measured rounds, Berger ranks fourth in SG: Total, eighth in SG: Putting and ninth in SG: Approach. He's also made the cut in four straight trips to TPC Sawgrass, a streak that began with a top-10 back in 2016.
Danny Lee - $20
Lee popped up near the top of the leaderboard throughout the early stages of the Honda Classic to begin his Florida Swing, but he was actually able to close out a top-5 finish at the API last week where he ranked second in scrambling and also gained nearly five strokes putting. Additionally, Lee has gained strokes off the tee in six straight measured tourneys and he tied for seventh at the 2018 PLAYERS Championship.
