Top DraftKings PGA DFS Plays for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2022

Top DraftKings PGA DFS Plays for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2022

The hot streak was finally dashed last week at the Heritage. The winning players were still in my DraftKings 20-max PGA DFS player pool, just with some horrible busts sprinkled in to doom my lineups.

This week, the PGA Tour is headed down to the Big Easy, the Crescent City, Nawlins. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a rare pearl on the rota; its uniqueness sparkling from the spring bayou beauty, TPC Louisiana. The par-72 course stretches to nearly 7,500 yards and invites torrents of birdies and eagles from 80 pairs of golfers.

Thursday and Saturday are marked by two-man best ball format, where the better stroke score of the pair is carded on each hole. Friday and Sunday are two-man alternate shot format, which is exactly what it sounds like: the pairs alternate each shot throughout the course to card a team stroke score. This format requires more of a complimentary, strategic approach from the teams.

For PGA DFS purposes, you will essentially have to roster six pairs for each build. DraftKings has each golfer listed individually, with the partner salary the same (rostering both players from the same pair renders the lineup invalid). FanDuel has done a better job this week, breaking it down into 80 pairs who are priced as a team. Yahoo! is not running contests for the Zurich Classic this week.

As you can imagine, there are millions of different angles and facets to this week’s contests. On one hand, there are some teams that feature two formidable golfers who are rolling really well individually. On the other hand, it might be difficult to avoid chalk and build a winner with those teams locked into your lineups. There is also a massive cliff in the pricing this week, especially on DraftKings.

It seems like more than half of the field is priced in the extreme value tier for this event. I fear that this will make the chalk on the over-$10k teams too much to bear, when it will be so easy to toss in three random junk pieces from the sub-$7.5k scrap heap.

To win at PGA DFS this week, I will again be reliant upon the advanced analytics and data, including the PGA DFS Study Hub, from the wonderful crew here at Team Rise or Fall. Make sure to use Promo Code: Bo when you sign up to receive $10 off your first payment! You will also gain access to a monthly $20 off coupon to Fantasy Cruncher for the easiest and most efficient way to build lineups around your individual player pool.

“Trust the Process” is so cliché these days, but it’s still a value that holds true to DFS. Jordan Spieth won last week by leading the field in Strokes Gained from Tee to Green. More importantly, he made timely birdies and eagles to vault himself to the top of the leaderboard. This week, converting birdies or better will be paramount to architecting winning DFS lineups. Following that in importance to my player pool will be SG: T2G, and Total Strokes Gained per round between the pairs of golfers. A bit of course history and recent form will also be sprinkled into my process this week, but the team element really muddies the water. Let’s tee off.

Stick it Close: Studs To Target

Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (DK: $10,400; FD: $11,800)

A great deal of DFS players are human; meaning, they still allow themselves to build lineups that are influenced by the names of the golfers and any semblance of emotional attachment will outshine the red flags presented by the data. Becoming a sharper DFS player means playing the leverage game, especially when this week’s event has some very popular pairs at the top of the salary scale. Cantlay and Schauffele are two of the grittiest competitors and all-around golfers on Tour.

They are also the second-most expensive group on the board. I am still leery about having too much exposure to the top of the board, but Cantlay/Schauffele would be my preference. Both are in the top-10 in SG: T2G and birdies per round. Their traits are also very complimentary, with Schauffele better on approach and Cantlay’s wizardry around the green.

Joaquin Niemann/Mito Pereira (DK: $9,200; FD: $10,800)

My outright favorite team for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the tandem of Chilean rising stars. Both Niemann and Pereira are incredible ball strikers in their own rite, with the former budding into a star on Tour with a barrage of made birdies. The two are countrymen and close friends, adding an element of chemistry to bolster their value this week. I foresee this team setting themselves apart in the alternate shot format with their respective shot making and innate familiarity with one another’s strengths.

Both are gaining more than a stroke on the field per round from tee to green, with Pereira better on approach and Niemann better around the greens. Each are reasonably long hitters and very effective off the tee. Both have been playing wonderfully on Tour this season.

Will Zalatoris/Davis Riley (DK: $8,900; FD: $9,900)

Another intriguing pair this week is the duo of young Americans, Zalatoris and Riley. Zalatoris enters this event as the field’s runaway leader in SG: T2G. Riley isn’t quite the same quality of ball striker, but is a very good putter and matches Zalatoris’ remarkable rate of 4.2 birdies per round this season. It remains to be seen how this team will fare in alternate shot, but I have little doubt that they will light it up in best ball.

Zalatoris is on quite the string of top-10 finishes recently, while Riley has cooled off since his runner-up finish at the Valspar last month. I expect this pair to contend for the title this week.

No Gimme: Tap-In Values

Adam Hadwin/Adam Svensson (DK: $8,000; FD: $9,100)

What a fun pairing! Both Canadians named Adam find themselves in a nice DFS value spot this week in New Orleans. Like the Chileans above, the lesser-known group of Loonies will use their keen familiarity with one another to take on this unique tournament. Hadwin has been the more successful of the two this season, but Svensson contributes a strong approach game and the ability to make a lot of birdies.

I am choosing to build through the middle tiers this week to leverage off the legions of stars-and-scrubs lineups that will chalk everything up in DFS contests. The Adam-squared Canadian team is a sneaky play that will have some thump this week.

Maverick McNealy/Joseph Bramlett (DK: $7,700; FD: $8,500)

This group is a sparkling value, especially on FanDuel. McNealy is one of the hottest young names on Tour, while Bramlett is a true bomber of the golf ball. Bramlett’s length off the tee will lend a huge advantage in the alternate shot format this week, putting a shorter club in the hands of one of the best birdie-makers on Tour (McNealy). These two golfers truly complement one another perfectly for this event. At this price, it’s a bonus to have a puncher’s chance at winning the tournament. This course will suit these two to make the cut at the very least.

Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (DK: $7,600; FD: $9,400)

What can be said about a team playing a longer course as two of the shortest hitters in the business? They still score. Kisner and Brown aren’t darlings when it comes to advanced golf statistics, but they both make more than four birdies per round. Brown’s game is nearly perfectly average, but seems to put it together for DFS at 57.1 DK points per game. Kisner’s elite short game is the big winner here. He sticks around leaderboards like a barnacle.

A true competitor, Kisner’s steady play meshes well with Brown’s somewhat boring course navigation. This play is a cut maker, with a bit more upside if Brown is also dialed in.