Perhaps the Canadian rock band Loverboy knew DraftKings weekend golf would be a thing when they penned the 1981 hit song Working for the Weekend:
Everybody’s working for the weekend
Everybody’s going off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance
Amazing Grace
Branden Grace ($9,000) was the Round 1 leader after a nearly flawless Thursday that included seven birdies (a bonus streak of three) and 10 pars with just one bogey. Birdies are king in the DraftKings weekend format and per our Player Models Grace’s 13.4 Long-Term Adjusted Birdies Per Tournament (LT Adj Bird Avg) is tied for 13th in the field.
Grace was stellar on the weekend here at TPC San Antonio last year when he kept both rounds under 70 and shot a combined eight-under par to finish T9. Grace was money last weekend too: He shot 69 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday. He looks ripe for another “All Rounds Under 70” bonus this weekend.
Got ‘Em By The Short Hairs
Ollie Schniederjans ($8,200) and his beautiful head of hair went bananas on Friday with seven birdies in the second round. Two bogeys kept him from being at the top of the leaderboard, but the bogies may have been a good thing for those looking to roster him this weekend. Ollie is close enough to the leaders to make a run at a win but he’ll need lots of birdies to do so, and that’s exactly what we’re looking for on DraftKings.
Schniederjans was a great play on the weekend slate last weekend: He accumulated 38.75 DraftKings points thanks to nine birdies and the “Both Rounds Under 70” bonus.
The Bump and Run
Choke up and take a narrow stance.
Jimmy Walker ($9,300): Walker is within striking distance after a thee-under round on Friday left him at five-under for the tournament. Walker missed the cut here last year but was a combined nine-under par in four weekend rounds in 2014 and 2015 at TPC San Antonio.
Martin Laird ($7,800): Believe it or not, Laird’s 69.4 Long-Term Adjusted Round Score is tied for ninth overall in this field. Moreover, Laird looked great on Friday, posting a five-under round behind six birdies. Laird won this event in 2013 when he was a combined 11-under par on the weekend, which included an amazing 63 on Sunday’s final round.
Cameron Smith ($7,600): Cam went ham on Friday. Six birdies (including a bonus streak of three) and an eagle in Round 2 demonstrated an ability to pile up points in the weekend scoring system. Smith has a Recent Adj Bird Avg of 13.0 in his last four tournaments.
JT Poston ($7,600): Per our DFS Ownership Dashboard, Poston was the 15th-highest owned player in the $1,500 Country Club guaranteed prize pool, so there were sharp high-stakes players who liked him this week. At one-under par for the tournament, Poston will have a lot of ground to make up this weekend and could play aggressively. JT shot both rounds under 70 and was a combined nine-under par on the weekend at the Puerto Rico Open in March. Poston’s 14.9 LT Adj Bird Avg ranks second overall.
Cameron Percy ($7,400): Eagles are awesome on the weekend, and Percy has had a knack for finding the big bird lately: His 1.0 Recent Adjusted Eagles Per Tournament is the second-best score in the field. Percy has six birdies through the first two rounds, and his 15.0 Recent Adj Bird Avg is tied for 15th in the field.
Ryan Brehm ($7,100): Brehm was owned at a nearly invisible 0.31 percent in Thursday contests this week. His relatively adventurous opening rounds included an eagle, eight birdies, two bogeys, and two double-bogeys. The bogeys and doubles will hurt on the weekend, but he’s showing an ability to score on this course. Brehm’s 13.2 LT Adj Bird Avg is quietly 17th in this field. He’ll likely be low-owned this weekend with the potential to accumulate points.
Good luck and enjoy the weekend action!
