The PGA Tour stops in Charlotte, North Carolina, this week for the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow and Heavy’s partners at DraftKings have created a low buy-in fantasy contest with a $10,000 first-place prize.
Sign up here for DraftKings’ PGA $100K Birdie contest for a chance to win $10,000. The contest is FREE for first-time DraftKings users and $3 for current members.
The pool of $100,000 will be paid out to over 7,800 entered teams. The top prize is $10,000, second is $7,500 and third $5,000. The deadline to register is 6 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, May 14, so lineups need to be set by then.
If you miss the deadline for the Wells Fargo Championship, don’t worry. This Birdie contest is a weekly game, so you can make sure you get registered next week.
The rules are simple: choose 6 golfers while staying under your allotted salary cap of $50,000. The better your players do at Quail Hollow, the better your fantasy team does.
This week’s field includes 3 of the world’s top 10-ranked players – Rory McIlroy (No. 1), Henrik Stenson (3) and Jim Furyk (6). McIlroy has the most expensive cap number at $14,000 nearly one-third of your space. I’m having trouble justifying spending that much on one player, so McIlroy didn’t make my roster.
Neither did Stenson, who has a so-so history at the course, or Furyk, who is the PGA Tour’s career money leader at the event. Furyk was a difficult decision to leave out, but I think I found 6 golfers who can pile up the points while playing all 4 rounds.
It’s important to find the pros who have the best chances to make the cut. A player who misses the cut does you no good. So don’t take many risks. Look for the players with good course track records and guys who are currently playing well. My squad falls into those categories.
Keep reading for our tournament fantasy pick recommendations:
Wells Fargo Championship Lineup Recommendations
J.B. Holmes – $9,800
Holmes won the event in 2014 and is coming off a 75 fantasy point performance last week at The Players. While missing 2 cuts in the past 4 events, Holmes is playing well with 2 other runner-up finishes in 2015. He’s a mammoth off the tee and that could lead.
Editors note: Think you know golf? If so, give this a shot: Heavy’s partners at DraftKings are running a Fantasy Golf Millionaire Maker contest for next month’s U.S. Open. Pick the right lineup and you can turn your $20 into $1 million. It’s too early to choose your team, but you can reserve your spot in the contest today.
Bill Haas – $9,700
Haas is a Charlotte native and while he doesn’t have a great recent track record at Quail Hollow, he’s playing his best golf of the season. Coming off a T4 at The Players Championship, Haas does have 2 top 5 finishes in the event. He has averaged an excellent 78.3 fantasy points per tournament over the past 3.
Kevin Kisner – $8,100
Kisner is one of the hottest players on the Tour at the moment with 2 runner-up finishes in his past 3 events. He nearly won The Players Championship, but lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler. Brimming with confidence, Kisner is averaging 103.7 fantasy points over the past 3 tournaments. He’ll be a popular pick this week with that manageable price tag. Also enticing, Kisner finished T6 in 2014.
Ryan Moore – $8,000
Moore has gone T18, T6, T5 in the last 3 Quail Hollow events, so he’s got the track record. He missed the cut in The Players, but that was his first of 2015. This looks like a solid week to use Moore as he’s a likely rebound candidate.
Brendon de Jonge – $7,200
de Jonge finished T6 here a year ago and averaged 87.8 fantasy points in the 3 tournaments before last week’s 55 points at The Players. He’s streaky and he seems to be pretty focused at the moment. And you can’t go wrong with de Jonge’s price tag.
Pat Perez – $7,100
Perez has been playing very well, finishing in the top 26 in each of the past 4 tournaments and has an average of 80 fantasy points over the past 3 events. Perez has a top 10 under his belt at Quail Hollow and was in contention for a top 10 in 2014 before a meltdown on Sunday. Let’s hope Perez makes it to Sunday and avoids last year’s outcome.
Total Lineup Salary: $49,900 out of an allotted $50,000
DraftKings Fantasy Golf Millionaire Maker Contest
The U.S. Open is next month and you can turn $20 into $1 million with the Fantasy Golf Millionaire Maker contest designed specifically for golf’s second major.
Sign up for DraftKings’ PGA Millionaire Maker contest for the U.S. Open here.
The U.S. Open – and contest – begins June 18. The direct buy-in is $20 or you can try to win an entry for as little as 25 cents. It’s too early to choose your team, but you can reserve your spot in the contest now. Salaries and players will become available closer to the date of the contest.
DraftKings Golf Scoring
Golfers on each team will accumulate points as follows:
Per Hole Scoring
Double Eagle (DBL EAG): +20 PTs
Eagle (EAG): +8 PTs
Birdie (BIR): +3 PTs
Par (PAR): +0.5 PTs
Bogey (BOG): -0.5 PTs
Double Bogey (DBL BOG): -1 PT
Worse than Double Bogey (WORSE DBL BOG): -1 PT
Tournament Finish Scoring
1st: 30 PTs
2nd: 20 PTs
3rd: 18 PTs
4th: 16 PTs
5th: 14 PTs
6th: 12 PTs
7th: 10 PTs
8th: 9 PTs
9th: 8 PTs
10th: 7 PTs
11th–15th: 6 PTs
16th–20th: 5 PTs
21st–25th: 4 PTs
26th–30th: 3 PTs
31st–40th: 2 PTs
41st-50th: 1 PTs
Streaks and Bonuses
Streak of 3 Birdies of Better (MAX 1 Per Round) (3+ BIR STRK): +3 PTs
Bogey Free Round (BOG FREE RD): +3 PTs
All 4 Rounds Under 70 Strokes (ALL 4 RDS UND 70): +5 PTs
Hole in One (HOLE IN ONE): +10 PTs
Scoring Notes: Ties for a finishing position will not reduce or average down points. For example, if 2 golfers tie for 3rd place, each will receive the 18 fantasy points for the 3rd place finish result. Playoff Holes will not count towards final scoring, with the exception of the “finishing position” scoring. For example, the golfer who wins the tournament will receive the sole award of 1st place points, but will not accrue points for their scoring result in the individual playoff holes.
Player Lock Notes: All golfers lock at the time the first golfer tees off on day 1 of an event.
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