For the second major of the 2022 season, we head to Southern Hills Country Club (par 70, 7,556 yards, bentgrass greens) in Tusla, Oklahoma, for the PGA Championship this week. Most recently, this par 70 hosted the 2007 edition of this major, when Tiger Woods – who is listed in the field this week - came out victorious at -8.
In 2019, Southern Hills saw some renovations to make the course more difficult. The most notable alteration was to the complexes of these small bentgrass greens, making them lightning fast and extremely challenging to stick consistently. Furthermore, trees were cut down, exposing this track to more wind, and bunkers were moved to create more threats for long hitters. It’s safe to say we can expect a brutal test of golf this week at this lengthy track, which is easily the longest par 70 that will host a PGA TOUR event this season. During his victory at Southern Hills in 2007, Woods ranked 14th in driving distance and while I don’t believe we have to only roster bombers this week, they should have a slight advantage. As expected, the 15-time major champion was also exceptional with his irons that week, ranking fourth in GIR, putting an obvious emphasis on approach play for this week’s major.
As always with a par 70, being efficient on the par fours is going to be extremely critical to contend this week and this was on full display during Woods’ win in 2007, when he led the field in scoring on the par fours at Southern Hills by three strokes. As for what specific length of par fours we should be focusing on, seven of the 12 par fours at this venue land between 450-500 yards. Lastly, given the challenges this track presents, we should be putting a large weight on bogey avoidance and while it is not a necessity, targeting players that have a history of being successful on bentgrass greens is a sharp strategy.
Including 47 of the top-50 ranked golfers in the world, this stacked field consists of 156 players, and it is important to note that the PGA Championship’s cut is the top-70 and ties moving onto the weekend, as opposed to the usual top-65 and ties cut we see at standard PGA TOUR events. Given the strength of this field, we have a plethora of appealing cheap value plays at our disposal, and below I present to you four of my favorite targets that are priced under $7.5K on DraftKings this week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] (PGA)
Jason Kokrak ($7,300) – At the AT&T Byron Nelson this past week, Kokrak posted a T13, while shooting under par in all four rounds and ranking T1 in SG on the par fours at TPC Craig Ranch in the process. Including a win at the Houston Open last November – which is Kokrak’s third victory in less than a two-year span – the veteran has finished inside the top-30 six times in only 12 individual starts this season. Also, Korkak’s driver has been elite as of late, ranking 13th in driving distance over his last 24 rounds, and he ranks 14th in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 50 rounds at courses that feature bentgrass greens.
Billy Horschel ($7,400) – Excluding his WD at the PLAYERS, Horschel has made 18 consecutive cuts coming into this week. The former Florida Gator has already racked up eight top-25 finishes this season and ranks third in SG on par fours across his past 24 rounds. Furthermore, Horschel has advanced to the weekend in 12 of his last 15 starts at a major championship. Of all the golfers that cost less than $7.5K this week, Horschel holds the best odds to win the PGA Championship at +5000 on DraftKings Sportsbook. To put into perspective how compelling these odds are for a player this cheap, Sam Burns, who is far more expensive at $8,800, carries the same odds to win this major.
Sergio Garcia ($7,200) – Very quietly, Garcia has been extremely consistent this season, missing only one cut in nine starts at standard stroke play tournaments. In his most recent start, Garcia gained a season-high 8.2 strokes from T2G at the Wells Fargo Championship, en route to a T21 finish, marking his sixth top-30 this season. The 42-year-old also gained strokes with his driver that week, which has been a common trend this season, with Garcia ranking seventh in SG OTT. The Spaniard has carded a top-25 in his last three appearances at a major and while it won’t appear on his resume, due to the fact that he was disqualified because of a scorecard error following the third round, Garcia did proceed through the cut at Southern Hills for the 2007 PGA Championship. At the minimum, the veteran should get us four rounds of golf this week and almost certainly will come with low ownership in GPPs.
Mito Pereira ($6,700) – Pereira is a great course fit for Southern Hills and is far too cheap for the outstanding season he is currently having. At standard stroke play events this year, Pereira owns a 13/17 record with 10 top-30 finishes. For the season, the Chilean ranks 13th in SG APP, 21st in SGT2G and 30th in SG OTT. On top of his incredible ball striking, Pereira has dominated on par fours, ranking second only to Justin Thomas in par four performance and also has been tremendous at avoiding the large numbers on his scorecard, ranking sixth in bogey avoidance. To top it all off, since joining the PGA TOUR, Pereira has only failed to make the cut once in six attempts at tracks that are home to bentgrass putting surfaces. At this low of a cost, the 25-year-old rising star is one of the best values available for this major.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $3M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] (PGA)
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