This article is part of our DFS Golf series.
LIV LONDON
Purse: $20M Individual, $5M Team
Winner's Share: $4M Individual, $3M Team
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Course: Centurion Club
Yardage: 7,068
Par: 71
For more information, check out RotoWire's LIV Golf Optimizer.
Tournament Preview
Following a month-long break in the schedule, Talor Gooch beat Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at Valderrama to pick up his third victory in his last five LIV starts.
This week, LIV returns to the place where it all started last June at the Centurion Club. Last year's inaugural event was won by Charl Schwartzel, who entered with 28-1 odds. He was followed by runner-up Hennie Du Plessis, and Peter Uihlein and Branden Grace claimed a share for third. This time around, Brooks Koepka headlines a 48-player field. He is the tournament favorite at 7-1 and is followed closely by Cameron Smith, who checks in at 8-1.
Despite the course playing at just over 7,000 yards and having four par-5s -- to go along with four par-3s -- this was far from a birdie-fest last year, with Schwartzel winning at 7-under-par and only eight players finishing in the red. This track has plenty of defense, with 80 bunkers and water in play on several holes. It doesn't appear to strongly favor any particular type of golfer, as players with a variety of styles wound up at the top of the leaderboard. I think there's a slight advantage for the longer hitters, who can go low on the par-5s. Scrambling ability and avoiding bogeys will be key.
There are no changes to this week's field. Last week I highlighted Gooch, Koepka (third), Munoz (fourth), David Puig (T5) and Patrick Reed (T5), so we will try to keep the momentum going!
DraftKings Value Picks
Based on Standard $50k Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Brooks Koepka - $10,800 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +700)
Koepka had not yet joined LIV when this event was held last year, but are there many courses he isn't a good fit at? In addition to his two wins this year, he has five top-5 finishes over his last nine events. He likes tougher venues and can be rostered for $200 less than Smith.
Dustin Johnson - $10,100 (+1000)
Overall, DJ's results since joining LIV are impressive -- he has recorded two wins and 10 top-10s over 15 starts. He's coming off back-to-back top-10s -- one being at the U.S. Open -- and finished eighth here a year ago. Johnson's consistency makes him an especially good target in both cash games and GPPs.
Mito Pereira - $9,700 (+1800)
Pereira may get overlooked in this range after disappointing a lot of DFS players with his missed cut at the U.S. Open and a modest 15th-place result last week. However, he has finished sixth or better in half of his LIV starts. Don't make the mistake of bypassing him.
Tier 2 Values
Jason Kokrak - $8,800 (+3000)
Kokrak answered any questions regarding the injury that caused him to withdraw after the first round in DC, posting a sixth-place finish last week. Following a slow start to the year, he finished no worse than 12th in his last five completed LIV events.
Dean Burmester - $8,700 (+3500)
Outside of DeChambeau, Burmester is the longest driver on LIV, and I expect him to win sooner rather than later. The 34-year-old is a bit of a late bloomer, and over his last six LIV starts he recorded three top-10s and only one finish outside the top 20.
Peter Uihlein - $8,600 (+3500)
Uihlein has cooled off a bit since a hot start to the year, but he returns to a place he nearly won at last year, which is a great way to get back on track. He has seven top-10s over 15 career LIV starts.
Tier 3 Values
Anirban Lahiri - $7,900 (+6500)
It was a disappointing result for Lahiri last week, who opened with a 68 and followed that up with a 78. That goes to show you the boom-or-bust rounds he's capable of. In GPPs, that ceiling is more of what I'm focused on, and he does have a runner-up finish on his resume this year.
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra - $7,300 (+8000)
Lopez-Chacarra will look to bounce back from a frustrating week in his home country. He is more of a target in GPPs than cash games. He's not the most consistent player but does have a win last year, a top-5 in Tulsa and good distance off the tee.
Richard Bland - $6,900 (+8000)
Bland's results have been mediocre this year -- he has not finished worse than 36th but has just three results in the top half of the field, with a best finish of 14th. Nevertheless, this is essentially a home venue for him, and he finished a respectable T17 here a year ago.
Tier 4 Values
Laurie Canter - $6,700 (+13000)
Canter is another Englishman in the field and is one of three LIV golfers -- Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace being the others -- who made it through final qualifying Tuesday to earn their way into the Open Championship. He has finished in the top half of the field in three consecutive LIV events.
Matt Jones - $6,400 (+13000)
Jones played here last year, which will give him a leg up on some of the field. Plus, he does have one top-10 this year. Jones is coming off a solid week in which he shot three rounds of even par or better on the difficult Valderrama track, and his finishing positions have been improving steadily.
Danny Lee - $6,300 (+15000)
Lee is really only a GPP option if you want to go with a stars and scrubs approach. Unless you believe Schwartzel can repeat, the other golfers priced under $6,500 have limited upside, and Lee does have a win this year.
If you want to wager on the winner of this week's LIV event, check out the top Sportsbook Promo Codes!
