Paulie’s PGA Cash Game Plays – 3/18

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:

• We have a field of 144 players and a cut of low 65 and ties.
• The field is very weak, the conditions will be difficult, and the course can force players into making some big numbers. The leaderboard will be very condensed. As such, we typically see a very low 6/6 and 5/6 percentage for lineups in cash.
• There aren’t a ton of birdies this week, and the winning score will most likely be single digits under par, which means that there will be a higher emphasis on finishing position points.
• The field is so weak this week that there aren’t many studs up top we can trust, which makes lineup construction a bit awkward.
• This week, you will want to roster players who are solid ball strikers, as this course severely penalizes those who do not.
• LOCKS: Daniel Berger
• NOTE: The DFS Stream will be posted Wednesday morning.
• UPDATE 3/17: News broke that Daniel Berger is dealing with a rib injury and is not 100% and may not play this week. I am removing him from my player pool for this week. Players who you can add to player pool:
• Joaquin Niemann $10,400
• Doug Ghim $8,800
• UPDATE 4PM: BERGER OFFICIALLY WD FROM EVENT

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

• Daniel Berger $10,800
  • Ranked #1 in my model this week by a large margin. He is the best player in the field by a mile.
  • 2^nd in par 4 scoring 400-450 yards, 3^rd in birdies, 5^th off the tee, 8 putting, 12^th in approach, and 21^st in dispersion off the tee (measurement of how far offline a tee shot is)
  • Winner already this year at Pebble
  • Preferred surface is Bermuda
• Shane Lowry $9,200
  • With the forecast showing the potential of heavy winds and very difficult scoring, Lowry fits perfectly. He is an absolute grinder who prefers playing in wind and playing events where par means something.
  • Top 25 off the tee, approach, around the green, dispersion off the tee and par 4 scoring 400-450 yards
  • 8^th last week at the Players gaining strokes in every category
• Brendan Steele $8,700
  • Made 8 of last 9 cuts at this event, including top 14 finishes in 4 of last 5 appearances
  • Made all 7 cuts in 2021
  • 2^nd in proximity from 150-175 yards and 17^th off the tee
• Ian Poulter $8,100
  • Sitting on the bubble of next week’s WGC Match Play event, he needs to make the cut this week to solidify his place in the field next week. He also has some added inspiration since this is a Ryder Cup year, and he needs as many points towards the European standings as possible, and getting into the WGC Match Play will help him tremendously.
  • Poulter is a grinder who doesn’t mind playing in difficult conditions. He keeps the ball in play and has a solid short game, which should work well here.
  • He has made 5 of his last 6 cuts here and almost won in 2015.
• Byeong Hun An $8,000
  • 4^th, 36^th and 5^th in his 3 starts at this event
  • Last week was his only missed cut in 6 events in 2021 (which was due to his double-digit score on the par 3 17^th)
  • Top 15 in around the green, proximity from 150-175 yards and 175-200 yards
• Brandon Wu $7,800
  • A complete unknown to most people but is a young player who is a good ball striker that plays well in windy conditions and has a lot of upside
  • Has only played 2 events in 2021 finishing 7^th at Puerto Rico in his sole PGA Tour start and 14^th in his only Korn Ferry Tour start.
  • Made the cut in 5 of his last 6 non-major PGA Tour events and also won the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Championship
• Michael Thompson $7,500
  • Made the cut 7 of the last 9 years here including a win in 2013
  • Only missed 2 cuts in his last 12 events
  • Very consistent player who has a very good mental game and can plod along this course
• KH Lee $7,500
  • 38^th and 7^th in his 2 appearances at this event
  • 41^st last week at the Players gaining 6.8 strokes combined off the tee and approach (losing 4.2 around the green and putting)
  • Made 6 of last 8 cuts
• Patton Kizzire $7,500
  • Made his last 12 cuts and his game is trending in the right direction
  • 35^th last week at the Players while gaining 4 strokes on approach
  • Preferred surface is Bermuda
• Zach Johnson $7,400
  • 2^nd in par 4s 400-450 yards, 4^th in putting, 8^th in dispersion off the tee and top 30 in birdies and approach
  • Made last 3 cuts at this event
  • Very good wind player who plays best in events where scoring isn’t super low
  • Only missed the cut in 2 of 21 events since last year’s event
• Denny McCarthy $6,900
  • I’ve written him up a bunch when we have a Bermuda grass course and this week is another one of those weeks. His splits between Bermuda and non-Bermuda grass is insane.
  • 55^th and 26^th the last 2 weeks since returning to Bermuda grass
• Wesley Bryan $6,800
  • Made the cut in both of his starts in 2021
  • 4^th, 9^th and MC in 3 starts at this event
  • Above average iron game

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