DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Masters Tournament

MASTERS TOURNAMENT

Purse: $9.0M
Winner's Share: $1,620,000
FedEx Cup Points: 600 to the Winner
Location: Augusta, Ga.
Course: Augusta National Golf Club
Yardage: 7,435
Par: 72

Tournament Preview

Chirping birds, azaleas in full bloom, Sunday roars from the patrons: it's finally Masters week. If anyone reading this needs a reminder of the purity, class and importance that Augusta National and the season's first major represents, I suggest Masters.com with the volume turned up. With 98 players slated to tee it up, it will be the largest Masters field since 1963. The field consists of 16 Masters champions, 13 first-time professionals and seven amateurs who received the coveted invite. Most notably, Tiger Woods announced last Friday he will tee it up at Augusta after a two-month golf hiatus stemming from both a back injury and poor play. The favorites for the week include Rory McIlroy going for a third straight major and career grand slam, Bubba Watson seeking to defend his green jacket and 21-year-old Jordan Spieth looking to break through after a runner-up last year in his Masters debut.

Key Stats to Winning at Augusta National

• Par-5 scoring
• Driving Distance (right-to-left shot shape preferred)
• Proximity to the hole
• 3-putt avoidance and putting conversion from 5-15 feet

Last Decade of Masters Champions:

2014 – Bubba Watson
2013 – Adam Scott
2012 – Bubba Watson
2011 – Charl Schwartzel
2010 – Phil Mickelson
2009 – Angel Cabrera
2008 – Trevor Immelman
2007 – Zach Johnson
2006 – Phil Mickelson
2005 – Tiger Woods

The last decade of players to don the green jacket includes eight decorated champions; six have 10-plus PGA Tour wins and/or multiple majors on their resumes. Although ShotLink is not present at the Masters to objectively analyze shot performance, the blueprint to play well is clear. Augusta National is fairly long with generous fairways, and at least nine holes strongly favor a right-to-left shot shape off the tee. There are many difficult greenside collection areas and tricky bunkers to navigate, and the green complexes are lightning-quick with plenty of undulation. These unique characteristics give an inherent advantage to longer players who hit it right-to-left (draw for right-handers, fade for left-handers). All four par-5s are reachable in two for the longer hitters, making birdies (and even eagles) a necessity on these holes to remain in contention. Players will need to hit high and soft approaches with elite precision to find the proper quadrants on the greens. When missed greens happen, immaculate touch is necessary to hit it close and hole plenty of putts in the 5-to-15 foot range to retain momentum.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)

DraftKings Tier 1 Values

Rory McIlroy - $14,900 (Odds: 11/2)
Bubba Watson - $12,200 (10/1)
Jordan Spieth - $11,900 (9/1)
Jason Day - $11.300 (12/1)

DraftKings Tier 2 Values

Phil Mickelson - $9,900 (Odds: 20/1)
Rickie Fowler - $9,800 (25/1)
Brandt Snedeker - $9,500 (28/1)
Patrick Reed - $9,300 (25/1)
Jimmy Walker - $8,900 (18/1)

DraftKings Tier 3 Values

Jim Furyk - $7,800 (Odds: 50/1)
Keegan Bradley - $7,700 (50/1)
Angel Cabrera - $7,500 (66/1)
Billy Horschel - $7,300 (50/1)
J.B. Holmes - $7,200 (75/1)
Zach Johnson - $7,000 (66/1)

DraftKings Long-Shot Values

Padraig Harrington - $6,700 (Odds: 100/1)
Ryan Palmer - $6,600 (Odds: 100/1)
Russell Henley - $6,500 (100/1)
Kevin Na - $6,000 (125/1)
Morgan Hoffmann - $5,600 (150/1)
Vijay Singh - $5,400 (250/1)

WHO I'M ROLLING WITH THIS WEEK

Lower-Risk Cash Game Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)

Bubba Watson - $12,200
Brandt Snedeker - $9,500
Jimmy Walker - $8,900
Angel Cabrera - $7,500
Fred Couples - $6,400
Vijay Singh - $5,400

Having a good track record at the Masters has more meaning than any other major for two reasons: it's played at the same course every year and it has the smallest field of any major. After dismissing the amateurs and players older than 50 as legitimate contenders, there are only about 80 players who have a reasonable chance to win, and that's before the 36-hole cut. Taking Bubba is an easy choice given his two green jackets in the last three years, while Snedeker won at Pebble Beach in February and has come close to winning the Masters twice. Jimmy Walker was top-10 at Augusta in his first appearance last year and is fresh off a win in San Antonio just two weeks ago. Cabrera is the 2009 Masters champ who always brings his game to the season's first major. Lastly, Fred Couples and Vijay Singh are both older than 50, meaning their chances of winning are very low, but both are green jacket owners and neither has missed the cut at the Masters the last three years.

Higher-Risk Tournament Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)

Jason Day - $11,300
Dustin Johnson - $10,500
Billy Horschel - $7,300
Hunter Mahan - $7,200
Ryan Moore - $7,000
Ryan Palmer - $6,600

With the Masters Millionaire Maker event on DraftKings holding a capacity of 125,900 entries, differentiating your lineup is crucial to maximizing your chance for a nice payday. Jason Day and Dustin Johnson are popular picks to win, but intuition tells me there won't be a ton of teams sporting BOTH in their lineups because of their higher price tags and the popularity of Rory, Bubba and Spieth. From there, slotting in middle-tier options in Horschel, Mahan, Moore and Palmer seems like a decent plan. None of the four aforementioned players have ever won a major, but I'm selecting them because their solid pedigrees outside of majors, their potential to contend and their propensity for being relatively low-owned during Masters Week.