Jeff Erickson and Len Hochberg of RotoWire preview the 2025 PGA Championship and provide the best plays on DraftKings
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00:00 Intro
00:25 The Course
02:15 Who Wins
04:00 Best DFS Plays
07:50 Sleepers
09:55 Players to Fade
11:35 Breaking Down Bryson DeChambeau Odds
13:13 Breaking Down Justin Thomas Odds
14:30 Trying to Understand Corey Conners Odds
15:45 The One and Done Strategy
#pgachampionship #PGA #LIVGolf #Golf
In this video, we will review Rotoire’s updated PGA Championship golf rankings and tiers, some great bets, and the best DraftKings DFS plays. I’m Jeff Ericson with Len Hawkberg and we are brought to you by DraftKings. Len, welcome. Let’s talk a little PGA Championship. Excited about this tournament as always. I think we got to start off with the course itself as one of the big features here. A huge beast of a golf course. Quail Hollow 7 7,626 yards and most of those are in the form of long long long par4s. Absolutely right, Jeff. Good to be with you. Yes, there are nine par fours. Half the course is 450 yards or longer on the par fours alone and then there are three of those that are in excess of 500 yards. Uh the golfers are familiar with this course. They see it every year in the Wells Fargo now the truest. Uh so uh it will not be a surprise like a lot of other major championship venues. Uh it is annually among the top 10 hardest courses of the season. It should play that way even harder this week. Uh as a major of course Quail Hollow, the famed Green Mile, the final three holes. Number 16, which is over 520 yards for a par four. number 17 which is a par three of over 220 yards over water and number 18 which is almost 500 yards. These three course these three holes last year accounted for more than half the double bogeies or worse on the entire course and there were a lot. Yeah. And that 18th hole you got the water lining the whole way down the left side of the fairway there. uh always iconic to me and it it may not be one of the courses that we always think about as one of the classic amazing golf courses, but I it sticks out on my mind. It it it’s one that is memorable to me and of course there’s been a lot of tournaments there. It’s not just the PGA Championship. It’s not just the President’s Cup, but you get the annual tournament there. Uh used to be the Wells Fargo. It’s now the truest as you alluded to. Uh do big hitters win here? Who usually wins? What type of golfer usually wins here? Well, Rory Mroy has won here a lot. He’s won here four times. This is where he’s won more than anywhere else. Uh he won the last year at the Wells Fargo. So, there’s a lot of things going right for Rory Mroy. Uh he plays well here. He plays well this year. Uh statistically, he is fantastic. So, yeah, you know, Rory Mroy is your quintessential big hitter and they definitely do have an advantage. Uh, but I will say that in 2017 when Justin Thomas won at 800, the leader for the first three rounds, first, second, and third, was Kevin Kizner, one of the shortest hitters on the entire tour. He finished seventh. But it just goes to show you, as always, there is more than one way to win a golf tournament, but certainly the long hitters have a big, big edge this week. What type of winning score should we expect there? Is it close to the minus 8 that Thomas posted in 2017? Uh is it a little lower maybe? Uh where do you expect it to land land eventually? I suspect it will be similar to that. We’ve seen the single digits on occasion at the Wells Fargo. It should be a lot harder course this year. Uh last year Rory Mroy won at 17 under, but he won by five shots and only one other guy, Xander Shop, at 12 under was in double digits. Uh, and then you had to go to nine under to Ben an and fourth place was at six under. So even though it sort of looks like it wasn’t that hard last year at 17 under, it was for everyone but three of the golfers. I suspect single digits will do the trick this year. Maybe 11 or 12, but uh depending on conditions. It’s time now for our DraftKings DFS plays. Our best picks here. Len, let’s start off at the top. Let’s talk hot roster build. There are a whopping seven golfers in the 10,000 plus range. Uh, do you recommend building around one of them? And which one if so? Well, I think we always see or very often see that the the winner of a major comes from way up high. I mean, Xander Shopley has won two in the last year. Bryson Deambo, Rory Mroy, really the big guys and there are about 12 maybe to 14 who are considered in at least in my estimation the big guys. I think you have to get at least one of those in your lineup and maybe if you want to dip down to, you know, the lower guys in that tier, then you could get two of them in there. But Scotty Shepler is 134. a little surprising to me that not only is he the number one guy in in the DraftKings universe in the DFS universe, but he’s significantly higher, more than $1,000 more than Rory Mroy at 122. And then you get the Bryson Dash Shambo at 115. I would think I would recommend getting one of those guys. I don’t think you can get two even though the prices do dip into the 5000s for this major. Definitely get one of those guys. I think they’re the top three guys. They’re the top three guys in the world in data golf rankings and we know Dashambo’s not in the OGR so we can’t compare him there. Th those are the three guys who really are the class of this field. Yeah, Sheffller’s fascinating because you know he hadn’t won until his last tournament and then he wins wins by like nine strokes. Uh all the data suggests that he was close. Sure enough he was. But his history at Quail Hollow isn’t great. He hasn’t played there very often and when he did it wasn’t great. He was 03 and one in the President’s Cup. You point that out in our power rankings article on that on you can find a Rotoire right now. Go to roto code 15, promo code roto5 to check that out. We talked about the top tier of golfers. Who’s that one player you have to have in your lineup? Well, one of the guys I’m looking at is uh there are a couple of guys and then and guys who you have to have in your lineup I think are a little bit lower down the board. And one of the guys I’m looking at is Min Woo Lee at $8,600. Very favorably priced. I have him in my top 15 in the power rankings. Minu Lee is one of the longest hitters on tour. He’s also one of the most uh weward, so that’s a concern. But he’s also great on approach and on the green. Top 10 strokes gained around the green, strokes gained putting that could make up for some weward drives in in in a hurry. Um he’s done well in the majors in in through the years. He hasn’t been around that long. He’s played only about 14 or 15. About half of those have been top 25s. Now he’s just coming off his first win, which changes the narrative on him. Now he knows he can win. He played at Houston, a long kind of hard golf course. I think he will take that momentum and play even better this week. And I think at $8,600 is just a fantastic price that you could fit into a lot of different lineups. Uh he might even be my sleeper pick to win the tournament. He’s like I said 8600 90 to1 if you want want to take a a flyer on somebody away from the 4 to1 mroys and chefflers of the world. So like him a lot. I’m going to go with Patrick Reed at 8100. I don’t love him. Who loves what American golf fan loves him? Sadly I think he’s probably more liked overseas. Live fans perhaps love him. But I’m going to go with cuddly, warm, lovable Patrick Reed at 8,100 cuz I just know he’s going to be there. He he I think he’ll be in the top 10. Uh I’d look for some top 10 bets on him, but at 8100, he makes me he makes a lot of rosters fit as well. So you’re going to see Patrick Reed in my lineups. You we mentioned sleepers. We got to dig a little deeper. Who’s another sleeper you’ve got? One guy I’m really looking at and I was really surprised to see that I do like him uh or see the numbers that made me like him is Denny McCarthy who’s down in the 6000s at $6700. We don’t associate Denny McCarthy with being a long hitter uh because he’s not. But he’s played well at the at Quail Hollow at the Wells Fargo the last two years 23 and 24. He finished top eight both years and last year it was a signature event with an elite field. He has finished uh top 25 in five tournaments this year. He has not missed a cut. He finished fifth at the Genesis which was in a signature event at a long course Tory Pines. He is an incredible putter. Top 10 on putter. Still putting as great as he always has. He’s still a short hitter but he’s getting it done. And sometimes, like I said, you there’s more than one way to do well. It certainly helps to be long, but talk about Min Louie fitting into a lineup at $8,600. Danny McCarthy at 6,700 could fit into any any lineup. Absolutely. Uh mine’s not going to be as deep as yours, and that’s not a shock. You’re my expert here. Uh I’m going to go Daniel Burgerer, though. I I just like his recent form. I like the cut of his jib. I know he doesn’t have the pe the the major history, but you know, he had a big injury, came back from, finished third at RBC Heritage recently. I like his recent form. I like the way he’s been playing. 7,900, though. That’s still a pretty fine price there. He’s going to be my sleeper guy for another top 10. Absolutely. Absolutely. I do like Daniel Burgerer a lot. He’s in my top 25 in my power rankings. He will be in the in the DraftKings article as well as one of the the top picks in the 7000s. It’s just anytime you can get a good golfer in in the 7000s. You know, that’s just and we do see a lot of that in the majors and this that this is a prime example. I like that play a lot. All right, we have to get negative here for a second. Who’s a who’s a bust? Who’s a fade for you? Ne I need one name. Uh well, WE Neman is $9,600 and that’s the number 11 price on the board. We Neman, you know, we he has been the best golfer on live this year. He’s won three times. Uh and we heard going into the Masters how well he had been playing. Well, he was a virtual no-show at Augusta. He is not young anymore. He really came on the scene as very young uh early 20s and he’s already been in more than 20 majors. He’s only 26 years old. He’s never finished in the top 15 in any major. So, I don’t know how we can expect him to contend for a title. Sure, it’s possible. Anything is possible, but he has so many chances to prove that he’s he’s really ready to join the top echelon of golfers or at least the top 10, top 15, and he’s just fallen uh every single time. Uh I would not play Walk Nean in any of my lineups at $9,600. Jordan Speed will be absent from my lineup at 9,300. I think the narrative is going to be strong on him. People are going to try to manifest this career grand slam now that Rory’s got his. This is not the course for Jordan Speed. He’s not a long course hitter. There’s a reason why he hasn’t won the PGA. I I I think this is uh one that I’m going to avoid. I think he’s going to be in a lot of lineups, too. That’s the other reason I’m not going to go that route with him. So, he’s I guess it’s it’s unfair to call him a bus, but he’s not he’s not he’s a bus for me. He’s not going to be in my lineups. Golf’s second major of the year is here and DraftKings is giving you the perfect way to get in on the action. Right now, DraftKings is giving all customers a can’tmiss offer. Enter into the $25 PGA Millionaire contest, draft a lineup, and if just one player makes a birdie during the tournament, you’ll earn an entry into an exclusive $50,000 fantasy golf contest. It’s that simple. Just build your lineup for this iconic major. Stack it with top contenders like Scotty Sheffler, Brooks Kepler, or a breakout underdog with something to prove. And as long as someone on your roster sinks just one birdie, just one, you’re in for another shot at cash prizes. 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Official rules at www.draftkings.com/promotions. Sponsored by DK Crown Holdings, Inc. Ticketer rewards are non-withdrawable and expire on May 22nd at contest lock. Sponsored by DraftKings. That was our DraftKings DFS plays for the 2025 championship. Len, let’s get back to your rankings and tears on rotoire.com. Couple of guys I want to talk about here. Uh I I think we we mentioned Bri we mentioned Bryson in passing a little bit. We haven’t kind of dove into him, but you know, there’s going to be a lot of speculation on Bryson. He’s obviously, you know, one of the top three golfers uh listed pretty much everywhere you go. Big length guy. Obviously, that’s a huge advantage this week. Would you choose maybe to go with him over Scotty? Uh yeah, I could certainly make an argument to do that. And I imagine I will have some lineups that will be where Dashambo is the top guy. Look, he finished second at the PGA last year and you just fell right behind Xander Schoffley who made that putt on 18th to win the tournament. Then Dambo won the US Open. Those two majors, PGA and US Open, I consider those the really long ones. Uh, and the Open Championship is not nearly as long. Augusta is long, but I think you need so much uh skill around the greens that that is really paramount more than distance. We see a lot of guys can contend at Augusta PGA and the US Open more to his liking, more fit to his game. I think he can bludgeon his way down uh the course down the fairways here. And even if he gets into the rough, which should be around 2.75 in to be so technical, that’s what they’re cutting the rough at this week at Quail Hollow. I think he’ll be, you know, so far down the fairway that he’ll be using wedge into the greens. The greens are fairly large. Uh, I think this sets up really nicely for him this week and he was pretty close at the Masters, you know, until until the back nine on Sunday. There’s a lot to like about Dashambo this week. He even won uh a couple of weeks ago on live in South Korea. I’m going to give you two more names, one in the $9,000 tier and one in the $8,000 tier. Justin Thomas, 9900. Uh, you mentioned him previously a champ at this course in 2017. He also won the RBC Heritage, breaking his victory slump. Can he do it again? Uh, he can. I have him very highly ranked. Uh, I do will will play him in some lineups at 9900. Uh, he’s just all the way back. He’s now a top five golfer in the world and or top six on data golf if that’s your world ranking of preference. He’s just playing fantastic golf. The one big issue for him, it’s still an issue, is getting the ball in the fairway. He just grips it and rips it off the tea. It’s been working so far. I think one of the reasons that he was able to win the RBC Heritage and his best finishes this year have been on shorter courses because he’d been able to leave driver in the bag. So, it’s a I will give that one little caution on Justin Thomas, but he is so good with wedge in hand, one of the best golfers in the world. and his putting. The reason he’s playing so well now, the big difference for him is he’s putting. We’ve seen him the last few years. It was almost painful to watch him on the greens to try and and make short putts. And they just wouldn’t go in and you just knew they wouldn’t go in. But he is now top 40 uh on tour in strokes game putting. That is an enormous enormous change indeed. Cory Connors always our another friendly like, hey, he hits the ball well. At least we can maybe sneak him in. seeing some early odds around him at like uh 800 to 80 to one, excuse me. Uh 800 to1. That’d be rich. Uh 80 to1. Good ball striker though. Are you in on him? Yeah, I like him a lot. We’ve talked about him a lot this season. He’s been playing maybe his best golf. He hasn’t won this year and he’s had some wins in the past. So, yeah, let’s use that uh you know, just put that off to the side. But he’s been playing really well. And the key for him, much like with Thomas, is that he is putting much better than he ever has before. He’s always been a supreme ball striker uh in getting the, you know, getting the ball in the fairway, getting the ball on the green. He would get pile up the top 25s and he just couldn’t get any higher. His floor was good. His ceiling was limited because he couldn’t putt. His ceiling is a lot higher and has been with more top 10s this year. He’s a good play in the 8000s as well. All right, Len. Uh, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask you about your oneanddone pick. What’s your one and done strategy? Um, you know, I, you know, I have my, we’ve talked about it before, my my theory about using live guys in the majors because you can only use them these four tournaments of the year. Uh, and that’s not the only reason why I’m going here. It would be a little easy to pick Rory Mroy. I mean, it just seems like everything is coming into place. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Bryson Dashambo, I mean, he is I think he will be really, really driven to win this. I mean, of course, they all are, but I do expect him to be getting major minutes on our televisions on Sunday late afternoon. I do like the Shambo this week. Very good. Thanks for watching our PGA Champ preview sponsored by DraftKings. If you enjoy videos like these, consider hitting the like and subscribe button. Right now, you can get 15% off any of Rotoire’s premium golf content by going to rotoire.com and using code roto5 at checkout.
