Dustin Johnson nearly won again last week, and now he’ll try to top the leaderboard again at the Tour Championship. We have precious few selections this week, with just the top 30 players in the field at East Lake Golf Club, a par 70 playing at 7,385 yards.
Johnson will start at the top at 10-under due to the scoring system that awards him bonus strokes for his first-place ranking in the FedEx Cup standings. That might also make him prohibitively priced on DraftKings and FanDuel. Can we go there and afford others who have a decent chance to win? Picks will prove tricky this week.
Dustin Johnson ($15,200 on DraftKings, $14,400 on FanDuel)
Yes, I’m going there. Final placement scoring matters a lot in DFS, and 10 strokes should prove quite an advantage for a player who has really turned it on in important spots this season. As part of my strategy for the Tour Championship, I plan to roster two players with big stroke advantages, and fill out the roster with four players near the bottom of the list, as 25 of the 30 players will start within four strokes of each other.
Justin Thomas ($11,900 on DK, $12,000 on FD)
Thomas sits $800 in salary below Jon Rahm on DK, and with just a one-stroke disadvantage in starting position (eight-under versus seven-under). Given Rahm’s YouTube-worthy putt to win last week, much excitement surrounds him. I’ll take a likely lower-owned and cheaper Thomas in the Tour Championship, and use the salary savings to help stay under the salary cap.
Joaquin Niemann ($6,300 on DK, $8,400 on FD)
The Chilean came through in the clutch at the BMW Championship with a three-under 67 on Sunday. That resulted in a tie for third, moving him from just outside the top 30 to 18th and a spot in the Tour Championship. Niemann led the field in shots gained tee to green, and greens in regulation. He’ll start this week at two-under and look to keep that momentum going.
Sebastian Munoz ($5,900 on DK, $8,700 on FD)
Munoz is sneakily underpriced in my estimation, given his three-under start and solid recent play (eighth and 18th the past two weeks). The Colombian gave himself some nice momentum going into the Tour Championship after starting the event five-over through Friday. He shot four-under on Saturday and Sunday, and ranked in the top five in shots gained tee-to-green, and around-the-green.
Ryan Palmer ($5,400 on DK, $7,300 on FD)
Palmer has struck the ball well over the past month-plus, with three top 15s and no finish worse than 43rd in his past five events. He only needed to play it safe last week to secure his spot in the top 30, but will look to storm out of the gate at the Tour Championship. Palmer will start the event at one-under.
