PGA DFS Picks: Round 2 DraftKings + FanDuel Showdown Sony Open

This column is a quick-hitter article to give you the stats you need to make informed PGA DFS picks for your DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy lineups. We’re in search of a few recommendations for the second round of the Sony Open. In a typical Showdown GPP, DraftKings will offer upwards of $50,000 to first place for second and third-round tournaments and sometimes up to $100,000 for the final-round contests. They also provide weekend-long contests that have been offering $25,000 to first place on average. FanDuel has also tried to get into the weekend-long and final-round contests, offering $10,000 and $5,000 to first place in their PGA DFS Showdown contests.

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Sony Open Round 2 PGA DFS Showdown

Previous Round Recap

Morning Wave

With the remnants of an overnight storm passing through this morning, there was a tidbit of wind out there. It didn’t bother the likes of piping putter Peter Malnati, who finds himself atop the leaderboard after Round 1. He held the lead for quite some time, but Jason Kokrak, just after 10:00 p.m. EST, tied him with a tap in birdie on 18.

A couple of other shorter-hitting veterans also found themselves having good rounds in Round 1: Vaughn Taylor and Jim Herman. They were the only ones to shoot better than 65 from the morning wave as Harry Higgs, Henrik Norlander, Billy Horschel, Brendan Steele and Chris Kirk were all about to come in on that number.

Outside of Horschel, the studs from this wave by in large underperformed. Cameron Smith shot 67 and was bogey-free, but his putter failed him a bit today, something the defending champion of the event will need to improve upon if he wants to get back in this thing. Others like Harris English, Brendon Todd and Abraham Ancer will have to play well tomorrow afternoon to make the weekend.

Afternoon Wave

By the time the afternoon golfers teed off, the wind had all but died down and conditions were ideal for scoring. Two golfers matched Malnati’s 62: The aforementioned Kokrak and Joaquin Niemann. Niemann wasn’t the only stud to play well as Webb Simpson and Daniel Berger both find themself on the top page of the leaderboard after Round 1, as does Si Woo Kim, who was playing with Berger and matched his score with a 6-under 64.

Collin Morikawa had a couple of unlucky breaks, one of them coming on his back nine. He was bogey-free through 11 and was on the 12th tee. He blocked one right, heading for the hazard. After searching for the ball, the official deemed it a “lost ball” rather than into the hazard. It led to a double. After that, he bounced back with two big birdies but then missed a two-footer for three in a row and couldn’t birdie the par-5 last hole either.

Latest PGA DFS Content

PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Slate Preview

Lock Time

12:10 p.m. EST

Fantasy Golf Contest Preview

DraftKings

DraftKings is offering $20,000 to first and $80,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.

FanDuel

FanDuel is offering $1,000 to first and $6,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.

General Strategy and Sony Open PGA DFS Picks

With no “big hitters” to be found on the top of the leaderboard, hitting the fairway is clearly paramount this week. Aside from hitting the fairway, strong iron play and a solid putter are definitely the recipes for success around here.

Top 10

Joaquin Niemann ($9,700)

Why he was the lowest-owned golfer up above $10,000 this week is kind of baffling to me. We’ve seen elite players like him come over from Maui in good form and have their games translate here. Another sign of Niemann’s game being in superb form is that he gained over a stroke in all four facets in Round 1. There is no chance I’m fading him in Round 2. Of course, I love the other tw0 studs going out tomorrow morning as well — Simpson and Berger. Try to get three of them (although it’ll be tough) or just mix Niemann in with each of them and make a couple of lines.

PGA DFS Picks Outside the Top 10

Collin Morikawa ($10,000): A weird ruling and a missed two-footer were the difference between 4 and 6 under for Morikawa in Round 1. That’s not even including a bunch of other quality misses. Still, shooting 4 under with a bad break and misses from inside of the three feet is a good sign going forward.
J.T. Poston ($7,200): The Ben Rasa special here: Poston had it going in Round 1. He had bit of a stumble coming in but still gained strokes in all four facets of his game, including 1.46 with his irons. His worst category was his putter, only gaining 0.46. For a guy that typically relies on his putter, if the rest of his game stays sharp, I like him to stay close to the top of the board all week.
Marc Leishman ($7,400): Maybe this is the spot to roster Leishman again. That way, if he just gives up mid-round, we don’t have to worry about him destroying our week-long teams. His iron play looks strong, so now he just needs to get his putter going. He lost almost a stroke in Round 1 while gaining almost three with his approaches. I suspect that’ll come in a bit tomorrow, and maybe it’ll be the day with the hot putter.

DraftKings and FanDuel Sony Open Lineup Fill-Ins

Hideki Matsuyama ($9,200)
Robby Shelton ($6,500)
Tyler McCumber ($6,600)
Erik van Rooyen ($7,300)

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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].