The Tour heads to TPC Boston for the second FedEx Cup playoff event. TPC Boston is a course that traditionally yields a lot of birdies. The course is fairly inviting off the tee and rewards players who are precise with their irons as many of the greens have defined segments to hit to for the best chance at birdie. Let’s dig into some players to consider for DraftKings and One-and-Done:
DraftKings:
Only 98 players are in the field this week after Fowler and Molinari withdrew. I expect the standings to be very condensed on DraftKings since such a high percentage of players will make the cut. You will need to make some tough decisions to distinguish your lineups from the field this week. Here are two possible pivots:
Justin Rose $9,300 over Adam Scott $9,400
Scott will be a very popular play as he has finished in the top five in his last two events. He also has a great track record at TPC Boston with four top 10s in his last seven starts. However, if we dig deeper into Scott’s recent play, I’m not so sure he will live up to expectations this week. Scott has been putting absolutely lights out gaining 8.5 and 3.7 strokes putting in his last two events. The last time he gained at least 3.7 strokes putting in one event (little alone two) was in 2017 at Riviera!!! I would expect a finish around 25th this week for Scott, but that most likely won’t be enough for you to take home the big cash in tournaments.
On the other hand, many people will avoid Justin Rose after his missed cut last week. His missed cut was primarily due to his second worst putting performance in the last 7 years!!! Prior to last week, Rose finished in the top 10 in an astounding 18 of his last 26 events. His consistency and upside is undeniable, yet he is never a “sexy” pick since he isn’t as flashy as DJ or JT. I would not be surprised to see a bounce-back week for Rose where he contends for the title.
Xander Schauffele $7,200 over Keegan Bradley $7,200
Keegan played great for three rounds last week but struggled on Sunday. He now heads to a course where he will have a lot of local support. I expect Bradley to be fairly high-owned for this salary tier. I don’t really see the upside in him as he struggles to close the deal on Sundays when in contention. If we are trying to win big tournaments on DraftKings, we can’t afford players to explode on Sunday.
Schauffele has his back against the wall this week. The only possible chance he may have of making the Ryder Cup team is to win this week (that may not even be enough). Schauffele is a big game hunter as he plays extremely well in the bigger events. In the past year, he has finished 5th at the 2017 U.S. Open, 1st at the 2017 Tour Championship, 2nd at the 2018 Players, 6th at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2nd at the 2018 Open. At $7,200, he is a great value since he has the upside to win and carry your team to a large payout.
One-and-Done
With only a few weeks left in the season, I expect many of you are down to some difficult choices. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you to play one of your studs if you still have him because that’s obvious at this point. Rather, I’ll give you a few players who you might still have available who could succeed this week:
Patrick Reed
Reed looks to position himself for a run at the FedEx Cup title. He has finished in the top six each of the last three years at TPC Boston.
Hideki Matsuyama
Hideki has found his approach game, which seemed to leave him for part of the year. He has gained 15 strokes on approach over his last two events!!! If he brings that iron play this week, he will contend.
Billy Horschel
As we have mentioned before, when Horschel is hot he stays hot for an extended time. Horschel finished 3rd last week and continued his solid iron play. He has gained at least three shots on approach in five of his last six events.