This week the PGA Tour goes to Bay Hill for The Arnold Palmer Invitational by Mastercard. The field isn’t as condensed with superstar players as last week’s WGC Workday event but it is still very strong as The Tour is really getting into swing and trucking towards that major in April where they give out a green jacket to the winner. Players are more settled into being on the east coast after wrapping up with the west coast swing a mere two weeks ago.
The Golf Course at Bay Hill
Arnie played so well at Bay Hill in his glory days that he optioned to buy the course and in fact, did just that years ago. The Dick Wilson design in Orlando is pure Florida golf that has been more recently restored, lengthened and updated in the 2000s by Arnold Palmer’s design company. The par is now 72 (up from 71) and it is just under 100 yards longer. There’s plenty of water which we saw the impact of last week at the more punitive Concession Club. At 7,200 yards maxed out – there isn’t the same premium on length that we pointed out last week.
Weather
There is some rain in the form of thunder storms predicted in Orlando on Saturday as well as some rain early in the week that could soften up Bay Hill for the Tour players. Overall, the weather looks to be pretty ideal this week with a lot of sun and temperatures in the mid-70s.
Past Champions at The Arnold Palmer Invitational
The name that jumps out at you who isn’t going to be in the field this week (or possibly ever) is a one Eldrick Tiger Woods – who has won Arnie’s event eight times. It was great to see the players rally the red and black outfits on Sunday at the WGC as I am sure it put a smile on Tiger’s face while recovering here in Los Angeles at Cedars Sinai.
Francesco Molinari was a successful DFS pick at his new home course at Riviera two weeks ago and he’s the 2019 champion at Bay Hill. Tyrell Hatton is last year’s champion and was a part of our guidance for last week’s WGC. He is going to be on our radar again this week. Marc Leishman has a recent win and a 2020 runner up. Bryson DeChambeau fell out of the Worldwide Top-10 rankings after the WGC so he might have a chip on his mighty shoulders this week. He also has a recent runner up in 2018. Matthew Fitzpatrick is playing some very solid golf right now and he’s got good history at Bay Hill with a No. 2 in 2019. Jason Day and Rory McIlroy also do well at Arnie’s event.
Here’s an entirely free golf dfs lineup for you this week with MORE for subscribers (DraftKings Prices)
| Player #1 | M. Fitzpatrick | $9,800 | |
| Player #2 | F. Molinari | $8,700 | |
| Player #3 | W. Zalatoris | $8,600 | |
| Player #4 | S. Burns | $8,400 | |
| Player #5 | H. Norlander | $7,200 | |
| Player #6 | M. McNealy | $7,100 |
Remaining cash $200
Matthew Fitzpatrick is a past champion at Bay Hill and is playing fantastic golf right now. Coming off a fifth place finish at Riviera, we are expecting big things from the Englishman at $9,800 in DraftKings this week.
Francesco Molinari is another past champion at Bay Hill who is trending up in recent weeks in DFS. He played well at his new home course in Los Angeles and has a good history in Arnie’s event. He makes a lot of cuts but hasn’t rocked huge fantasy points overall but we think he’s due.
Will Zalatoris has been our horse for weeks now and with a nearly perfect cuts-made record, I am not ready to dismount yet. He averages close to 90 fantasy points but will get tired at some point from playing so much big-event, PGA Tour golf but I don’t think it is going to be this weekend.
Sam Burns came in third at Riviera and is really coming into his own. This lineup is loaded with mid-to-upper priced guys who played well at The Genesis. Sam makes his cuts and averages over 75 fantasy points in the weeks that he plays. He seems to be rock-solid value with a good bit of upside.
Henrik Norlander at $7,200 is a lower priced guy but packing big time upside. He, like Sam Burns, is trending up after fizzling out a little bit at Pebble Beach but still finishing in the mid-20s in the field.
Maverick McNealy is such a talented, young golfer. At $7,100 he stands out as a good value for the week. McNealy nearly won at Pebble Beach and is a player where the sky is the limit in terms of potential. He’s not a lock on cuts made which is a bit scary but we could see him jump up and do something special for us in the world of DFS golf this week.
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• More alternate picks.
Here’s A More Risky Lineup For The WGC Workday
| Player #1 | V. Hovland | $10,600 | |
| Player #2 | J. Spieth | $9,300 | |
| Player #3 | B. Steele | $6,900 | |
| Player #4 | M. Leishman | $8,200 | |
| Player #5 | C. Davis | $7,900 | |
| Player #6 | M. Nesmith | $6,900 |
$200 leftover salary
Viktor Hovland nearly won last week’s WGC Workday and is perfect on cuts at 10/10 and rocking nearly 92 fantasy points per week. What’s not to love with this guy? He’s worth the $10,600.
Jordan Spieth is going to win a PGA Tour event and soon. His game has turned around completely and other than his driver getting a little dicey from time to time, the man is back. His 6/10 cuts made is worrisome but his recent play is strong enough to warrant the $9,300 which could have been higher.
Brendan Steele is a total steal at $6,900 this week. He was right there to win at The Sony (not the first time for him there) and he’s been making cuts all over the place. Brendan is no stranger to our lineups and that has been a very good thing for our DFS action.
Mark Leishman has a strong track record at Bay Hill as a past champion and is a good bet on the cut front. We expect to see his performance a little higher than average this week which we project to be a very welcome result for our subscribers.
Cameron Davis has me going with yet another Aussie. At $7,900 it is hard not to love the value of a guy with a nearly perfect cut record and over 81 fantasy points per week. He came in 14th at Pebble Beach and could be a major value pick this week.
Matthew Nesmith is another value guy who played well at Pebble Beach and at $6,900 has a ton of potential. 8/12 cuts is perfectly respectable for a $6,900 player in this DFS format. There were others within a few hundred dollars including Maverick McNealy who we have in our free lineup above.
COVID-19 Warning:
COVID-19 is as real as a heart attack, and players in all sports are being pulled from action. Keep an eye out for anything fishy, and make changes as needed. This is why we have alternative picks for you offered here.
Go win your lineups and then tell us how you did. Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) is a good place for that.
Best of luck and have fun!
