After a few weeks of topping the buzz charts, Justin Thomas finally came through with a victory at the 2019 BMW Championship. JT's long-awaited victory vaulted him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and he is now the betting favorite and most-expensive DFS golfer at this weekend's Tour Championship.
Course history narratives are back in play this week as the 2018-19 PGA Tour season wraps up at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.
East Lake usually requires longer approach shots, so Strokes Gained: Approach is once again the most discussed stat according to FanShare Sports. Driving stats are also being scrutinized by the daily fantasy industry with the perception that East Lake’s biggest defense is its thick Bermuda rough.
DFS speculators should also note that DraftKings has a brand-new pricing format for this week which should provide a unique edge for those monitoring projected ownership numbers and my colleague Bryan Mears touched on how important it is to go contrarian in no-cut events in his DFS preview.
Let’s take a look at which golfers are getting the most buzz heading into East Lake:
Rory McIlroy
Odds: 8-1
DFS Price: DraftKings $10,600; FanDuel $11,400
Rory has been trending up of late, but just hasn’t been able to put it all together again since his win in Canada.
We all know Rory's ceiling is super high and with almost $5,000 in salary savings compared to Justin Thomas, who will be starting with more DK points thanks to the Tour Championship's format, DFS players are having a tough time laying off the Northern Irishman this week.
Add in the fact that Rory has a good track record at East Lake and you have a recipe for chalk.
Jon Rahm
Odds: 14-1
DFS Price: DraftKings $9,900; FanDuel $10,700
Similar to Justin Thomas last week, Rahm has been knocking on the door for several weeks now and it’s no surprise to see him near the top of the buzz charts.
No golfer has gained more DraftKings points on the field on average than Rahm over their past three events. Expect the Spaniard to be a popular play in all formats.
