Daily Fantasy PGA Picks for DraftKings – RBC Canadian Open

Daily Fantasy PGA Picks for DraftKings - RBC Canadian Open

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Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the RBC Canadian Open? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

RBC Canadian Open

Glen Abbey Golf Club - Oakville, Ontario

Par 72 - 7,253 Yards

It turned out to be a two man show at the OPEN Championship as Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson when shot for shot giving us one hell of a Sunday afternoon show. It was Stenson and his final round 63 that eventually won out by three strokes. He finished at -20 with Mickelson at -17, which was still 11 shots clear of J.B. Holmes in third place. We now turn our attention to another countries national open before heading to Springfield, New Jersey for the PGA Championship and the years final major. Let's dig in.

This week the PGA Tour heads to Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario for the RBC Canadian Open. It will be the 28th time Glen Abbey has hosted the event and second year in a row. Most recently, it also hosted in 2013, 2009 and 2008. The course is a 7,253 yard, Par 72 that sits smack in the middle of Hamilton and Toronto just off of Lake Ontario. There is plenty of sand traps scattered around the fairways and greens with a ton of water as well including the 16 mile river which comes into play on the back nine. Over the years there has been a mix of long hitters and accuracy guys who have had success here but one thing is common and that is Total Driving. Distance can only provide an advantage if it is accurate here. A drive placed in the wrong position can leave a tough approach with the amount of trees that come into play. Along with Total Driving I will be weighting Sand Save %, Birdie or Better %, GIR, and most of all Par 5 Scoring. Looking at last years Top 10 you will notice that their combined score on the Par 5's was -102 while Par 4 Scoring total was -16 and Par 3 was -6. A large majority of a players score will come on those four holes this week.

Below is a list of the key stats I am using in  my model on the cheatsheet this week:

 

  • Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Total Driving
  • Par 5 Scoring Average
  • Par 4 Scoring Average
  • Birdie or Better %
  • Sand Save %
  • Scrambling

 

 

If you have any questions leading up to lineup lock Thursday morning you can reach me in a variety of ways. Leave a Q below in the comment section and I will get you an answer. You can hit me up in the new chatroom here at DFSR(It's crazy busy with MLB talk so try and private message me for specific PGA Q's). I will also be joining Doug on the Wednesday Podcast to discuss the tournament each week. Also on Wednesday, you can join me for a live Google Hangout over at Slurv.com. I am always available on Twitter as well(@jager_bombs9). Good luck this week!

High End Targets ($8,500+)

Dustin Johnson
Vegas Odds - 6/1
Draftkings - $12,500

The field very strong at the top this week with the #1(Jason Day) and #2(Dustin Johnson) players in the world. I am leaning DJ for a few key reasons. First his current form coming in is much better and that is saying a lot considering Jason Day is the #1 player in the world. DJ is coming off a T9 at the OPEN and back to back wins at the Bridgestone Invitational and US Open. Before that he had a 5th at the St. Jude Classic and 3rd at the Memorial. If that isn't enough to convince you, DJ also wins out when looking at my weighted stat rankings this week. He ranks 2nd in SG:T2G and SG:Off the Tee combined with a rank of 10th in SG: Approach. The big difference in ranking is the Total Driving where DJ ranks 34th and Day ranks 104. This week could also have the feel of a home game for DJ as he married into Canadian Royalty and should have the crowd behind him with father in law Wayne Gretzky in the gallery.

 

Matt Kuchar
Vegas Odds - 17/1
Draftkings - $10,600

Just like the tier above, I like both guys in the $10K range this week. I side with Kuchar for the same reasons as DJ. Outside of his two major appearances(T46 at OPEN and US Open) Kuchar has six Top 10 finishes in his last nine tournaments and has only missed one cut all year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational back in March. His weighted stat ranking also stick out much more than Snedeker as well. Kuch is 12th in SG:T2G, 27th in Driving Accuracy, 23rd in Good Drive %, 30th in both GIR and Proximity, 4th in Par 4 Scoring, 33rd in Par 5 Scoring and 26th in BoB%. In his last three Canadian Opens he has finished 7th(2015), 4th(2014) and 2nd(2013). This $10K range is a great spot to start your cash games and could be a contrarian start to a GPP lineup if you wanted to fade the top two.

 

Emiliano Grillo
Vegas Odds - 31/1
Draftkings - $8,500

I have been talking up the Argentinian all season and very excited for what is to come. He is coming off an impressive T12 at the OPEN last week, T14 at the Bridgestone Invitational the week prior and before the T54 at the US Open he had a T11 at the Memorial. In fact he has made 16 of 19 cuts in his rookie season including that huge breakthrough win last fall at the FRYS.com Open. He ranks 35th in SG: Off the Tee and is 2nd in Total Driving. Combine that with a 22nd place finish here last year at Glen Abbey in his first trip and he is strong pick in any format in the mid $8K price range.

 

Also Consider - Brandt Snedeker

 

 

Mid Tier Targets ($7,000 - $8,500)

Roberto Castro
Vegas Odds - 81/1
Draftkings - $8,400

In my own personal opinion, before reading any ownership projections, I feel Grillo could be highly owned with his current form and great finish at the OPEN. If you are looking for a GPP pivot this week turn to Castro at a $100 discount. He is also having a solid season making 16 of 20 cuts including seven straight coming into this week. He is solid across all Strokes Gained Metrics and ranks 56th in Total Driving and like Grillo it comes from his amazing accuracy off the tee. He ranks 4th in Par 4 Scoring, 48th in Par 5 Scoring and doesn't make a lot of mistakes as he ranks 14th in Bogey Avoidance. He has made three straight cuts at this event including a 6th in 2013. Strong play in any format.

 

Ryan Palmer
Vegas Odds - 51/1
Draftkings - $8,000

One of my favorite plays for cash games this week. He has made seven straight cuts at this event and has been a cut machine all year and ranks 7th in scoring average before the cut because of it. He does lack the upside we would like for GPP's, especially as the 20th ranked golfer in salary this week, but safe to make the cut nonetheless. He also ranks 7th in SG: Off the Tee, 38th in Total Driving and 3rd in Par 5 Scoring and 15th in Birdie or Better %.

 

Graham DeLaet
Vegas Odds - 51/1
Draftkings - $7,500

Delaet is back after a two month layoff due to some lingering injuries. He is coming off a terrific T8 finish at the Barbasol Championship last week after shooting a final round 63. He will get to experience his own national championship and try to become the first Canadian to win it in the last 65 years. It's been a long drought. He has the game to do it as he ranks 33rd in Total Driving, 19th in Ball Striking, 11th in Par 4 Scoring and 20th in Birdie or Better %. He should be extra motivated as well after he felt he let the country down last year after being forced to withdraw with an injury. Do not fade the beard this week!

 

Also Consider - David Hearn

Low End Target (Min Price - $6,900)

Jim Herman
Vegas Odds - 151/1
Draftkings - $6,600

Dipping down into the bottom tier the first guy that stood out to me was Jim Herman, especially from a cash game perspective. He has made 15 of 24 cuts this season including three straight after a poor stretch in May and June. He has also made the cut in two straight Canadian Opens including a 22nd here at Glen Abbey last season. He ranks 28th in SG: Off the Tee, 8th in Total Driving, 10 in Good Drive %, and 9th in Proximity of 200+. He is a lock for me in cash and at a mid $6K price tag will mix him in on some stars and scrubs lineups as well.

 

Also Consider - Kyle Stanley

 

The RBC Canadian Open Update Thread

 

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for The RBC Canadian Open? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.

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Chris Durell

View Comments

  • Why do you say Ryan Palmer lacks upside for GPP? He has a 3rd and a 4th, and if he plays great, he can finish 3rd or 4th again, right?

  • Just wanted to point out that Grillo has 1 top 10 and trying to understand the reasoning. Thanks!

  • Sorry for late response Martin. I talked about this with Brad on the Slurv chat last night. It seems Palmer makes alot of cuts but a ton of Top 20-40 finishes. His Two top 10's were in Texas where he plays really well. He also ranks 63rd in final round scoring average.

  • Grillo only one Top 10(win) but 3 finishes lately inside Top 15 and he is young and very accurate. Up and coming multi tourny winner