Written by Ryan Humphries | @NitroDFS on Twitter | @N1TRO on LineStar

The Player Field & Course Preview ⛳️

 The PGA Tour kicks off its three week Asian swing with The CJ Cup hosted by The Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, South Korea. This will be a no-cut event with only 78 players set to tee it up. We’ve got some superstar names back in action this week, with the likes of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day and more! In total, 44 of the world’s top 100 golfers will be on site. When there is no cut and a smaller field, I always recommend more of a GPP approach and to go a bit lighter on your bankroll - but that is ultimately at your discretion! Leaving some salary on the table will also help your chances of having a unique lineup in tournaments.

REMINDER: This event is in South Korea and will start up at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday! Make sure your lineups are all set beforehand!

The Club at Nine Bridges is a Par 72 layout that checks in on the shorter side at just under 7,200 yards in length. This will be just the third year Nine Bridges plays host to the PGA Tour and The CJ Cup. On this course in 2017, Justin Thomas opened with a 9-under round of 63, which surprisingly went on to be the winning score (Thomas beat Marc Leishman in a playoff). Windy conditions heavily influenced the difficulty of this course in 2017 when it played as the fourth hardest on Tour. However, in calmer conditions in 2018, Brooks Koepka reeled in a win with a 21-under score as the course played as only the 31st most difficult venue. The fairways here are quite wide and it features large bentgrass greens with moderate undulations. The course itself is built onto the hillside of a volcano and is fairly wide open. If the conditions happen to get windy this year, expect scoring to be on the lower side -- otherwise, high end scores could go toward the 20-under range once again.

Weather ⛅

With no cut, weather isn’t quite as crucial since everyone is guaranteed four rounds -- but it’s still worth monitoring. Currently, for the opening two rounds, winds appear to be at their highest on Friday morning (locally) when golfers will face 15 mph sustained winds with gusts of 20-25 mph. We could see a bit of rain throughout the day on Friday as well, and the sun may not make an appearance until we get into the weekend when overall conditions are set to be calmer. While the first two rounds don’t feature ideal golf weather, it’s nothing too extreme for these guys to deal with. But, with that said, there may be a slight advantage for the AM/PM wave. I wouldn’t say it’s a significant enough advantage worth basing your player pool on, but if you want to make a lineup here and there with an emphasis on golfers teeing off in the AM/PM wave, it may be interesting to see how it works out.

Top Stats to Consider* 📊

1. Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: App) | 35%

2. Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB%) | 30%

3. Par 4 Average | 15%

4. Bogey Avoidance | 10%

5. Proximity to the Hole | 10%

High-Priced Targets

Viktor Hovland | DK: $10.5k, FD: $10.8k

Vegas: 20/1 | Custom Model Rank: #6 

Hovland feels like an excellent core selection in lineup builds in which you aren’t looking to spend up on the two premiere golfers (and past two CJ Cup winners) in this field; Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. Hovland’s form has simply been off-the-charts consistent. In his last eight starts worldwide, which ranges across the PGA, Korn Ferry, and EURO Tours, Hovland has finished no worse than T16! His game is just on another level right now. He ranks 1st in SG: App, 4th in BoB%, 1st in Par 4 Average, 1st in Bogey Avoidance, and 2nd in Proximity. He carries zero course experience at Nine Bridges but that is the case with about a third of the field, with this being only the third iteration of the tournament. Anyone who has been following golf since last season’s US Open knows what sort of skill this guy possesses. A year ago he was the 2,042nd ranked golfer in the world. Now he sits at 89th. Don’t be surprised if he pushes for a top 20 ranking by season’s end.

Sungjae Im | DK: $9.7k, FD: $10.3k

Vegas: 28/1 | Custom Model Rank: #4

 How about a pick with a bit of a home field advantage? Sungjae, a South Korean native, will undoubtedly be teeing up as a crowd favorite this week. Aside from a bit of a hiccup at the Safeway Open where he carded a disappointing T49, his form has been nearly as impressive as Hovland’s. Across his last eight worldwide starts, he has finished inside the top 20 six times, including a solo second place at the Sanderson Farms Championship and, most recently, an outright win on the Korean Tour at the Genesis Championship last week. He ranks 34th in SG: App, 11th in BoB%, 10th in Par 4 Average, 10th in Bogey Avoidance, and 41st in Proximity. He is just an all-around solid golfer who rarely makes any crucial mistakes. He’ll be making his second start at Nine Bridges and I’d fully expect him to massively improve upon his 41st place finish from his CJ Cup debut last year.

Mid-Priced Targets

Matthew Wolff | DK: $8.8k, FD: $9.3k

Vegas: 40/1 | Custom Model Rank: #13

On a short course with wide fairways which guarantees a chance for everyone to play all four rounds, how could you ignore the upside of one Matthew Wolff? Wolff carries the biggest driver in the field (323.5 yards/drive) and can rip off a ton of birdies and eagles if his irons are up to the task. Overall, he checks in 60th in SG: App, 1st in BoB%, 2nd in Par 4 Average, 16th in Bogey Avoidance, and 3rd in Proximity. Wolff isn’t much of a secret anymore among your above average golf fans and PGA DFS players, so given his relatively modest prices, I’d expect a decent amount of ownership to fall his way. But if you roster him in tournaments, simply look to differentiate elsewhere! He is another player making his CJ Cup debut, but I could realistically see him cashing in for bettors who take him on those 40/1 odds.

Ian Poulter | DK: $7.7k, FD: $8.8k

Vegas: 50/1 | Custom Model Rank: #27

Poulter’s form was trending back in the right direction towards the end of the 2018-2019 PGA season after landing a couple top 10s at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational and The Northern Trust. However, he missed the cut at last week’s Italian Open so that makes me a tad uneasy on this suggestion. But, to reiterate once again, there is no cut to sweat this week and Poulter is the sort of golfer who comes out of nowhere with those rounds in the mid-60s. And even though I’m not weighing course history too heavily this week, Poulter does have finishes of 10th (2018) and 15th (2017) across his two starts at Nine Bridges. He ranks 35th in SG: App, 17th in BoB%, 50th in Par 4 Average, 43rd in Bogey Avoidance, and 36th in Proximity. He’s a better golfer than the stats may indicate and I wouldn’t be shocked if Poulter regains some form this week and sneaks in another top 15 at the CJ Cup.

Low-Priced Targets

Joel Dahmen | DK: $7.1k, FD: $8.2k

Vegas: 80/1 | Custom Model Rank: #15

 Dahmen had a couple rounds at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open where he looked incredibly dialed in, shooting a 64 (round two) and 65 (round four). Ultimately, he went on to finish 18-under, which was good enough for a T9 that week. If he can continue to possess that strong short term form heading over to South Korea, then he is most definitely a great value play to keep in mind. Dahmen finished 29th at the CJ Cup last year and statistically he ranks 31st in SG: App, 27th in BoB%, 33rd in Par 4 Average, 47th in Bogey Avoidance, and 14th in Proximity. When it comes to Dahmen this week, I believe you’re getting a fairly low risk, high reward type golfer for very affordable salaries.

Matt Jones | DK: $6.5k, FD: $7.7k

Vegas: 125/1 | Custom Model Rank: #46

 Jones is a bit of a risk due to the fact that he has withdrawn in two of his last three starts. It’s unclear what the issue was with his WD at the Houston Open but it could stem from a preexisting back issue. If he does end up playing, the upside is pretty tremendous for his prices. In his last four starts where he made the cut/played all four rounds, he has finishes of T29 (Shriners), T10 (Greenbrier), T30 (Northern Trust), and T4 (Barbasol Championship). His metrics look a bit ugly, ranking 56th in SG: App, 43rd in BoB%, 31st in Par 4 Average, 9th in Bogey Avoidance, and 63rd in Proximity. However, if his health does manage to hold up all week, then I’m essentially throwing out the subpar stats and just deploying him as a risk/reward type play. His $6,500 price tag on DraftKings is especially appealing.

Quick Hits | Others to Consider

Tommy Fleetwood | DK: $10.3k, FD: $10.9k

Vegas: 20/1 | CMR: #19

Fleetwood has landed top 15 finishes in seven of his last ten international starts, including three top fives. The Englishman feels like an excellent floor play at a course like Nine Bridges where, if winds end up pestering golfers, he should be able to be able to fight through the conditions better than most.

Danny Willett | DK: $8.9k, FD: $9.7k

Vegas: 33/1 | CMR: #20

Willett has routinely been churning out strong finishes between the PGA and EURO Tours and recently won at the BMW PGA Championship in England a few weeks ago. He finished 23rd at this event last season. This go ‘round, I could see a somewhat sneaky top 10 come his way.

Harold Varner III | DK: $7.1k, FD: $8.2k

Vegas: 80/1 | CMR: #11

Love the mix of nice form, affordable salaries, and past experience that Varner has coming into this event. Finished 26th here in 2017 and a similar result would turn out to be some pretty strong value.

Yongjun Bae | DK: $6k, FD: $7k

Vegas: 1,000/1 | CMR: N/A

This is clearly a complete punt on a minimum salary but Bae is a highly regarded young talent who has been crushing events at the Korean amateur level. The field strength obviously pales in comparison to an official PGA Tour event, but check out his finishes in some of his starts at amateur Korean events. Again, he’s guaranteed all four rounds and should have some home crowd support.

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Best of luck to you guys this week! I'll be around in chat all week so just tag me if you'd like a second opinion on a player or just have any other general PGA DFS questions!

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