The First Tee: Career Builder Challenge

Recap

It was a solid week for the first full field event and Lovemark made us sweat all afternoon on Friday to make the cut. The fact that the cut line was going back and forth from -2 to -1, it was an awesome sweat and unfortunately, Lovemark was the only one missing the cut by 1 stroke. For DraftKings, my mistake was putting Lovemark in my cash lineup. I entered 3 Double Ups and didn't cash in all of them and I entered 6 GPPs, I cashed in 3 of them. Congrats to Kizzire on his second win!

This Week

We are headed back to the United States for The Career Builder Challenge. This event is usually a birdie fest. That's because the area has very little winds throughout the week and it rarely rains. The course that they're playing at is called PGA West TPC Stadium Course. It's a Par 72, 7,113 yards. There are two more courses that the guys play at, but unfortunately, they don't use strokes gained data. All Par 5s are easily reachable for most of the field. So, I'm going back to the usual stats that I look at every week which are, Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring; Strokes Gained: Off the Tee; Strokes Gained: Approach the Green; Strokes Gained: Around the Green; and making birdies.

Cash Plays

Patton Kizzire ($9,100) – Kizzire is becoming well known in the golfing world. Not only does he have 2 wins in the last 4 events, he also has 5 top 15 finishes in his last 6 events. He has played here 2 years in a row now and has finished inside the top 50 in both. He's 1^st in the field for making birdies; 2^nd in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring; and 19^th in the field for SG: Approach the Green. He should be a lock in all formats!

Chez Reavie ($8,800) – I'm going back to the well with Reavie. He was very solid last week and there's no reason to fade him this week. He hasn't missed the cut in the last 6 events and has finished inside the top 20 here in the last 2 years. He's 6^th in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring and 7^th in the field for making birdies.

Bud Cauley ($8,400) – Cauley has been solid thus far for the 2017-2018 season. He hasn't missed a cut in his last 4 events. He finished 3^rd here last year and 14^th in 2016. He's 13^th in the field for SG: Off the Tee and 14^th in the field for SG: Approach the Green. He's going to be my dark horse for this week.

GPP Plays

Jon Rahm ($11,800) – Rahm will be beginning his 2018 campaign after a runner up finish to D.J. at the Tournament of Champions. There is just no reason to fade Rahm this week or any other week. He played here last year with a 34^th place finish. He's 2^nd in the field for making birdies; 2^nd in the field for SG: Off the Tee; 9^th in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring; and 9^th in the field for SG: Approach the Green.

J.T. Poston ($7,200) – Poston is just your traditional GPP play. He'll give you a top 5 finish or he will give you a MC. He's 5^th in the field for SG: Par 4 scoring and 15^th in the field for making birdies. In his last 4 events, he has a top 5 finish; a top 15 finish; and a MC at the RSM Classic. He did make the cut here last year, finishing 34^th.

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 in both cash and GPPs.

3 entry max GPPs: For these tournaments, think of it as one lineup for cash, one for leagues and for a GPP. 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 2. You should have roughly 8-10 players total for overall pool.

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.

If you keep a tight core and player pool, then if it hits, you will have a good chance of having a nice payday!

Good luck everyone