The PGA Tour will shift to Texas this week for the AT&T Byron Nelson from the TPC Four Seasons Resort. It’s a far cry from The Players Championship, but there should be some strong competition with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson leading the way. Rory McIlroy is one big name who will be absent from the field. That’s because he’s decided to take his talents to the European Tour this week as they’re playing in Ireland. Of course, Ireland is McIlroy’s home country, so he has opted to make an appearance there to give the locals some love. So he’s not an option, but who are the best choices for this weekend? Here is a look at the optimal lineup for this week’s DraftKings PGA tournaments.
Dustin Johnson, $11,900
Jordan Spieth is the no. 2 player in the world and the betting favorite to win this event but we like Johnson as our top pick for several reasons this week. Spieth is coming off a missed cut at The Players Championship and his recent form combined with his struggles at this event make him worth passing on as the highest priced option on the board for this week. Meanwhile, Johnson has finished in the top-10 in each of his last four starts here including a T-7th in 2014 and a t-8th a year ago. Johnson is an excellent bet to deliver a strong performance this week so we will lock him in as our best bet at $11.9K.
Brooks Koepka, $9,600
Koepka is coming off a T-35th at The Players Championship but there is reason to believe he will shine amongst a much weaker field at the Byron Nelson this week. Koepka led the field in Greens In Regulation at this event a year ago when he finished T-16th and could be on pace to break in to the top-10 at this year’s tournament.
Marc Leishman, $9,500
Leishman is another player with a strong history at this tournament including five finishes in the top-12 including a pair of T-3rd in seven starts here. Leishman has struggled with his consistency overall a little bit this season but his strong form at this course has him in line for a bounce back performance this week.
Adam Hadwin, $6,600
We wouldn’t be able to load up with D.J., Koepka and Leishman if there weren’t some strong value options at the other end of the spectrum to help us balance our roster beginning with a strong sleeper play in Hadwin. The Canadian was in fine form to start the tournament a year ago before a final round 75 dropped him all the way down to T-71st but we fully expect him to bounce back with a more complete effort this season. Hadwin has made the cut at four straight events and he is an excellent sleeper pick to contend at this week’s event.
Cameron Smith, $6,500
Smith is another intriguing sleeper play as a young golfer on the rise who has posted some strong results already this season. Smith finished in the top-20 at the Shell Houston Open and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this season and if he can add another top-20 finish to his resume for this season we will definitely be happy with it.
J.J. Henry, $5,800
Henry is an extremely inexpensive option that offers the highest upside of the players we can still afford without compromising our best bets and he could be worth taking a chance on at that price tag. Henry is coming off consecutive made cuts and he has made the cut in six of his eight starts at the Byron Nelson including a T-3rd four years ago when he finished two strokes back of the winner Jason Dufner. A top-10 finish might be a bit of a stretch this week but we will be thrilled if he places in the top-25 as a deep sleeper option to contend at a very inexpensive price in DraftKings tournaments this week.
