Welcome to the first edition of Damico’s Double Eagle. I’m excited to bring the readers of Prime Time Sports Talk my knowledge of golf and how to win money because of it.
The Players Championship was not played last season due to the coronavirus, so everyone is looking forward to seeing it for the first time in two years. Unfortunately, one of my personal favorite golfers, Brooks Koepka, is not participating this week, but we have a plethora of fantastic options for the weekend. Let’s get into it.
Cash Plays
Webb Simpson
Simpson has come on really strong in his 2020-21 campaign. He’s been a model of consistency and has a lot of past success at The Players over the last three years, finishing top-20 in all three, including a win in 2018. We’ve seen a tremendous progression in his game over the last five years, and you can’t go wrong with a guy like him. The field is so large that he probably will not be extraordinarily chalky, but for people that know what they’re doing, he’ll be popular.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has been arguably the best DFS golfer this season thus far. He missed the cut in 2019. However, in 2018 he finished tied for second at The Players. He’s progressed quite a bit just since last season, and he’s a good pivot off of a guy like Dustin Johnson who everyone will want to jam into their lineups.
Abraham Ancer
In his only showing at The Players Championship in 2019, Ancer finished T12. You can’t base someone’s past success off of one tournament, but Ancer has proved it in 2020-21 as well. His price on FanDuel is very fair at $9,400 and he’s a guy that I’m locking into my cash lineup and moving on. A poor performance in Hawaii and at the Genesis Invitational may scare some people off, but if you want to play the studs, you need the value piece that can finish top-10.
Viktor Hovland
Hovland has made the cut in every tournament in the 2020-21 season thus far. He’s had top-15 finishes in eight of 11 tournaments thus far, including a win at the Mayakoba Classic and two top-three finishes. Since he only has been a pro since 2019, Hovland has yet to play at TPC Sawgrass, so there’s a fear of the unknown when it comes to that, but when someone is golfing as good as he’s been golfing, you don’t worry about the unknown as much. Let’s bet on what we know.
Patrick Cantlay
In his three appearances at The Players, he’s had two top-25 finishes and a MC (missed cut). Like Hovland though, Cantlay has been on a tear lately. In nine tournaments this year, Cantlay has finished top-20 seven out of nine times. While others may not be impressed with his past performances at The Players Championship, I’m impressed with what he has done for me lately, making him my last cash “must-have.”
Other plays I like: Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Corey Conners
GPP Plays
Jason Day
If you want a perfect picture of stellar past performances, look no further than Day at The Players. He’s finished top-10 on five occasions, including a victory a few years ago. While Day has struggled lately, you can take a shot on his past success at TPC Sawgrass. Some guys have courses where they’re lost out there, and others dominate. Day dominates. He’s my favorite GPP play of the weekend.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood has not performed up to par lately… ba dum psshhh. Ok, no more jokes, that was bad. You know who’s not bad? Fleetwood. Especially at The Players. He’s finished top-seven the last two times he’s played in the tournament. He was in contention last weekend before struggling, but he’s trending in the right direction. People also never play him. Take the edge.
Bryson DeChambeau
Tread lightly here especially with the price tag, but DeChambeau is good at golf. He’s extremely inconsistent, which will cause a lot of people to stay away from him, but I think he could repeat his performance from last weekend. I’d rather pay up for him than DJ this weekend – a take that will be very hot in the industry.
Ryan Palmer
Recency bias got me here. Palmer has made the cut in every tournament this season and his price is just far too low. He’s been perfectly consistent, while his history at The Players is anything but. Palmer is in my GPP lineup because of what he does for the rest of my lineup. Great pay-down, and also a viable cash play.
Tyrell Hatton
Hatton is another guy who’s always strictly GPP for me. One weekend, he’ll finish top-five, then the next, he’ll miss the cut completely. Smart money is on Hatton to perform well this weekend, and I think people chase his “box scores” and get scared away.
Other plays I like: Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Na, Hideki Matsuyama, Joaquin Niemann
Favorite Play in Both Formats
Tony Finau
Perfectly consistent. Excellent upside. Finau needs his second tour win and he’s hungry. He always makes the cut and is usually in it the entire time. There’s not a better guy to target in both cash and GPP for both floor and ceiling. I’m really rooting for a strong weekend for him.
The Play To Avoid
Rory McIlroy
Don’t chase the fact that he won last time out. It’s as simple as that. People will do it and his upside is limited. The floor is missing the cut. Hard pass.
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