PGA Championship 2021: Daily Fantasy Picks, Strategy and Tips
Major tournaments typically do not have a leaderboard chock full of notable names at the end of 72 holes, which is why the 2020 PGA Championship was so special.
Collin Morikawa won his first major title by outlasting Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau, among others.
There are typically a few surprises in the top 10, like we saw with the second-place finish of Will Zalatoris at The Masters.
Picking out the best sleeper plays can be a difficult task, but there are a few signs that can help you find the best ones for the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Recent form on the PGA Tour and a strong history at majors are two of the key components you can use to fill out your daily fantasy lineup.
Of course, you would like to have one or two of the pre-tournament favorites, but not all of them will fit into a roster because of salary constraints.
Rory McIlroy will likely be the top favorite used in DFS lineups since he is in form and won the 2012 PGA at Kiawah Island, and one of the top sleepers could be a player with a major title in the last three years.
Use Rory McIlroy as the Safe Favorite Pick
The 2021 PGA Championship could mark the best opportunity for McIlroy to win his first major since the 2014 PGA.
McIlroy comes into the event off a win at the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago, and he won the 2012 PGA at Kiawah Island by eight strokes.
The 2012 leaderboard featured a handful of unlikely top finishers, including David Lynn in second and Blake Adams in a tie for seventh.
Two years later at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, where McIlroy last won a major, Ryan Palmer, Victor Dubuisson and Mikko Ilonen were among the top 10 placers.
The variety of notable names and unlikely top-10 finishers in McIlroy's two PGA triumphs gives you a glimpse into how unpredictable results in a large field can be sometimes.
McIlroy is considered the safe bet for Kiawah Island because he reeled off three rounds of 68 or better to win his first PGA Tour event in 18 months, and he carded three rounds of 67 or lower to win in 2012 at Kiawah Island.
McIlroy will have a high DFS salary attached to him, but he will be worth the play because of his recent and past success.
Use Gary Wooland as Top Sleeper Play
It is hard to imagine that 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland has gone from major contender to sleeper play in 24 months.
Woodland turned in back-to-back top-10 finishes at the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championships to go along with his triumph at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.
Woodland's major trajectory has spiraled downward since the calendar flipped to 2020, as he missed two cuts, finished in a tie for 58th at the 2020 PGA Championship and landed in a tie for 40th at the 2021 Masters.
The poor major placings dropped Woodland all the way down to +10000 (bet $100 to win $10,000) to win the tournament at DraftKings Sportsbook. The low outright betting price also dropped his DFS value.
Woodland is the best DFS sleeper play because he comes into Kiawah Island in decent form with two top-10 finishes from the Valero Texas Open and Wells Fargo Championship.
Woodland shot 72 or better in every round of those competitions, and he had a decent finish at The Masters with a final-round 72.
Confidence appears to be growing with Woodland, and if he plays well in South Carolina, his value could be gone by the time the U.S. Open occurs in June because he is a previous winner of the tournament.
Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.
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