PGA DFS: DraftKings Core Four - Waste Management Phoenix Open

Joe Nicely digs into his PGA DFS Core Four for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, an article that provides DraftKings daily fantasy golf lineup selections.

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Hello RotoBallers and thanks for joining me for the Waste Management Phoenix Open! In this article you will find my four favorite overall DraftKings DFS lineup plays for this week's PGA tournament.

The 'Core Four' will usually be spread across different DraftKings price points, but every week in PGA DFS is different and this article will reflect that by trying to give you an overall outlook of how the slate is shaping up. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

Waste Management Phoenix Open Notes

The awesome thing about PGA DFS is just how different things can be from one week to the next. Last week's Farmers was something of a "high brow" event with elite players on a tough golf course, while this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open is about as rowdy as the PGA Tour gets with its huge stadium crowds and party atmosphere. However, despite the fundamental differences between the vibes of the tournaments, this week's field of players is really no less impressive than what we saw at Torrey Pines last week and as I've went through my research process this week I've been continually surprised at the quality depth that's available on this slate.

There's a couple of guys at the top of the salary scale this week in Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas that bring ridiculous win equity to the table and we also have some players with monster course history above the $10k mark in Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, and Hideki Matsuyama. I'm bringing these guys up here, because you won't find any of them highlighted in this week's Core Four. It's not because they aren't great plays, but simply due to the fact that they are all tempting and I couldn't narrow it down to just one. So, instead of putting all my eggs in one elite-player basket, I'll try to grab some exposure to all of them when making multiple GPP lineups, because this is just truly a great week to have fun making lots of lineups. There's so much to like in the $7k price range that you can pair with the elite guys up top, which allows you to comfortably roster your favorite high-priced player like Rahm or JT, and stack the rest of you lineup with a boatload of these quality mid-$7k guys. For my single-entry rosters, I'll be building around the golfers listed in this week's article, as I feel all of them bring true tournament-winning upside to the table at reasonable prices. Thanks for checking out the Core Four...this is always a fun event, so let's dive in!

You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week.

Collin Morikawa - DraftKings: $9,200

I’m always a little reluctant to make a player making his course debut a “Core” piece of my rosters, but Collin Morikawa just continues to impress on any type of layout. He was firmly in the mix at the Farmers last week before his third round got away from him. Morikawa gained 3.3 strokes on Approach at Torrey, which was the EIGHTH consecutive tournament that he’s gained strokes with his irons. In fact, since turning professional he’s gained strokes T2G in every tournament he’s played except one! So, despite this being his debut at TPC Scottsdale, I expect his world-class tee-to-green skills to translate very well.

Bubba Watson - DraftKings: $9,000

If you read last week’s Core Four, then you probably remember my thoughts on Keegan Bradley...I tried to get away from him, but everything in my research throughout the week brought me right back to him. It’s been an eerily similar process with Bubba this week. I never feel great about locking him in because he’s so volatile, but he lines up really well for the WMPO. He popped last week in a big way with a T6 at the Farmers and actually led the field in Strokes Gained: T2G at 8.2. On the heels of that sharp outing, Watson heads to one of his “safe places” this week at TPC Scottsdale, a layout where he recorded a T4 last year and a runner-up finish in 2015. Bubba is perhaps the most "course-centric" player on the PGA Tour, but we've seen him be routinely great on the layouts that fit his eye and this is one of those courses. I wouldn’t argue with fading Bubba here - especially in GPPs - due to his volatility, but considering all the positive factors he brings to the table this week, I’m willing to roll the dice.

Sungjae Im - DraftKings: $8,800

Sungjae is quickly becoming a staple in this article. There’s just so much to like with him on a weekly basis (and I truly mean weekly basis, because he plays EVERY WEEK), especially now that he’s getting a second look at the courses on the PGA Tour schedule after a very successful rookie season. Im hasn’t won yet, but I’d argue that he still has tons of win equity. In addition to the upside he’s also ridiculously consistent. He hasn’t missed a cut since the Open Championship last July and has gained strokes T2G in 11 of 13 tournaments since then. Sungjae logged a T7 in his Waste Management debut last year and he feels really underpriced at $8.8k this week.

Daniel Berger - DraftKings: $7,800

There’s a lot to like throughout the $7k price range this week and I could probably make a compelling argument here for half a dozen guys, but my favorite of the bunch is Daniel Berger. There are probably “safer” options than Berger, but I’m intrigued by his upside. He won twice on the PGA Tour before the age of 25, but has been riddled with injury problems for the last couple years. He’s showing signs of life in 2020 and has gained 5.3 (Sony) and 4.4 (AmEx) T2G in his two starts this calendar year. Berger likes this track and has three finishes inside the top-11 at TPC Scottsdale since 2015. The concern here is that his putter has been frosty, but if he can put it together on the greens, he has a strong chance of being in contention on Sunday.

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