Paulie’s PGA Cash Game Plays – 2/18

Avoid groupthink and build PGA DFS cash lineups with a different strategy in mind based on hours of @friedeggpaulie’s research and his deep knowledge of the players and professional golf!!

What can you expect from this PGA DFS article every week?

• I focus solely on DraftKings’ main slate, as that is where most of the play resides and also where the biggest edge lies. I will be providing the top cash game plays by salary tier. You can mix and match these players to build your cash lineups.

Strategy for the Week for Cash:

With a field of 120 players and a cut of low 65 and ties:

• We should expect a higher than normal 6/6 and 5/6 percentage for lineups in cash.
• LOCKS: Cameron Davis, Doug Ghim

Let’s jump into the Cash Game Player Pool for this week:

• Dustin Johnson $11,300
  • Top 10 9 of last 12 years at this event
  • 3^rd or better in 7 of his last 9 worldwide starts
  • #1 overall ranked player in my model as he is 1^st in birdies, 3^rd on approach, 6^th in driving distance, 9^th off the tee and 28^th around the green
• Xander Schauffele $9,900
  • One of the most consistent players in the world as he has finished 25^th or better in each of his last 15 starts (24 of last 26 starts if you want to go back even further)
  • 23^rd, 15^th and 9^th in 3 starts at this event
  • Runner up in each of his last 2 events (Farmers and WM Open)
  • 3^rd in putting, 4^th in birdies, 8^th around the green and 10^th off the tee
• Patrick Cantlay $9,600
  • 17^th, 15^th and 4^th in last 3 appearances at this event
  • 3^rd at Pebble Beach and 2^nd at AMEX (his last 2 starts on Tour)
  • Missed only 1 cut in last 23 months
  • 4^th around the green and top 20 off the tee, birdies and putting
  • Gained 1.6 strokes per round on approach over his last 2 events so his irons are dialed in right now
• Tony Finau $9,300
  • Finau has continually knocked on victory’s door. He has gone 2^nd, 2^nd and 4^th in his last 3 starts
  • Finished runner-up at Riviera in 2018
  • 2^nd in long iron proximity, 9^th in driving distance and top 35 off the tee, approach, around the green and putting
• Adam Scott $9,000
  • 17^th or better in 6 of last 7 appearances including a win in 2020
  • Missed only 3 cuts in last 2 years
  • 12^th overall ranked player in my model as he is above average in almost every category
• Bubba Watson $8,900
  • Winner here in 3 of the last 7 years (not a misprint)
  • Gained strokes in each of the following categories in 6 of the last 7 events: off the tee, approach and around the green. This consistency should bode well and allow him to contend again this year
• Viktor Hovland $8,700
  • Comes into this event in good form: 6^th (Saudi) and 2^nd (Farmers)
  • Missed only 4 cuts worldwide in the last 2 years
  • Very similar to Adam Scott as he is 16^th in my model as he is above average in every category with a propensity for elite ball striking
• Will Zalatoris $8,300
  • A cheaper and less experienced version of Hovland and Scott
  • Missed 1 cut in last 16 months
  • Top 8 in 4 of last 9 starts on Tour
  • 2^nd in the field in long iron proximity, and above average in all ball striking categories. He is a below-average putter and around the green but his elite ball striking more than makes up for that
• Carlos Ortiz $7,800
  • 26^th or better in all 4 starts at this event
  • Been on fire since his win in Houston late in 2020, including a 4^th at WM Open and late Sunday tee time at Torrey, which saw him drop from top of leaderboard to 29^th.
  • 26^th overall in my model as he is top 40 off the tee, around the green, putting, driving distance, long iron proximity and birdies.
• Si Woo Kim $7,700
  • Winner at the AMEX  a few weeks ago
  • #1 in field around the green and #1 in mid-iron proximity
  • Showed upside here in 2019 with a 3^rd place finish
• Cameron Davis $7,500
  • It’s been a couple of weeks, but we are back to locking Cameron Davis into our lineups.
  • He is the 7^th overall rated player in my model for this course: 3^rd in birdies, 13^th off the tee, 14^th in driving distance, 18^th in mid-iron proximity, 20^th in long iron proximity and 27^th in putting
  • Made 12 of his last 13 cuts which led to 10 top 40 finishes
• Henrik Norlander $7,400
  • 26^th, 22^nd, 2^nd and 12^th in the last 4 weeks 
  • Gained strokes off the tee and on approach in each of the last 4 events. This consistency should yield solid results at Riviera
• Brendan Steele $7,100
  • Made 7 of his last 8 cuts at this event
  • 34^th, 30^th, 21^st and 4^th in his last 4 events on Tour
  • Top 40  off the tee, around the green, mid-iron proximity, long iron proximity, driving distance and approach. 
  • His weakness is putting but that isn’t as important this week compared to other weeks and he does putt better on Poa Annua greens
• Doug Ghim $6,900
  • Finished runner up at Riviera in 2017 in the US Amateur
  • Top 30 in mid-iron proximity, long iron proximity, birdies and around the green. At or above field average in all other metrics which creates consistent results.
  • Made 7 of his last 8 cuts on Tour including 21^st (Pebble), 37^th (Farmers) and 5^th (Amex) in last 3 events.

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