DraftKings Fantasy Golf: PGA DFS Showdown Picks Round 2 WM Phoenix Open

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is underway, and the demand for PGA DFS was off the charts this week. With the strongest field in over a decade assembled here this week, with a few of them getting off to great starts, this tournament is just starting to provide the fun! For tomorrow’s second-round slate, DraftKings is offering 50,000 to first place!

PGA DFS Golf Picks: The Waste Management Phoenix Open Round 2

Round 1 Recap

Morning Wave

Scoring average of: 71.32

With such a strong field here this year, the marquee groups from both waves were ideal. So, early morning golf with Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and company was great coffee-drinking content, as TPC Scottsdale provided a great stage yet again. Maybe someday, the professional golf governing bodies will wake up and host a Major here.

Nonetheless, we have the stars out and ready to play, as Xander looked superb off the tee from the get-go. His round didn’t come without question marks, though, as it was reported his caddie tested positive for Covid, now subjecting him to daily testing. That could be a problem down the road, after an opening 67. His playing partner Jordan Spieth had a great day, except for his second shot on 17. from 50 yards, he flew the green and into the water it went, making a double-bogey six from just 50 yards out. Still, he gained almost 3.5 strokes ball striking on the day, waiting for his magical putter to heat up, and he could get right back in this tournament. Viktor Hovland, the third member of the group, struggled here at TPC Scottsdale again.

Other standouts from the morning wave include K-H “TPC” Lee, who set the pace with a six-under 65, continuing his strong from at the course. Speaking of solid form here, defending champion Brooks Koepka also put together a very solid opening round, showcasing power off the tee, and shot a five-under 66. Louis Oosthuizen and Charley Hoffman also tied Xander with a 67 on day one.

Afternoon Wave:

Scoring Average of 69.98

When the morning golfers first teed off, there were spots of wind that would dissipate as the day went on. For sure, that would mean lower scores in the afternoon, right? Wrong, it would take basically all day for someone to catch Lee, and of course, it’s been a golfer. I decided not to play all that much this week, Sahith Theegala. He would finish the day at -7 but still had two holes remaining when play was suspended due to darkness.

Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Matsuayama were a powerful pairing in the afternoon, all of them spending time in the top 10 on the day, with Cantlay and Thomas ending there. For Hideki, his poor tee shot on 17, which found the water spearheaded a bogey, which knocked him out of it for the time being. They’ll be one of the first off tomorrow morning.

Jon Rahm also had a good start, tieing Thoams and Cantlay with a bogey-free four-under 67, remaining the favorite, and even seeing his odds go down from the open, now sitting at +450 to win. Other quality rounds in the afternoon were from Adam Hadwin, Scott Stallings, Harry Higgs, Bubba Watson and Stewart Cink.

WM Phoenix Open Round 1 Stat Recap

Strokes Gained Off the Tee

Max Homa
Jordan Spieth***
Abraham Ancer
Tyler Duncan
Robert Streb

Strokes Gained Approach

Justin Thomas
Doug Ghim
Adam Hadwin
Bubba Watson
Hideki Matsuayama

Strokes Gained Around the Green.

Xander Schauffele
K-H Lee
Russell Henley
Robert Streb
Lucas Gover

Strokes Gained Putting

Brian Gay
Kevin Tway
Kevin Kisner
Gary Woodland
Patrick Cantlay

Latest PGA DFS Content

DraftKings Fantasy Golf Preview: Round 2 The WM Phoenix Open

Lock Time: 9:10 Am ET
Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $50,000 to first place and $150,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.

Best PGA DFS Golf Picks Today for DraftKings Showdown

Although it should be obvious, it bears worth repeating the North Course played three shots easier than the South Course today. Targeting golfers that play that course should be a given, so here are a few golfers playing there tomorrow, outside of Jon Rahm.

Jordan Spieth ($9,200): Any round in which Jordan gains over three strokes ball-striking, it’s expected that he’d have shot at least that many shots better than the field. But, an icy cold putter, and one of his worst around the green performances, because of the 17th hole, and it led to a less than perfect day. But, this is the second straight week that the ball striking has looked good, and once the putter starts going, he’ll jolt up the leaderboard. Maybe that’ll be Friday in the desert as the fans always look to Jordan for excitement.
Brooks Koepka ($9,000): Is his knee healthy? Well, we may never truly know, but what we do know is he was mashing the ball on Thursday. With multiple drives over 350 yards, Brooks looked good through the whole bag. He gained over three-quarters of a stroke in every strokes gained facet, the only golfer in the field to do that in round one. There’s no need to fade Brooks here in round two, a two-time winner of the event and a clear desire to perform well this week.
Max Homa ($7,800): A remarkably similar round to Jordan, Max gained over 3.5 strokes ball striking but lost two on the speedy greens. While typically his putter starts his game, Max is in the same position as Spieth in terms of finding a hot putter and jolting up the leaderboard. It’ll happen in one of the next three rounds, and maybe it’ll be the Friday slate when his salary is still in value terms.
Adam Hadwin ($7,300) Having made six straight cuts at this event, Hadwin certainly embraces the atmosphere. He had a lazy start, playing his first five holes at one-over par. After knocking it close on six, he was set to get back to even par but missed a four-footer. But, he’d make up for that making a 20 footer on six, and that would jump-start his round. He’d play his remaining 12 holes at five-under-par, including three straight birdies from 15-17. He’ll have a quick turnaround for tomorrow’s slate, going out in the morning wave, with a chance to post a number for the afternoon wave to shoot at.

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Author

Jason Rouslin

Jason established his roots in the littlest state that could...Rhode Island. But after 29 years of bitter cold, and only being able to play golf 4 months a year, upended those roots and moved to Florida. Now four years later, Jason is a husband to Sarah and father of two boys, James & Myles. A dog and more specifically Lab lover (Bella), he dedicates his time to serve as the lead of PGA content at Awesemo.com. In the time he is not diving into the PGA stats and covering this week's current tournament, you can find him researching and trading stocks, on the golf course, at Disney World, on a hike, or somewhere in between. Want to chat? Have a question about Golf/Stocks or anything else? Hop on twitter and give him a message @dfsgolfer23. You can also contact Jason by emailing [email protected].