This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
DEAN & DELUCA INVITATIONAL
Purse: $6.7M
Winner's Share: $1,206,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Course: Colonial Country Club
Yardage: 7,204
Par: 70
2015 champion: Chris Kirk
Tournament Preview
The PGA Tour heads to venerable Colonial, home of the longest-running tournament (non-major) played at the same site. Most recently the Crowne Plaza Invitational before a new naming sponsor took over this year, it has been contested every year since 1946, save 1949 (because of flooding of the Trinity River) and 1975 (when it hosted The Players Championship). The club actually hosted a Tour event earlier — the 1941 U.S. Open. It is one of two courses, along with Riviera, nicknamed "Hogan's Alley," because of the success of Ben Hogan there. The Hall of Famer was a five-time winner at Colonial, including the first two tourneys. For the second straight week on tour, golfers will see a par-70 track, this one with some of the narrowest fairways they'll see all season. There are only two par-5s, interestingly at Nos. 1 and 11. Colonial decidedly does not favor long hitters, but shot makers, and it was no coincidence that Annika Sorenstam in 2003 chose the course to become the first woman to play a PGA Tour event since Babe Didrikson Zaharias at the Los Angeles Open in 1946. After negotiating the tree-lined fairways, golfers will approach some of the smallest greens on tour, which can make greens in regulation a more important consideration than putting. The signature hole is the fifth, the hardest on the course and the final leg of the famed three-hole "Horrible Horseshoe." A 481-yard par-4, there's trouble on both sides, and the Trinity River runs along the right for almost the entire length. Last year, it played to a 4.263 scoring average. Weather-wise, there's a strong chance of afternoon thunderstorms on Thursday, and a 100 percent chance of rain on Friday. After that, the weekend looks hot, humid and dry. As the title says, it's an invitational, with only 122 golfers in the field.
Key Stats to Winning at Colonial
• Driving accuracy
• Greens in regulation
• Scrambling
• Putting average (putts per GIR)
Past Champions
2015 - Chris Kirk
2014 - Adam Scott
2013 - Boo Weekley
2012 - Zach Johnson
2011 - David Toms
2010 - Zach Johnson
2009 - Steve Stricker
2008 - Phil Mickelson
2007 - Rory Sabbatini
2006 - Tim Herron
Champion's Profile:
None of the above winners has been among the top-10 in driving distance on tour in the year they won. With the aforementioned tight fairways and numerous dog legs, precision is paramount. Last year, Kirk was the rare bird to win sans accuracy, hitting only 50 percent of fairways (60th in the field) and 64 percent of GIR (62nd in the field). Instead, he putted out of this world, with 21 birdies plus a Sunday eagle. Even with all those birdies, Kirk's winning total was still only 12-under. The year before, Scott won at 9-under. Putting average takes into account only putts after GIR, discounting missed greens followed by chips near the hole. Scrambling, however, is still a consideration, with a lot of sand trouble greenside.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Jordan Spieth - $12,800 (Winning odds at golfodds.com: 6-1)
Adam Scott - $11,300 (12-1)
Matt Kuchar - $11,000 (12-1)
Zach Johnson - $10,700 (20-1)
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Patrick Reed - $10,000 (25-1)
Chris Kirk - $9,700 (30-1)
Kevin Chappell - $9,600 (25-1)
Louis Oosthuizen - $9,500 (30-1)
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Danny Lee - $8,800 (30-1)
Bill Haas - $8,700 (40-1)
Jim Furyk - $8,600 (30-1)
Colt Knost - $8,300 (40-1)
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Roberto Castro - $7,600 (80-1)
Steve Stricker - $7,500 (80-1)
Boo Weekley - $7,400 (80-1)
Brian Harman - $6,900 (Field, 7-2)
David Toms - $6,300 (Field, 7-2)
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Cash Game Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Matt Kuchar - $11,000
Danny Lee - $8,800
Bill Haas - $8,700
Roberto Castro - $7,600
Boo Weekley - $7,400
David Toms - $6,300
Kuchar is likely to be widely owned, and with good reason, He's got two top-3s the past two weeks, plus made every Colonial cut from 2007 to 2013, culminating with a second-place finish. He didn't play the event last year. Lee is top-25 in driving accuracy and tied for 10th last year. Haas is another steady player, and he's made four straight Colonial cuts, including a T8 in 2001. He, too, did not play there in 2015. The course lines up nicely for Castro, in the top-20 on tour in both driving accuracy and GIR. Weekley is another golfer likely to have high ownership, as he is on form (with rounds of 62 and 65 last week), plus has a strong history at Colonial, with a win in 2013. Toms is also a former champ, in 2011, who still commands attention on shorter courses.
Higher-Risk Tournament Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Adam Scott - $11,300
Patrick Reed - $10,000
Jim Furyk - $8,600
Steve Stricker - $7,500
David Hearn - $6,400
Jim Herman - $6,200
At the No. 2 choice in the field, Scott will be highly owned. But any time you put so much of your budget on one guy, you absolutely need him to play well. The Aussie is a former Colonial champ who has historically played well in all the Texas tournaments. Reed likely will fly a bit under the radar, but the only weak spot in his game is putting, which can be masked at Colonial. Furyk is still rounding into form after wrist surgery, but he made four straight cuts at the tournament before skipping last year's edition, including T4 in 2012. Stricker is a lot like Weekley but a former winner at $100 more, and he surely will be a lot less owned. Hearn is top-32 in both driving accuracy and GIR, and he's made the cut four of the past five years. Herman is excellent finding fairways, decent in GIR, and we're gambling he's over his victory hangover from two months ago.
