BMW Championship DraftKings picks with top plays and fades for Olympia Fields and building the best PGA DFS lineup for golf the week.
Just two more PGA Tour events remain in this season as we're in the heart of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, now heading to the second proverbial postseason tournament, the 2023 BMW Championship, which returns to Olympia Fields in Chicago for the first time since 2020.
Jon Rahm was the winner here then, but Patrick Cantlay has won this event — albeit at different courses — two years running. Olympia Fields should also provide a stiff test for the golf this week, meaning we should be taking the difficulty of the venue into account when we make our BMW Championship DraftKings picks.
So how do we do that while also building a winning PGA DFS lineup from a field that only includes 50 players? Let's dissect that with our top plays and fades for each price range before we construct the lineup on DraftKings for the week.
BMW Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays
$10,000: Viktor Hovland ($10,300) – Viktor Hovland is at his most dangerous when his iron play is at its peak. So what if I told you that he's gaining 0.99 strokes per round on approach over his last 12 rounds and has been gaining across the board too? As I've said previously, Hovland has elevated his game for big events this season and this difficult course that compares to Oak Hill, where the Norwegian contended, seems too easy, especially at the bottom of the $10K range. Also Consider: Rory McIlroy ($12,100), Jon Rahm ($11,200), Patrick Cantlay ($10,500)
$9,000: Tyrrell Hatton ($9,000) – Hatton is another player who has often played extremely well on these difficult courses and who has leveled up his game overall this year. Wildly, he's also near the Top 30 bubble on the line this week. It all shapes up to him having a big week, so I love him at the bottom of the $9K range given his obvious upside. Also Consider: Collin Morikawa ($9,800), Tommy Fleetwood ($9,700), Max Homa ($9,500), Rickie Fowler ($9,200), Lucas Glover ($9,100)
$8,000: Brian Harman ($8,100) – This one feels way too easy, but I love it. Harman got off to a bad start last week in the first round, his first round since winning The Open. He then righted the ship and finished strong. Now he's coming to Olympia Fields, a place that demands accuracy, as one of the most accurate drivers in the world and with a T12 here in 2020. I love the play on Harman this week. Also Consider: Corey Conners ($8,900), Tom Kim ($8,700), Russell Henley ($8,200)
$7,000: Emiliano Grillo ($7,400) – Coming into the BMW Championship with three straight Top 20 finishes, you have to love what Grillo's doing. He continues to strike the ball well, as is his DNA as a professional, but he's still gaining with the putter too. As a relatively accurate driver too, I think he is in line for a similar finish this week in Chicago. Also Consider: Justin Rose ($7,900), Cam Davis ($7,800), J.T. Poston ($7,700), Byeong Hun An ($7,500)
$6,000/$5,000: Adam Svensson ($6,200) – Svensson won last fall and then lost his form a great deal. But he's starting to find it lately, gaining 1.30 strokes tee-to-green over his last 12 rounds and starting to pop up a bit more recently. At this price that provides so much flexibility, I love what the Canadian could bring to a lineup. Also Consider: Brendon Todd ($6,600), Harris English ($6,400), Lee Hodges ($6,100), Nick Taylor ($5,900)
BMW Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades
$10,000: Scottie Scheffler ($11,600) – I'm even more confident in fading Scheffler, even if he's not the highest-priced player in the field anymore. The putting remains an eyesore and a real problem, losing 0.83 strokes on the greens in his last 12 rounds. But he's also been surpassed in ball striking by Rory McIlroy. I just can't buy into that with virtually everyone else in the $10K range playing well coming into this tournament.
$9,000: Hideki Matsuyama ($9,400) – This was the hardest range for me to find someone to fade this week, but I have to go with Hideki. Matsuyama finished strong last week, but his short game has been shockingly problematic recently, shocking because of the poor around-the-green performance. With his ball striking not popping at peak levels either, I'm willing to avoid him this week, even if he's motivated to finish well to get inside the Top 30.
$8,000: Wyndham Clark ($8,800) – Yes, Clark has obvious upside considering that he literally won the US Open a couple of months ago. But since then, it's started to get kind of ugly. He's hitting less than 50 percent of his fairways over the last 12 rounds and losing strokes on both approach and with putting. That's not going to cut it on a difficult course and there are far better options in this range.
$7,000: Sahith Theegala ($7,000) – Because of how he's capable of popping, some people might gravitate toward Theegala at the bottom of this price range. Don't do it. He's continued to be too erratic off of the tee and, making that worse for this specific course, his approach play has been, bluntly, horrendous. I don't like the fit for this week, even with him needing a good finish to be able to play next week.
BMW Championship: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup
- Rory McIlroy ($12,100)
- Viktor Hovland ($10,300)
- Brian Harman ($8,100)
- Brendon Todd ($6,600)
- Harris English ($6,400)
- Adam Svensson ($6,200)
We're going all the way in on stars and scrubs with our BMW Championship DraftKings lineup.
Rory has been striking the ball beautifully over the last few months and now has started to flash some with the putter. On a difficult course, I love the way he's hitting the ball. Then we get into the pair of $6K guys joining Svensson who we haven't discussed.
English's stats have been wild, gaining 1.50+ strokes on approach over his last two tournaments but losing everywhere else. But he's remained an accurate driving and if he gets anything short-game related working, he can really pop. As for Todd, he's much less risky but may have less upside. What he does is hit fairways and putt well, though, which is what I'm banking on.