The second event of the FedExCup playoffs is ready to get underway from Olympia Fields Country Club North Course in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Located just south of downtown Chicago, the top 50 golfers in the FedExCup rankings will compete for four rounds to attempt climbing into the top 30 rankings, which is the only way to qualify for the third and final playoff event, the Tour Championship, located at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
We were treated to a flurry of production during the four days at TPC Southwind, as 42-year-old South Carolina native Lucas Glover rattled off his second consecutive outright win to climb into fourth in the FedExCup rankings. This is an impressive feat since Glover needed to pull off the outright win at Wyndham during the final regular season event to qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, where he defeated Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole.
Glover was one of my recommended plays last week, primarily due to his current form and being priced way down at $7,400 on DraftKings. This week, it’s a different story. The course changes a bit, including fewer water hazards, but the small surface area of the greens will continue to reinforce how important ball striking is at the BMW Championship. Most of the golfers left in the top 50 are quality iron players, while a few of them have the capacity to get hot with their putter to climb the leaderboard in a different fashion.
Olympia Fields is a par 70 that runs over 7,300 yards, featuring two par 5s, and four par 3s, including a par 3 on the eighth hole that is nearly 300 yards in length. Distance off the tee, greens in regulation, strokes gained on approach, and, of course, putting will be some of the key metrics for players to emulate to avoid bad lies and high scorecards. Since there’s no enforced cut line in the playoffs, golfers will have four full rounds to string together as many quality shots and under-par scorecards as possible to qualify for a trip to East Lake during the final event of the 2023 PGA Tour season.
Let’s find out which golfers warrant a spot in our DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineups ahead of Thursday’s opening round from Chicago, Illinois, at the 2023 BMW Championship.
Before we get into our BMW Championship DFS Picks and Targets, make sure to take a moment to check out these awesome sports betting offers for this week. You can use one of the HUGE first bet offers to wager with more confidence on your 2023 BMW Championship selections this week.
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Patrick Cantlay ($10,500)
After sending his opening tee shot into the water on the first playoff hole, leading to a loss against Lucas Glover at TPC Southwind last Sunday, Patrick Cantlay should be playing with plenty of motivation to fuel his production at Olympia Fields. Plus, Cantlay is going for the three-peat, recording outright wins at the BMW Championship in 2021 and 2022. He’s among the purest ball strikers left in the FedExCup playoffs, so combined with his putter, which ranks 30th in strokes gained putting, Cantlay is a nice value below some other blue-chip prospects at $10,500 on DraftKings.
Corey Conners ($8,900)
Last year at the BMW Championship, 31-year-old Canadian Corey Conners produced a T5 finish at -10-under-par. Conners opened up with a -7-under-par outing in the first two rounds before tapering off a bit during the weekend. He’s another premiere ball striker that has produced 82.5 to 110 FPPG in DraftKings lineups during three of his last four events played. Conners has 14-22 birdies during this recent stretch, too, so at under $9,000 on DraftKings, we need to prioritize inserting him into our lineups this week.
Emiliano Grillo ($7,400)
Emiliano Grillo is extremely cheap based on the floor he’s been producing for the last several events. The Argentinian has four T20 finishes across his last five events, generating 17-21 birdies for each of these strong outings. Grillo went +1 in his final round at TPC Southwind but still managed a T20 finish, which shows just how effective he was in the earlier rounds. He logged a T19 finish at the 2022 BMW Championship and also ranks top-ten in total driving efficiency while finding over 68 percent of greens in regulation. Grillo is mispriced, so let’s take advantage and add him into our DraftKings lineups for a boost.
Predict the top four finishers at this week's BMW Championship for a chance to win this Golf Monthly x OddsChecker free-to-play golf contest.
How to Enter the $10,000 BMW Championship Free-to-Play Game
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Tommy Fleetwood ($11,000)
Yes, it gets old watching Tommy Fleetwood fall short on Sundays. However, we’re here to maximize fantasy points, not necessarily worry about outright winners. The Englishman has been close to his first outright win on the PGA Tour on a handful of occasions this season, plus he returns to Olympia Fields for the first time in four years, where he previously went T11 at -13-under-par back in 2019. An exceptional ball striker, quality putter, and efficient driver, there’s little to dislike about Fleetwood’s game. Pay up to insert him as a blue-chip anchor in FanDuel DFS lineups this week.
Cam Davis ($9,300)
I’ve been recommending Cam Davis for weeks, and its paid off. Let’s not write the Aussie off just yet. Davis has qualified for his first appearance at the BMW Championship with clutch play down the stretch, recording three straight T10 finishes or better, including a T6 at TPC Southwind last weekend. At just $9,300 on FanDuel, Davis is a considerable value to acquire, especially running ninth strokes gained off-the-tee, 28th tee-to-green, and fifth in fairway proximity.
Eric Cole ($8,400)
Eric Cole has been one of the more impressive rookies this season, grinding out three T10 finishes and displaying a potent short game with a putter that can sink putts from ridiculous distances. Cole has gone T30, T14, and T30 entering the BMW Championship, which is obviously the first time he’s qualified for this playoff event. Last week, he generated a T31 finish, giving us 16 birdies with 10 bogeys, resulting in a mediocre output. However, this week, I’m more confident that Olympia Fields fits his style of play. Plus, Cole has steadily poured in 15-19 birdies in each of his previous five events. While he may not yield a T10 finish, it’s certainly within Cole’s range of outcomes. He’s also extremely cheap, which we like, so at $8,400 on FanDuel, don’t be afraid to save a bit of salary by investing in Cole’s upside this week.
