Fresh cut grass, birds chirping, doesn’t get any better than this (RIP Chubbs). The PGA Championship and Major #2 of the 2023 season is here. The best of the best set to duke it out against what looks to be an absolute MONSTER of a redesigned golf course at Oak Hill. Let’s get into it.

Course Info

Oak Hill’s East Course just went through a redesign that took a complete test of your golf game and turned it into what is going to feel like some kind of epic duel between golfer and earth. Elevated greens everywhere, deep bunkers protecting flags, rough that will cause you to take 1-2-3 clubs more, and length that separates boys from men. All that plus a quirky rule about internal out of bounds to create some controversy! Par 70, at over 7300 yards, most people seem to agree that -6, -7, or -8 will win this thing. Avoid the big number, save par, and live to fight another hole.

Drama

Speaking of drama, LIV Golf players are back and seemingly playing at the top end of their game. Brooks Koepka is getting a ton of steam, Dustin Johnson is coming off a win last week in Tulsa, Cam Smith lost to DJ in a playoff, Talor Gooch won back to back times less than a month ago, Mito Pereira lost last year’s PGA Championship on the 72nd hole and is looking for some redemption and that’s just naming a few golfers that will be there. No Reignmakers impact here, but the stage is set for some real drama to be witnessed.

Golfers to Target

There is a lot to sift through this week so I’m keeping the article short and sweet and I’ll jump right into my targets across the odds board like we do every week, but one quick reminder before I do so. Remember that Reignmakers is NOT the same as daily fantasy golf. There is so much GREAT content out there talking about daily fantasy golf that it can be easy to get caught up in some of the conversation about “well you can’t play X and Y together.” Remember that daily fantasy golf is a largely different game when compared to Reignmakers. Salary constraints, lineup constructions, ownership, etc. changes the entire conversation. That said, tons of great content out there, just take some of the conversation with a grain of salt. PLAY THE BEST PLAYS, if you have ’em to play and see where things fall!

As is always the case, I’ll highlight three golfers I like this week across the odds ranges: Best odds (+2000 or better), mid range (+2000-9000), and long shots (+10000 and up).

Best Odds: Xander Schauffele LOW ASK, CORE $27.50, RARE $99.99, ELITE $620

The X man is catching a lot of steam this week, and sure he isn’t Scheffler or Rahm, but Xander IS one of the best players on tour and he’s playing like it. His incredible consistency across the bag lends itself in a big way to a course like Oak Hill where almost every facet of your game will be tested at some point. Xander’s last five finishes are 2nd, T4, 4th, T10, 5th. He is as live as any golfer to win this golf tournament. I slotted Xander into my “best” lineup this week over Scottie Scheffler and I’ll talk about why on the Wednesday Lineup Builder show. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzIt8qqKvss

Mid Range: Viktor Hovland LOW ASK, CORE $17.95, RARE $63.34, ELITE $379.99

I’m staying close to the top of the odds board here in the mid tier because there are just so many good options this week being a Major championship. There is a lot of eye test in this pick for me because what I saw from Victor at Augusta National last month at the Masters was enough for me to know that he’s for real around the greens. It was his weakness and now that is gone. There is a career defining win coming for Viktor Hovland and I’m betting that its coming sooner rather than later. Total driving he ranks 4th in the field, strokes gained off the tee 6th, strokes gained approach 18th. Enough here for me to like Viktor this week.

Long Shot: Taylor Moore LOW ASK, CORE $4.25, RARE $22, ELITE $149

The dropoff happens FAST in this weeks’ field when we’re talking long shots, but Taylor Moore’s pricing for DraftKings Reignmakers and his FedEx Cup position and future outlook/utility adds to why he makes the list this week. Can he win this golf tournament, well we would need a miracle, but in golf miracles can happen. Taylor’s missed 1 cut in his last 11 starts which includes the Masters and Players. At this price, rounding out a solid lineup of 3 or 4 guys with Moore can be a solid play to get 5/5 through the cut.

That will do it. Best of luck in the contests this week, enjoy the sweat that Major #2 will certainly offer, don’t forget to touch some grass over the weekend, and as always and I’ll see you all on the leaderboard!