This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
BMW Championship
Olympia Fields, Illinois
Olympia Fields CC (North) - Par 70 - 7,366 yards
Field - 69 entrants
Purse - $9.5M
The Preview
Just two events remain before a $60M FedExCup prize pool is dished out upon the conclusion of the TOUR Championship at East Lake where the victor takes home a whopping $15M. The TOUR Championship's 30-man field will be decided this week as the PGA Tour returns to Olympia Fields near the south side of Chicago for the first time since the 2003 U.S. Open. Following Webb Simpson's (rest) withdrawal, 69 entrants will tee it up at a venue that's certain to play exponentially tougher than the birdie fest we witnessed at TPC Boston last week. Olympia Fields is extremely long for a par-70 layout, while thick and potentially wet rough give it even more of a demanding feel.
Recent Champions
2019 - Justin Thomas (Medinah)
2018 - Keegan Bradley (Aronimink)
2017 - Marc Leishman (Conway Farms)
2016 - Dustin Johnson (Crooked Stick)
2015 - Jason Day (Conway Farms)
2014 - Billy Horschel (Cherry Hills)
2013 - Zach Johnson (Conway Farms)
2012 - Rory McIlroy (Crooked Stick)
2011 - Justin Rose (Cog Hill)
2010 - Dustin Johnson (Cog Hill)
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Off-the-Tee
GIR percentage
Driving distance
SG: Approach
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Dustin Johnson - $44
Johnson, who returned to World No. 1 with his 11-shot win at the Northern Trust, is less of a budget hit than four other players this week at just $44 in salary despite already racking up two victories and a runner-up at the PGA Championship since the restart. DJ's ridiculously good 30-under performance at TPC Boston included five eagles and 23 birdies while gaining over 18 strokes from tee to green and hitting 90.28 percent of the greens in regulation. He's also first in SG: Approach over his last 12 rounds.
Daniel Berger - $43
This is the highest salary number we've seen for him all season, but a motivated Berger deserves it as he leads the BMW Championship field in SG: Total over his last 36 rounds while collecting four top-3s since the restart. Berger just finished solo-third at the Northern Trust where he ranked third in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Putting and scrambling on the way to 23 total birdies. He's gained 5.5 strokes or more from tee to green in all but one of his starts dating back to February's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Glue Guys
Tony Finau - $38
Finau's MC by just two shots at TPC Boston due to short-game issues last week shouldn't be too concerning as he hit nearly 80 percent of the greens in regulation while gaining 1.3 strokes on approaches and 1.8 strokes off the tee. He finished eighth or better in three events from the Memorial Tournament to the PGA Championship, also gaining over 10 strokes from tee to green at TPC Harding Park. Finau has gained strokes off the tee in all nine of his starts since the schedule resumed at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Jason Day - $29
Just a single missed cut at the Northern Trust caused Day's Yahoo salary to slide below the $30 mark again, despite his recent run of four straight top-7s from the Workday Charity Open through the PGA Championship. The Aussie even managed to gain a stroke off the tee during his two rounds at TPC Boston and he's still 10th in SG: Tee-to-Green over his last 24 rounds. Day's driving distance has been above average compared to his peers in four consecutive starts and he's gained an average of 2.2 strokes around the green per tournament since the Workday.
Bargain Bin
Scottie Scheffler - $25
Rising to 14th in the FedExCup standings with back-to-back fourth-place results at the Northern Trust and the PGA Championship, Scheffler is the top-ranked rookie by 10 spots while only four first-year cardholders meandered their way to the BMW Championship. The former Texas Longhorn has a couple tournament rounds under his belt at Olympia Fields CC, having made an appearance here at the 2015 U.S. Amateur. Throughout his last 12 rounds, Scheffler is second in SG: Tee-to-Green and 10th in SG: Off-the-Tee among this week's field.
Harris English - $21
English hasn't been special off the tee by any means during his current stretch of six consecutive top-25 finishes, but his short game has been quite impressive in addition to his quality iron play. Over his last 24 rounds, English ranks eighth in SG: Putting and ninth in SG: Around-the-Green, which are great signs if the Olympia Fields setup plays difficult given its length and thick rough where par serves as a good score more often than not. Additionally, English gained 9.7 feet in proximity from 200-plus yards on the field en route to runner-up honors at last week's Northern Trust after gaining 12.2 feet in proximity from this same range the week prior at the Wyndham Championship.
