2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions - PGA DFS Tiers and Top Fade

SI Fantasy Golf insiders Ben Heisler and Mark Farris run through their favorite DFS tiers for this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, as well as their top fade of the slate.

Previous 2021 PGA Tour Event Winners & DraftKings Salary

• RSM Classic: Robert Streb ($6,300)
• The Masters: Dustin Johnson ($10,000)
• Vivint Houston Open: Carlos Ortiz ($6,700)
• Bermuda Championship: Brian Gay ($6,300)
• Zozo Championship - Patrick Cantlay ($9,400)
• CJ Cup at Shadow Creek: Jason Kokrak ($7,000)
• Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Martin Laird ($6,400)
• Sanderson Farms Championship: Sergio Garcia ($8,600)
• Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship: Hudson Swafford ($6,700)
• U.S. Open: Bryson DeChambeau ($9,900)
• Safeway Open: Stewart Cink ($6,300)

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$9,000+ Range

Ben Heisler: Patrick Reed ($9,600) and Hideki Matsuyama ($9,000)

I'm keeping Reed and Matsuyama in the same write-up because they're at the tail end of that mid to low $9K range and I love them as a play in the same lineup if you're not spending for the elite level players: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, etc.

Via the great Rick Gehman of RunRickGood.com, Reed, on average, returned 8.2x his salary and was considered, "the most valuable fantasy golfer in 2020 of all golfers averaging a salary over $9,000."

He enters the Sentry with a red hot putter, sixth in strokes gained: putting over his last 24 rounds and comes in top 11 in SG: total, top 10 in SG: short game, and top nine in SG: approach. He's also been terrific on this course; finishing with a win in 2015 and runner-up twice (2016 and 2020).

Meanwhile, Matsuyama has a chance to be the value play of the entire tournament. He's tops on the board in SG: around-the-green and top five in SG: total and SG: approach. It's been a few years since he last played at Kapalua Resort, but during his first three visits, he finished T4 all three times, including a runner-up and third place finish. 

Mark Farris: Xander Schauffele ($10,000)

What can I say? Xander is my “go to” in no-cut events. It also doesn’t hurt that he won here in 2019 and tied for second in 2020. 

There are four guys higher priced than X in this tournament - all of whom could win it. I love and hate these types of tournaments. I love that the field is loaded and there are great names to play. I hate that with no cut, you can’t hope for separation by making the cut and/or fading some chalk. I’ll just stay with the guy who doesn’t show a lot of flash anywhere but from tee-to-green.

$7,500 - $8,900

Ben Heisler: Harris English ($8,700)

The extended time away for English scares me a little, considering he missed the cut at the Charles Schwab in June after the COVID-19 layoff. But with his recent form, his confidence has to be near an all-time high.

Since the Tour returned back in June, English has only missed two cuts, finished top 20 in eight tournaments out of 14, and has five top 10's, four of which have come since late September.

In his previous two outings, English has gained 21 strokes total, leading to a T6 at the RSM and a T5 at the OHL. At $8,700, he'll be popular, but he's worth it.

Mark Farris: Abraham Ancer ($8,000)

Again, there is a lot of talent in this range! But in weeks like these, I like to steer away from the chalk in at least one or two of my lineups. So, I’ll pass on Finau, Morikawa, English and Berger as “my pick." However, you won’t hear me argue with you if you have the salary to pick up these guys. In fact, I may pull out one balanced lineup with three of these guys as my core. It means I’ll skip the top ranks altogether or roll the dice and pick a Kevin Na (see below) or Stewart Cink and hope for a points bonanza from them for under $7,400.

$7,400 and Under

Ben Heisler: Ryan Palmer ($7,000)

Palmer despite being priced just above the lowest tier of golfers has been one of the more consistent players on tour. His scoring average on DraftKings would indicate that he should be right around 13th in salary, rather than at the bottom end of the $7K range.

At the moment, he hasn't shown many flaws in his game at all. Palmer ranks as high as 10th in SG: around-the-green with his biggest issue ranking 26th in SG: approach. You'll need a play or two around this area and Palmer should once again deliver on a super bargain salary.

Mark Farris: Kevin Na ($6,700)

If you want two or three guys above $8,500 in weeks like this, you need to hit the bargains. There are only 17 guys below the $7,500 threshold this week and the guy I think is (or was) playing the best before the mini-break was Kevin Na. My only hesitation with Kevin is, and has always been, his risk of withdrawing for ingrown toenails and heartburn. I jest, but he’s bit me on the butt more than once with a second or third round WD.

I also would hesitate to use Stewart Cink ($6,600) and Mackenzie Hughes ($6,800) if you dare to go the stars-and-scrubs route.

Top Fade

Ben Heisler: Collin Morikawa ($8,800)

While I'll likely be fading Rahm for reasons Mark will showcase below, I'll focus on Morikawa at $8,800 this week.

Normally, anyone can get hot with the putter for an event, but for his price point, Morikawa isn't where he needs to be in his short game numbers for me to confidently rostering him for $200 less than Matsuyama. He's 33rd in SG: short game and 40th in SG: putting. Via Fantasy National, Morikawa enters the Sentry just 37th in the field in DraftKings points gained, despite being priced as the 12th most expensive golfer.

I'll be back on him throughout the season, but this isn't the week.

Mark Farris: Patrick Cantlay ($9,800)

Fades are tough - or damn near impossible - in events without a cut. ALL of these guys can throw in a really low (or couple of really low) rounds to offset two bad ones. They finish middle of the pack or towards the lower third, but score points/$$ that push you over the money line or potentially win a GPP for you. Cantlay wasn’t very consistent toward the end of the year so I’ll go with him although I’m risking a 62-72-73-61 week.

After finishing this above, I found out Jon Rahm ($10,400) switched club manufacturers over the break. This could go good or really, really bad! At this price, and no cut, that’s a risk I’m not willing to take. I know these guys could score with tree trunks fastened to spades, but there are also creatures of comfort - my favorite wedge or putter - and change isn’t always good out of the box. SEE Justin Rose with Honma!

ENTER YOUR DRAFTKINGS LINEUPS IN THE $600K SEASON TEE OFF WITH $200K TO 1ST PLACE.