PGA The First Tee: Genesis Open

Recap

It was brutal week trying to have 6/6 for Sunday. I just entered 20 lineups in the $4 just to focus on that tournament only. Out of the 20, I managed to get 2 lineups with 6/6 and still managed to have 4 lineups cashing. It was a week to remind us not to overthink a player when a player, i.e., Chez Reavie, is playing too well. If the numbers look good enough, then just play him.

This Week

We are headed to L.A. for the Genesis Open. The course that they're playing is called Riviera Country Club. It's a Par 71 and it's less than 7,400 yards. It's another traditional tree line golf course where hitting in the fairway is a must. This is the site where Tiger debut his PGA Tour career as an amateur and it's one of the few courses he has never won on. The stats that I'm looking at for this week will be SG: Birdies or Better %; SG: Off the Tee; SG: Approach the Green; SG: Around the Green; Proximity; and SG: Par 4 scoring.

Cash Plays

Paul Casey ($10,200) – If you listened to our podcast last week, we've mentioned how consistent Casey has been since missing the cut at the 2017 Sony Open. The streak continues after another solid week at Pebble. When you look at his history at Riviera, he's made 3 straight cuts here including a runner up in 2015. He's 1^st in the field for SG: Approach the Green; 22^nd in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring; and 14^th in the field for SG: B.O.B. %. He'll be a nice 'one and done' pick this week.

Chez Reavie ($8,000) – Just like I mentioned earlier, if the player's numbers look good, then just play him. Reavie seems to have found a different gear this season. He has missed the cut here last year, however, with the stats and his recent play, I'm going to lock him in all cash games this week. He has finished 7 out of 9 top 20 finishes including back-to-back runner ups this season. He's 1^st in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring; 4^th in the field for Proximity; and 14^th in the field for SG: Around the Green. Outside the 'big players', Chez should be the odds-on favourite.

Brendan Steele ($7,900) – We're back with Steele this week. He has been solid thus far this season. He's 9^th in the field for SG: B.O.B. %; 9^th in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring; and 10^th in the field for SG: Off the Tee. He has made 5 straight cuts here and should be a lock in all formats this week!

GPP Plays

Rory McIlroy ($11,100) – Last week was a little warm up for Rory to get ready for this week. Riviera is more suited to Rory's game and with him being popular last week and missing cut, he'll be a nice tournament option this week. He played here back in 2016 and finished 20^th. He's 6^th in the field for SG: Off the Tee; 13^th in the field for SG: Around the Green; and 26^th in the field for SG: B.O.B. %.

Tom Hoge ($6,600) – Even though Hoge has missed 2 cuts in a row, it feels right to go back to him. He is getting with his irons. He's 6^th in the field for SG: Approach the Green; 6^th in the field for Proximity and 22^nd in the field for SG: B.O.B.%. He has played here before when he finished 39^th back in 2015. He'd be a nice dark horse this week.

Exposure

Cash Games: For cash games, I like to play the small field 50/50s, for example, anything less than 100 entrants. I tend to make just 1 lineup and that lineup will have the 6 golfers who I think will give me the best chance of 6/6 and finishing high both cash and GPPs.

3 Entry Max GPPs: For these tournaments, think of it as one lineup for cash, one for leagues and one that is completely different than the first 2. This technique is very common among the DFS community and even the DFS pros. Just start of with your cash lineup then use a “2 vs. 2" strategy for the other lineups.

20 – 150 Max GPPs: With these, you can have a player pool anywhere from 15-100 players. For 20 max GPPS, I tend to stay closer to 15-18 golfers in my pool. For 150 max GPPs, I recommend using around 25-30 golfers.

Weather

As of Monday, it will be a third week in a row where the weather is perfect the entire week. At most, it will be no more than 12 mph for all 4 days. If there are any changes then I will tweet them out on twitter by Wednesday evening.

Good luck everyone!