The First Tee: Sony Open

Recap

Last week was a nice warm up for 2018. I started with a new strategy with making only 3 lineups and using the “2 vs. 2" technique. I started using this for NFL in the 2^nd half of the season and I made a profit doing so. I entered in 5 50-50s and managed to cash in all of them. For gpps, I had 8 entrants and unfortunately, all of them didn't cash. It was an ok start for the season and now we're off to the first full field event for 2018. Congrats to D.J. on his win to keep his streak alive!

This Week

We are headed to Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's a par 70, 7,044 yards. When comparing it to last week to the Plantation Course, it is completely different. Waialae is a tree line and a very narrow golf course. Last week was more for distance and this week is more towards accuracy. The stats that I'm looking for this week are Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring; Strokes Gained: Approach the Green; Strokes Gained: Around the Green and making birdies in the last 24 rounds.

Cash Plays

Webb Simpson ($9,300) – I like Webb this week because he seems to like finishing 13^th at this event. He did so in the last 3 years. He's played 2 events already and has finished inside the top 20 in both times. For stats, he's 13^th in the field for Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring and 24^th in the field for Strokes Gained: Approach the Green.

Chez Reavie ($8,000) – Reavie is becoming consistently good at ball striking. In his first 5 events for this season, he has finished inside the top 20 in 4 of the 5. For his course history, he has made the cut in the last 3 years with an 8^th place finish last year. For stats, he's 5^th in the field for Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring and 22^nd in the field for making birdies. He is my dark horse this week.

Gary Woodland ($7,800) – Woodland has good course history at this event. He finished 3^rd back in 2015 and 6^th last year. He's very solid with his iron play, ranking 3^rd in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. He's also 21^st in the field for Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring. He has finished inside the top 40 in his first 4 starts for his season.

GPP Plays

Marc Leishman ($11,100) – Leishman is just getting warm up for his season. First, he seems to have a good report with the course, making the cut 5 years in a row while having a couple top 10s and a 20^th place finish last year. For stats, he's 1^st in the field for making birdies and 8^th in the field for Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. He already has a runner up finish at the CJ Cup and a 7^th place finish last week.

Jamie Lovemark ($8,100) – Lovemark has been up and down so far, this season. He has missed his last 2 cuts and before that, he finished 5^th at the C.J. Cup. For history, he has finished inside the top 10 in the last 2 years. He's 33^rd in the field for making birdies and 34^th in the field for Strokes Gained: Par 4 scoring.

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!