This week not only marks the second Major Championship of the PGA season, but also the second official pack drop of the DraftKings Reignmakers: Approach Set.
Let’s dive in.
Approach Bump and Run (ELITE) Drop
A Bump and Run (ELITE) pack guarantees players two card rarity tiers (RARE and ELITE) with at least one ELITE tier card in every pack.
Understanding how many packs have been divvied out and which player cards are still available since the initial launch of DraftKings’ Approach set in April, we can decipher our own odds of unveiling a particular group of players in the 1,200 remaining ELITE packs.
Group 1: 28.4% of cards
Group 2: 41.8% of cards
Group 3: 17.3% of cards
Group 4: 12.5% of cards
Course Preview
Targeting player cards for our Reignmakers lineups who are in current form to attack the lengthy layout of Oak Hill Country Club is key.
Here are some crucial data points to keep in mind, courtesy of Ron Klos’ must-read PGA Championship course preview:
- With many of the bunkers in the 300-310 yard range, players that have a carry distance of 310-plus yards should have an edge.
- Approximately 55% of approach shots occur from 175-plus yards, putting fairway accuracy at a premium.
- Rough has been grown to a dastardly length of 3-4 inches with early reports suggesting doubt that anything longer than an 8-iron will allow players to reach the green when fighting out.
- That rough coupled with the Tour’s fourth-smallest greens and penal bunkers will force 20-40 yard recovery shots consistently.
PGA Championship Player Strategy
Player – Minimum Prices on the secondary market
Matt Fitzpatrick – $12.39 CORE, $56 RARE, $299.99 ELITE
Fighting through a neck injury for a better part of this year, Fitzpatrick has since bounced back with a win at RBC Heritage and, in the last major at Augusta National, a T10 finish. With the 14th-most Strokes Gained at the myriad of PGA Championship/U.S. Open courses since 2017, the 28-year-old is trending in the right direction upon descending on Oak Hill Country Club and the U.S. Open in June. His 17th-overall putting among the field on bentgrass greens should only help matters.
Russell Henley – $3.69 CORE, $19 RARE, $130 ELITE
The aforementioned penal rough makes accuracy off the tee a crucial trait this week, and no one has been more precise in that department than Henley, who leads this field in percentage of fairways hit over the field’s average (13%) in the last three months. With four consecutive T20 finishes including a T4 showing at the Masters, Henley, who additionally ranks No. 7 in proximity to the hole from the rough (in case he does flair the occasional shot) over the last 36 rounds, is in proper form to not only compete at Oak Hill but on the west coast during the next major, too.
Brian Harman – $2.70 CORE, $14 RARE, $98.99 ELITE
Don’t exit that browser! I understand that Harman has lost -6.62 strokes on approach in 12 appearances since January. But in sitting 11th in SG: Off the Tee the past six months and, if slightly off on his second shots, No. 1 among this field in proximity to the hole from green side bunkers in that span, Harman checks more boxes than perceived at this course in particular. His top-20 status of SG: AVG in strong field events the last four years makes him a terrific buy-low candidate while he’s not in demand on the market ahead of multiple upcoming Majors.