Last Updated on 04/14/2021 by Inside Tailgating
So you want to be a Millionaire, so freaking bad, and buy some of the things you never had, including attending The Masters tournament in person… Now you have a fighting chance thanks to Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and DraftKings. Many may still be new to the term DFS, but not new to knowing about the popularity of fantasy sports. No ladies, your husband is not going to ask for a hall pass to go to a draft, and you can easily play too. Playing a Masters office pool is certainly fun, but add an extra layer of excitement and go for $1 Million while you do some homegating for The Masters.
The Masters and Daily Fantasy Golf
For the newbies, DFS games and contests are based on a salary cap. The premise is simple, create a team within a set salary cap and your team scores points based on individual performances. The team that scores the most points wins. For the DraftKings Fantasy Golf Millionaire, pick 6 golfers within a $50,000 Salary Cap, pay $20 and start your Masters fever. Would you rather drop $20 in a pool with a chance to win a couple hundred or risk $20 to make a Million? I will take the Millionaire Maker option, if I could only choose one. Total guaranteed prize pool is $2.2 Million, and you only have to finish in the top 24,025 to get your money back or better. If come up short of the $1 Million, you can still get $100,000 for second place.
This is my first year playing Fantasy Golf. While I have played DFS football and basketball, the Millionaire Maker got me interested. For the past month, I have been playing some small $3 contests to get my feet wet around lineup construction and see how I perform. Fortunately, all my lineups have cashed. Beginners luck, probably, or maybe I am just warming up crush the Millionaire Maker.
5 DFS Pick Strategies for The Masters
Here are five possible strategies to use to pick your 6 Players for the Masters, even if you know nothing about golf:
- Names – Create a Top 10 list of your favorite names and then see how you can best work them in within the Salary Cap. Sergio, Sang Moon Bae, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Matsuyama, would be some of the top names on my list.
- Looks – Go by name brand clothes, sunglasses, hats or just ask you wife to make a list of the Top 10 hottest golfers in the field. Be careful with that last one, she might as for half of your winnings. At least you can say you included her in the process. Camilo Villegas is married now, but I am sure he will top this list.
- Current Statistics – This will be a primary focus for the experts and those having multiple entries in the contest. This strategy is a primary reason why DFS is deemed a game a skill and not a game of chance. Take some time to research who is tops in Driving Distance, Greens in Regulation, Scrambling, and Putting. Augusta National can giveth and taketh away, so good ball striking and consistency is important. However, the best can always get bit.
- Course History – The Masters combines the current top golfers that are winning internationally with past Masters Champions. Course knowledge is important and can be a good indicator of success. Guys like Fred Couples and Vijay Singh are unlikely to win it all, but they make cuts, put up some good numbers and can offer a cheap salary to allow room for the new young studs on the block. Don’t insert Larry Mize at $4,700 – if you do that, you will lose and will have no hopes of cashing at all.
- Tiger Woods – Assuming he plays, build one or more entries around Tiger. Any expert would say that would be the most ridiculous idea. Statistically, he absolutely sucks at golf right now. His price at $9,400 is way too high for his current game. However, it is a big discount to Rory McIlroy at $14,900. Tiger has not won a Major since 2008, but has finished in the Top 4 in seven of his last nine times at The Masters. If I only had one entry, I don’t think I could bring myself to put him in there, but I am doing several, so if he plays he will be in one.
My three favorite higher priced, risk vs reward guys for The Masters are Jordan Speith, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. My three favorite value plays at $6,000 or less are currently Charley Hoffman, Kevin Na and Vijay Singh. It will be important to follow the news during the week. If you want some expert anaylsis, check out The Pat Mayo Hour. Pat actively wagers on golf and is looking to have around 100 line-ups in the Millionaire Maker. Don’t let that scare you off because experts / pros win first place about as often as they win a poker tournament – there is definitely a lot of luck involved in a one time event, but don’t tell the government. One of Pat Mayo’s cohorts, Geoff Fienberg, walked down the aisle to The Masters music…how can you not trust that guy for some good advice?
Below is a preview from The Pat Mayo Hour on his picks. Playing fantasy golf is going to make my homegating much more enjoyable this year. I wish I could figure out how to get CBS to lift that 20 year ban on Gary McCord for using the term “bikini wax” during a live broadcast… he would definitely add to the entertainment…nothing is perfect, but The Masters is pretty close.
Give fantasy golf a try and comment below with any tips or how you do. Especially if you win a million dollars!
We’ve got plenty of tips and recipes on making the most of watching The Masters at home as well for you to check out. Don’t forget to like, follow & share, plus tag us on social when posting about your tailgating and homegating the Masters experiences!
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