Guide to Winning DraftKings PGA Millionaire Maker pt. 1

There is no mistaking the quantum leap that DFS golf has made this year, and with that comes the last installment of DraftKings Millionaire Maker. After selling out the initial Masters Milly Maker, each subsequent major has produced bigger fields and bigger prize pools, culminating in the 3.3 million guaranteed edition for The PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. With 189,000 entries all looking to capture the glory and cash that accompanies an event of this magnitude, you have to be willing to take some calculated risks in order to take it down.

Whistling Straits sits on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and was constructed by the master architect Pete Dye. He was tasked by Herb Kohler, to build a course that resembled, and played like Scotland's classic links courses. With respect to aesthetics, the most likely comparison to Whistling Straits is often Chambers Bay, the site of this year's US Open. Unfortunately for Chambers Bay, they had a brutally hot start to the summer. Firm and fast are the preferred conditions for a US Open, but those same conditions burned out the greens at Chambers Bay, making the surfaces very bumpy and drawing the ire of more than a few professionals. Whistling Straits will not have that problem. Watching this tournament in HD will be incredible, especially when the sun gets low and you get to see the shots of Lake Michigan framing the background behind Whistling Straits.

Whistling Straits has hosted two prior PGA championships, in 2004 and 2010. The one that many people remember is 2010, when Dustin Johnson unknowingly grounded his club in a fairway “bunker" that had been stood in and trampled on by spectators. These “native areas" are everywhere at Whistling Straits, totaling over 1,000 unique areas, so with good reason the PGA continually posts bulletins before each championship, stating that local rules dictate those areas be played as bunkers.

With that in mind, I've gone through the pricing tiers and picked out the players who I think will offer the best return on your investment. The PGA championship, specifically at this venue, will offer plenty of birdie opportunities, but the player who wins will be the one who makes the fewest mistakes. The winners of the last two events played at Straits, finished at (-8) and (-11), respectively. This is important as you will have to lean more on where the players finish, as opposed to how many birdies they make. I don't think you will see many instances where players outscore the competitors ahead of them. I have made note of several players that have the chance to be an outlier in this scenario.

Without further ado, your PGA Championship hit-list.

Jordan Spieth ($12,500):

Spieth weighs in as the most expensive player this week, but with good reason. He is looking to capture his 3^rd major of the year, which would put him in the pantheon of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport. After taking down the Masters and then the US Open, Spieth fell just short of playoff at the British Open. Those three majors are played at drastically different venues, so his success across the board speaks volumes of his all-around game and adaptability. He is a master tactician, constantly game planning and evolving his strategy after each round he plays. This is evidenced by the fact that Spieth leads the tour in second round scoring, averaging over a full stroke better than his first round. He is also picking up close to a half stroke over everyone else in the field. This may not sound like much, but in the context of a major championship, it is the difference between winning and not winning. He is an absolute wizard with the putter in his hand, which is the main reason he is able to make birdies when he really needs it. He senses when it is time to turn it on and then does just that. In order to win the Milly Maker, the first thing you need to accomplish is picking the winner. Despite his relatively high price tag, the investment will be more than worth it and you can lock up a top 5 finish.

Rory McIlroy ($11,700):

After an injury forced Rory to miss the British Open, he chose to return this week and defend his PGA Championship belt from 2014. There are a lot of questions surrounding the health of his ankle, especially on a course where there are very few even lies. These lies will test his lower body stability, so we will know very early on if he has what it takes to make it through four rounds of a major. Considering the context of other players' salaries, McIlroy has a good chance of being fairly low owned which greatly increases his value. While I won't be putting him in a majority of my lineups, I will stretch my exposure to around the 10% mark. I've made this point before, and I'll make it again…winning a major takes more than just skill, and that points to why guys like Dustin Johnson, Henrick Stenson, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar and Sergio Garcia have never won one, yet guys like Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott and Justin Rose have. I'd much rather bet on repeat champions than guys who have yet to win the big one. McIlroy is still the #1 golfer in the world with four major championship victories to his credit, and he deserves to be in the discussion as one of the favorites.

Dustin Johnson ($11,200):

Jason Day ($10,800):

Adam Scott ($10,200):

Justin Rose ($10,000):

I am going to lump these four guys together as they represent the bottom section of the top tier. As mentioned above, Rose and Scott both have majors to their credit, but Day and Johnson are still searching for their first. DJ's US Open debacle has been well documented, but the scarier part is how he completely fell apart at the British. It is very hard to write him off, especially considering how well he played the last time the PGA was held at Whistling Straits. I am going to hedge my bets with DJ, meaning he will be in some lineups, but I will cap my exposure at 3-5%. Day has the best chance of the four to win this week, but we have been saying that for the last five years. He won at the RBC and followed that up with a 7^th at the WGC, so he is in as good of form as anyone. I will have him in 8-10% of my lineups. Rose has had a sneaky good year, especially as of late finishing 6^th, 4^th and 3^rd in his last three starts. I really like Rose to contend this week. At an even 10K, I am going to push my exposure to 15% and pair him with some other big names. Scott is as dangerous as they come when tournaments become ball-striking contests. While this is usually what Pete Dye is famous for, Whistling Straits has massive greens, which will somewhat mitigate his advantage. Like Johnson, I am going to max out at 5%.

Bubba Watson ($9,900):

Bubba rarely comes up in the discussions on the 2010 PGA Championship and people seem to forget that he lost in a playoff to Martin Kaymer. He had control of that playoff before bogeying a par 5. Whistling Straits fits his eye very well, demanding the players to work the ball both way, use their imagination to play the ball off the slopes and feed approach shots into the greens. Imagination is something Bubba has in spades and I fully expect him to be in the last two groups to go off on Sunday. At $9,900, he represents one of the best value propositions in the field this week.

Sergio Garcia ($9,300)

The decision on whether to fade Garcia is a tough one. I am of the position that his value is enhanced if you can figure a way to pair him with another stud. Let's face it, Garcia doesn't look like he is going to break through and win a major this year, and perhaps, not ever. With that said, he performs at a high level in majors and his game travels very well. He finished 17^th at the Masters, 2^nd at the Players, 18^th at the US Open and 6^th at the British. I like his odds to finish with yet another top 10 this week. The argument against him is that you are spending above average salary for a guy who you have to write off as at best, a 2^nd place finish. While I don't like the idea of spending $9000+ on someone who can't win, his price is not over the top where you can't pair him with a Bubba Watson or Justin Rose for instance. For this reason, I will most likely have Garcia on 5-8% of my rosters.

Louis Oosthuizen ($9,100)

If you were to look for Oosthuizens name on the leaderboard of regular PGA Tour events, the chances are you'd be hard pressed to find him. When the majors come though? Watch out, those are the events Oost saves his best play for. He finished 19^th at Augusta, 2^nd at the US Open and 2^nd at the British Open. Both Opens were played on links style courses similar to Whistling Straits, so there is no reason to think that he won't once again show up on top of the leaderboard. Just like Bubba, Oosthuizen represents tremendous value and for that reason I am going to commit 15% of my lineups to him. I really like a Louis Oost and Bubba combo.

Zach Johnson ($8,400)

With two majors to his credit, Johnson has begun to cement himself as much more than just another Tour winner. Some people love to watch guys like Bubba and DJ bomb the ball off the tee, however I am much more fond of watching Zach carve up the greens with his wedges. Similar to Spieth, he understands how to play his game better than other players do theirs, which is why he has had so much success at majors. He finished 9^th at Augusta, 72^nd at the US Open and won the British Open. Outside of that, he also has four top 6's in his last six events. While I wouldn't consider him a favorite, he has an average salary, meaning you can pair him one or maybe even two studs. He won't need to win to provide a great ROI. Unfortunately, I expect him to be at least 25% owned.

Jim Furyk ($8,100)

Another guy who has a doctorate in course management, Furyk understands how to get around the course and avoid the type of trouble that is so famous at majors. He isn't going to make many big numbers, so it is very possible that Furyk comes into Sunday in the top 10, with a good chance to rise even higher. He did let one slip away this past weekend at the WGC Bridgestone, but considering he played flawlessly for three days while so many other good players did not, his 3^rd place finish was encouraging heading into the PGA. He has three top 5's in his last five events, on top of a win earlier this season. In 2010, Furyk was inside the top 5 heading into the final day, but shot a +5, 77, to drop all the way to 24^th. Knowing how well he strategizes, I'm counting on a top 10 outta Furyk.

Check out Part 2 coming later Tuesday Night, where I will break down the sleepers you will want to have on your Milly Maker teams. Includes Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley and many others.