This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
PGA Championship
Louisville, Kentucky
Valhalla Golf Club - Par 71 - 7,609 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $17.5M
The Preview
Captivating storylines are abundant leading into the season's second major championship as Valhalla returns to the rotation for the first time since 2014, but we care more about identifying potential building blocks for winning lineups than we care about the tabloids here, so strap in for a ride down 'Value Lane' because there's plenty to be found in Yahoo's golf contests this week. As for the course itself, Louisville's Valhalla Golf Club features thick, penal rough and small bentgrass greens, while this beast of a combination is made even more difficult by the 7,609 yards in length, lending bombers a massive advantage. On a more positive note from a scoring perspective, the weather forecast is devoid of a consequential breeze, and rainfall throughout Rounds 2 and 3 could soften conditions enough for a favorable Sunday setup.
Recent Champions
2023 - Brooks Koepka (Oak Hill Country Club)
2022 - Justin Thomas (Southern Hills Country Club)
2021 - Phil Mickelson (Kiawah Island Golf Resort)
2020 - Collin Morikawa (TPC Harding Park)
2019 - Brooks Koepka (Bethpage Black)
2018 - Brooks Koepka (Bellerive Country Club)
2017 - Justin Thomas (Quail Hollow Club)
2016 - Jimmy Walker (Baltusrol Golf Club)
2015 - Jason Day (Whistling Straits)
2014 - Rory McIlroy (Valhalla Country Club)
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Off-the-Tee
GIR percentage
Bogey avoidance
Proximity: 175-plus yards
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
Even if the reigning Masters champ was a bit fatigued by his recent introduction to fatherhood, he'd still be the undisputed best player in this field by a decent margin. Scheffler will show up to Valhalla ready to ball as a strong 4-1 betting favorite in the outright market, seeking his fifth win in six starts dating to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Stating the obvious, this layout sets up pretty well for someone who ranks No. 1 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach over their last 50 measured rounds.
Rory McIlroy - $45
It's been 10 years since McIlroy won his last major here on the grounds of Valhalla, but he heads back to Louisville fresh off consecutive wins at the Wells Fargo Championship and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he carried playing partner Shane Lowry to the finish line, so we'll count it as a real victory. McIlroy's 6.1 strokes gained off the tee led the tournament at Quail Hollow last week, but his short game exceeded expectations as well, ultimately finishing second among the Wells Fargo field in scrambling while gaining a season-high 4.3 strokes with the flat stick. Due to Yahoo's extremely soft pricing throughout multiple ranges on the salary board, Scheffler-McIlroy combinations figure to be a popular way to begin stars-and-scrubs builds.
Glue Guys
Justin Thomas - $31
A two-year win drought accompanies Thomas' trip home to his native Louisville where the crowd is sure to lend him some juice, but the two-time PGA Championship victor has quietly gained an average of 4.2 strokes from tee to green per event throughout his past 10 measured starts. He rebounded from a missed cut at Augusta National by securing a top-5 result at the RBC Heritage, where his putter finally cooperated with 2.7 strokes gained on Harbour Town's greens. Across his last eight rounds, each against Signature Event fields, he's top-10 in both Bogey Avoidance and Par-5 Efficiency.
Byeong Hun An - $30
He's second only to Scheffler in Birdies or Better Gained over his last 24 rounds, but An actually claims the top spot in driving distance within this frame. In addition to mashing it off the tee, An just gained a career-high eight strokes putting en route to a solo-third at the Wells Fargo Championship, marking his second straight top-4 finish dating to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, where he racked up 24 total par-breakers. An might lack in the win-equity department, but his DFS scoring upside remains immense if the putter stays hot.
Brooks Koepka - $29
The LIV guys continue to slip through the cracks in Yahoo's salary algorithm, so Koepka is flirting with free-square territory at this price as the defending champion of this event comes off another big win in Singapore. Everyone knows that Koepka enters alpha mode when the lights are the brightest, but he's looking to bounce back from disappointing efforts in his last two major appearances at the Masters and the 2023 Open Championship.
Bargain Bin
Cameron Smith - $24
Smith's lousy driving ability could be detrimental enough to keep him from the winner's circle at a demanding track like Valhalla, but his elite short game is certainly good enough to carry him to a top-10 or even top-5, especially if scoring conditions toughen for everybody. The Aussie has led his Rippers GC to back-to-back team victories on LIV, and he most recently earned runner-up honors as an individual in Singapore.
Bryson DeChambeau - $20
DeChambeau appears below just six total names in the outright market this week, so a $20 salary in this spot is pretty laughable. Expect mega-chalky ownership percentages when the cards flip Thursday morning, especially given DeChambeau appeared on the top page of the leaderboard throughout the Masters where he paced the field in SG: Off-the-Tee. He'll take pleasure in attempting to break Valhalla with that driver.
Joaquin Niemann - $20
The recurring theme of underpriced LIV studs persists with our final entry down here, as for whatever reason, Niemann joins DeChambeau at the minimum salary. A $20 tag despite the Chilean's enormous lead in the 2024 individual LIV standings, resulting from a pair of wins in Mayakoba and Jeddah before rattling off four consecutive top-10s from Hong Kong to Singapore. He lacks a single top-15 finish through the first 20 major championship outings of his relatively young career, but Niemann has taken his game and consistency to another level this year.
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