Drama Sells

Last year at the RBC Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy won the tournament and took a not so subtle shot at LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, stating that with his latest victory, he now has one more PGA TOUR win (21) than Norman (20).

Fast forward twelve months (and boy has it seemed like a LONG twelve months) and LIV Golf is overshadowing the event again. As of Tuesday morning June 6, 2023, the PGA TOUR has struck a deal with the PIF (Saudi Public Investment Fund) and the DP World Tour which effectively ends the lawsuits between the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf. There is very little information available about the deal and even the PGA TOUR players were kept in the dark during these negotiations. Given lack of info, its hard to really know what the future looks like, but for the casual golf fan, this seems like a big win. The best players in the world bombing drives, firing irons at pins, and draining putts is entertainment and we’re about to get more of it. Golf was a fractured game for a little over one year, but this deal aims to bring the best players in the world back to the same tour playing golf against each other on a regular basis. Golf as a professional game is completely ablaze.

The US OPEN looms in the wings next week. Brooks Koepka will be vying for back-to-back Major Championship victories, and the drama rages onward. And drama SELLS. Will this bring more eyeballs to golf? Will this deal even go through? Will professional golf land in a better place heading into 2024? Is team golf coming to the PGA TOUR? I could rattle off another 10 questions, but one thing is for sure, it’s been a hectic year for golf and more changes are around the corner.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming with DraftKings Reignmakers PGA TOUR insights!

Course Info

The RBC Canadian Open will be held at a new venue, Oakdale Golf Club, which plays as a not so lengthy par 72 at 7,300+ yards. Rory McIlroy has won this event in back-to-back years that it was held (2019 and 2022) and as of now it appears he will tee it up and aim for a three-peat. With all the drama between the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf, there could be more withdraws than normal this week so we will keep a close eye on that. Given that Oakdale is a never-before-seen venue, I’m mostly ignoring history at this event and focusing on stats that I think matter most. For me strokes gained approach, birdies or better, and bogey avoidance are a few stats on my radar this week. Additionally, because we have only three par 5s and three par 3s this week I’ll be taking a look at Par 4 scoring.

Strokes Gained Approach top performers: Shane Lowry, Tyrell Hatton, Kevin Roy

Birdies or Better top performers: Cam Young, Aaron Wise

Bogey Avoidance top performers: Matt Kuchar, Aaron Baddeley

Golfers to Target

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

Best Odds: Shane Lowry LOW ASK, CORE $6.38, RARE $28.99, ELITE $145

You heard TJ talk about Lowry on Monday’s show (listen here: (242) Reignmakers Fantasy Golf Show – Memorial Recap + RBC Canadian Open Preview – YouTube) and I loved everything he said. We’ve liked Lowry, especially at his price, for a couple weeks now and I think he’s a great asset to have heading into the US Open and the Open Championship where he has played quite well. Ball striking and approach continues to show improvement and he ranks 8th in total driving on Tour.

Mid Range: Mark Hubbard LOW ASK, CORE $1.89, RARE $10, ELITE $55

Mark Hubbard has made 5 cuts in a row (his last MC is the team event, Zurich) and he’s gaining a ton of strokes on approach and through his ball striking. Putting has been a rollercoaster but we all know there is variance in putting and on a never-before-seen course there may be even more reason to embrace the variance. At 3.99 average par 4 scoring he ranks 40th on tour in par 4 scoring and he’ll need to play the par 4s great this week.

Long Shot: Carson Young LOW ASK, CORE $1.40, RARE $9, ELITE $87

I like this play for CORE and RARE prices, but $87 for an ELITE Carson Young seems too expensive. Young has gained strokes on approach and through ball striking in his last five outings and I think he can be sneaky in this lesser than average field. He’s going to need to keep the putter hot as he’s also gained strokes putting in his last five attempts.

All data from our site: https://www.otmnft.com/reignmakerspro where you can get every piece of Reignmakers data that you need, build lineups, analyze your portfolio of cards, and more. Check it out now!

That will do it for this week. Best of luck in the contests as always, and I’ll see you all on the leaderboard!