FanDuel PGA DFS Lineup Picks: 2022 ZOZO Championship

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the 2022 ZOZO Championship. Daily fantasy golf advice on under-owned golfers and who to avoid for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for your PGA DFS research. This week we'll dig into the FanDuel PGA DFS slate for the third event of the season.

In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2022 ZOZO Championship. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.

Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

2022 ZOZO Championship - PGA DFS Overview

Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club: Par: 70, Yardage: 7,041, Grass: Bent

With no historic strokes gained data available to us over the last two times they have played here, it is tough to determine what statistics are going to play a pivotal role in determining the 2022 ZOZO champion. When in doubt, lean on strokes gained approach, which just about covers half of the total stats used. We should see about half the shots come from 150-225 yards.

With winning scores anticipated to be around the -10 mark, we are going to lean a little on bogey avoidance and scoring on medium courses (where the top 5 averaged between -15 and -10). This course should reward great ball strikers and the 20% of total driving gets ball striking metrics to 65% in the model.

For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!

Let's Look At The Stats

With no historical strokes gained data we are going to have to guess/infer/deduce what kind of players we are looking for this week. I have reversed engineered theoretical proximity ranges for this week's venue based off a 310 yard drive. Knowing that most golfers don't drive it exactly 310, it appears that either side of the 175-200 yard bucket will see about half the approach shots this week.

Key Stats

• Approach play
• Proximities from 150-225
• Strokes gained putting (Bent)
• Bogey Avoidance
• Strokes gained Off The Tee
• Scoring on Medium difficulty courses

Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)

We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.

High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays 

Sungjae Im ($11,700)

Sungjae Im has 10 finishes of T21 or better in his last 13 starts. The three starts that he failed to crack the top-21, were two Majors and a links style event. None of those are going to be holding him back from putting forward another incredibly consistent performance again this week. His stat profile is green across all four major stat categories and it is only a matter of time until he wins his next event. He is arguably the safest play in the field this week.

Tom Kim ($11,000)

After winning his second event in back-to-back regular season starts, Tom Kim comes in cheaper than he did last week. His form is phenomenal and his game should suit the style of golf required to succeed around this tee-lined Japanese venue. He is the fifth most expensive golfer in the field and offers a ceiling higher than the international space station, while his floor sits at atmospheric heights. A Tom Kim, Sungjae Im combo to start off your lineup is definitely something to consider.

Tyrrell Hatton ($10,200)

The fiery Englishman does not quite possess the floor that the other two high-priced players provide. In fact, his floor often falls out beneath him when things don't quite go his way. However, in a no cut event, Hatton possesses the upside to bounce back from a poor round that may have typically resulted in a missed cut. His long iron play and reliable shortgame should give him enough firepower to frequent the top of the leaderboard. He should be far less popular than the majority of the $10,000+ range.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays

Keegan Bradley ($9,900)

After a lackluster ending to his 2022 season, Keegan Bradley went nuclear over the weekend at the Sanderson Farms Championship, surging up the leaderboard to T5 after barely making the cut. His approach play provided enough birdie opportunities for his putter to sizzle, gaining six strokes on the greens. His driver remains a consistent weapon which may explain why he has two finishes of T7 and T12 at this course. With his game having bounced back right before heading to a course he has had success at, he is a priority in my player pool this week.

Scott Stallings ($9,600)

After fizzling out of contention at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Scott Stallings added another T13 to his six T13s or better in his last eight starts. Stallings has worked tirelessly on his game and is reaping the rewards of all four statistical categories gaining him no less than +0.3 strokes per round (if you omit the Tour Championship disaster). Stallings has one of the best floors in this field and is the same price as ... Rickie Fowler, who has had one T20 all year.

Matthew NeSmith ($9,300)

If we are looking to ball strike this course to death, Matthew NeSmith will be the hitman of choice. He ranked inside the top-5 for strokes gained approach in last two starts and his putter has emerged from the depths of despair to propel him to back-to-back top-10 finishes. We are hopping onto the NeSmith train early, with hopes that we can capitalize on his cheap price and surging short-term form.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Aaron Rai ($8,300) 

Aaron Rai has made the cut in all 10 of his starts on medium difficulty courses this year (MDF at Pebble Beach). His game suits the idea of grinding out scores, leaning on his ball striking to do most of the damage. When his putter decides to show up, his steady to tee-t0-green game allows him to capitalize on his good putting performances. At this price, Rai should provide a reasonable floor with ownership appearing to be relatively palatable in this range.

Kevin Streelman ($8,000)

The steady tour veteran has improved each time he has played this season, finishing T59, T24, and T20 in his three starts so far. He has averaged +0.34 off the tee which will be very useful at this course and it appears that his putter has made a slight resurgence, losing strokes in only three of his 12 rounds to average half a stroke per round. His ownership appears to be relatively low and if he continues his trend of improvement, hopefully he can reward us with another T20.

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