Our summer focus is on baseball until the NBA returns, but there’s no action until Friday. DraftKings does have a gigantic contest on this weekend’s major golf tournament in Scotland.
For a $20 buy-in, take a shot at becoming a millionaire! The PGA $3M Millionaire Maker pays a cool million bucks for first place plus another $2,000,000 in guaranteed prizes to more than 37,000 others.
You don’t have to be an expert; the game could not be simpler. Just pick six golfers without exceeding the $50000 salary cap. Points are earned for final placing in the Open Championship and along the way for each Eagle (+8), Birdie (+3) and Par (+ 0.5) — see the complete scoring rules for details.
DK matches your first deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus funds that convert to cash. In addition to the Millionaire Maker there are PGA contests with entry fees as low as 25 cents and up into the thousands.
Note the time difference — don’t wait until tomorrow. Tee-off is at 1:32 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, so get your entries in ASAP and make unlimited changes until then. Multiple lineups (up to 500) are allowed but it takes only one to win.
Daily Fantasy Sports is becoming exponentially more popular; the Spin offers DFS advice that’s often useful to grinders and novices alike. While aware of and interested in many other sports, my year-round obsessions in both real-life and fantasy are basketball and baseball. (MLB contests are open for Friday.)
Like many casual PGA fans, my interest in golf peaks with the majors. Having been to Scotland and with Liverpool ancestry, I’m most fascinated by the British Open — especially when it’s played at the sport’s Royal and Ancient home, St. Andrews. So let’s give this a try.
The main concerns in building a lineup are salary and probability. You’re trying to maximize value per dollar. Paying for Jordan Speith $12000, who last week won for the fourth time in 2015, is a viable strategy, but you’ll need to come up with five relative bargains. Other expensive favorites include Dustin Johnson $11400 and England’s Justin Rose $10900.
I’m playing a hunch. Rickie Fowler $9700 skipped the John Deere to win the Scottish Open in Aberdeen last weekend. Acclimated to the time change, weather and conditions, he might break through for his first major title. If you believe in “horses for courses,” Louis Oosthuizen $9900 won the the Claret Jug when St. Andrews last hosted this event.
Staying under $20000 for my top two guys allows me to fill with four medium-salaried players instead of combing through the bargain basement. Shane Lowry $8100 of Ireland loves this type of course. Matt Kuchar $7900 and Kevin Kisner $7000 are among the American contenders, and Tommy Fleetwood $7300 is another Englishman with a decent chance to hit the leaderboard.
That’s just one sample lineup, subject to change. There are many more “live” golfers in every price range, so it shouldn’t be too hard to improve on. Good luck!
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season and we’re turning our attention to baseball for the summer. Sometimes even golf. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.