The PGA TOUR will stay in Las Vegas for another week to play the 2021 CJ CUP. The first three editions of THE CJ CUP were played in South Korea, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was forced to move to Las Vegas in 2020. The event will stay in Las Vegas in 2021 but will be moved to Summit Club, which is a brand new course for the PGA TOUR.
Summit Club is a par 72 measuring 7,431 yards and features bentgrass greens. The course is a Tom Fazio design.
For GPP contests on DraftKings. I will be breaking down the key stats (past 24 rounds) and selecting golfers from different price tiers to provide flexibility for a DFS lineup. You can utilize our Lineup Builder to hand-build your lineups, or effortlessly create 150 of them.
Don’t forget about the other tools that FantasyLabs offers, such as the Trends tool and PGA Correlation Dashboard.
This analysis may reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots on average it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation. Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach is always going to be an important measure of current form and feels like the best place to start at a brand new course.
- High-end target: Viktor Hovland – $9,900 (2nd SG:APP)
- Mid-range target: Shane Lowry– $8,300 (6th SG: APP)
- Value Target: Russell Henley – $7,100 (3rd SG: APP)
Driving Distance
Tom Fazio designs typically give a major advantage to the longer drivers on TOUR. Distance off the tee allows golfers to cut doglegs and fairway bunkers that will be in play for many others in the field.
- High-end target: Rory McIlroy – $10,100 (1st Driving Distance)
- Mid-range target: Sergio Garcia– $7,500 (7th Driving Distance)
- Value Target: Jhonattan Vegas– $6,300 (2nd Driving Distance)
Jason Kokrak won THE CJ CUP last year in part by gaining 10.3 strokes putting. Although we are at a different venue this year, I expect the greens to be very similar. Shadow Creek is also a Tom Fazio design, and the green complexes should be relatively alike.
- High-end target: Rory McIlroy– $10,400 (7th Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
- Mid-range target: Adam Scott – $8,100 (4th Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
- Value Target: Alexander Noren– $7,100 (1st Strokes Gained: Putting Bentgrass)
Birdie or Better: Gained
Summit Club was designed as a course that would be a visual marvel and attract wealthy customers on trips to Las Vegas. Many celebrities and public figures are either members or have played the course. While the course will absolutely be toughened up for the TOUR players, I don’t anticipate it being very difficult for professionals. We will likely get another winner north of -20 this week.
- High-end target: Rory McIlroy – $10,200 (3rd in Birdie or Better)
- Mid-range target: Shane Lowry– $8,300 (4th in Birdie or Better)
- Value Target: Jhonattan Vegas– $6,300 (6th in Birdie or Better)
SG: Tom Fazio Designs
Early indications seem to be that this course will be a typical Tom Fazio design. It has wider fairways, and distance will be important. Recent courses we have seen, such as Shadow Creek, Kasumigaseki Country Club, and Caves Valley, look to have a similar layout to Summit Club.
- High-end target: Rory McIlroy – $10,200 (1st Strokes Gained: Total Tom Fazio Designs)
- Mid-range target: Patrick Reed – $8,000 (3rd Strokes Gained: Total Tom Fazio Designs)
- Value Target: Jason Day– $7,000 (4th Strokes Gained: Total Tom Fazio Designs)
Photo Credit: Harry Trump/Getty Images
Pictured: Rory McIlroy
