There’s nothing like the first round of the year at Augusta National, and with the Masters pushed back more than seven months in 2020, the payoff should be extra sweet this time around.
Here’s how I’m approaching Thursday’s showdown slate on DraftKings.
Masters 2020 DraftKings Showdown Slate
If you’re unfamiliar, first-round showdown slates don’t take finishing position into account. Players are mainly rewarded for birdies and eagles, plus birdie streaks, so you want to target players capable of posting red numbers in bunches, even if that comes with a few bogeys or worse.
While there is heavy rain expected on Thursday, I don’t see much of an advantage for early or later tee times in the first round. With golfers going out on split tees, it is fair to assume all players will be on a level playing field.
I would expect good scoring conditions for Round 1, with players going at pins and taking advantage of the soft conditions. With that being said, Augusta National has been known to “control the weather” with their sub air system, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see the greens maintain a bit of their notorious speed.
Strokes Gained data is now live in the FantasyLabs PGA models!
Strokes gained in Round 1 (past 24 rounds)
- Jon Rahm ($10,100)
- Rory McIlory ($9,700)
- Xander Schauffele ($9,600)
- Justin Thomas ($10,200)
- Patrick Cantlay ($9,300)
- Louis Oosthuizen ($7,900)
- Tyrrell Hatton ($8,700)
- Bryson DeChambeau ($10,500)
- Brendan Todd ($7,200)
- Brooks Koepka ($9,400)
Top-Tier Targets
Jon Rahm ($10,100): Rahm is my pick to win the tournament, and I expect him to get off to a good start in Round 1. His game is in excellent form and he seems to be ready to embrace the challenge. There’s also not a ton of buzz around Rahm in mainstream circles this week; maybe he comes in at slightly lower ownership than the other guys at the top.
Hideki Maysuyama ($8,400): It seemed like Hideki found something with his irons in Houston last week where he gained 3.4 strokes on approach in Round 4 alone. When targeting first-round showdown plays, you want to look for golfers who can get hot and go low; and that’s what Matsuyama does. You just need his putter to be average for 18 holes.
Mid-Tier Targets
Jordan Spieth ($8,200): We all know how unpredictable Spieth’s game has been over the past few years. However, Jordan’s play at Augusta has been extremely consistent. Spieth hasn’t finished outside of the top 21 in any Masters start of his career. The 21st place finish came last year, and he was the leader after Round 1. While I don’t think he can win, there is no reason not to fire up Spieth for a showdown.
Justin Rose ($7,600): While Rose isn’t playing his best golf of late, he is a big game hunter. He finished 9th at the PGA Championship after finishing 109th, 143rd, and 84th in the three events leading up to the major. At this point in his career, majors are the only thing that matter to Rosie. I’m not sure if he can put four great rounds together this week, but getting off to a fast start is certainly in play.
Low-End Targets
Bernd Wiesberger ($6,900): Bernd baby Bernd! The Austrian has a solid track record at Augusta with finishes of 22-34-43-24 in his four appearances at The Masters. Wiesberger is a guy who can get really hot and go low, which is what we are looking for in this format.
Ben An ($6,700): Benny An is another golfer who can get really hot, especially for one round. It seems like he is going to come in with very low ownership, so I see a lot of value in playing him over guys like Conners and Munoz who will be very chalky.
An is a good contrarian play and a pivot off of popular golfers that can give you some leverage on the field in GPP’s.
