DFS Dish: Pack your lineup with players who can deliver punch

The sign-ups for the sixth Signature Event of the 2024 season feature defending champion Wyndham Clark and 42 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the venue for the antepenultimate Signature Event of the season.

Covering over 7,558 yards, including the final three-hole stretch known as “The Green Mile,” the par-71 track will present a major championship warm-up preceding the PGA Championship next week.

DraftKings – Top of the Board

Rory McIlroy ($11,800): The three-time champion owns the tournament scoring record and has produced two of the three best birdie totals in event history. Rolling into town after winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Shane Lowry, the Irishman is no stranger to winning events before major championships. The current form and course history will make for a massive ownership.

Xander Schauffele ($11,500): The runner-up by four shots last year to Clark, the Californian has cashed ten times in the top 25 this season from 11 events. The more difficult the track, the more his value increases as he has all the shots and few weaknesses. Still looking for his first win since the summer of 2022, he is the safest play on the board for me this week.

Overvalued or undervalued

Justin Thomas ($8,500): With the PGA Championship in his backyard at Valhalla, the Louisville native is ramping up as he turns for home. Posting four rounds in the 60s the week after missing the cut at the Masters, he cashed T5 at RBC Heritage. The 2017 PGA Championship winner at Quail Hollow Club has never cashed outside T26 in Charlotte. Time to catch him on the upswing.

Patrick Cantlay ($9,800): The expectations of Harbour Town-TPC Louisiana are always through the roof. Cashing T3 at the RBC Heritage was on schedule, but fading to T23 at the Zurich Classic was disappointing. Quail Hollow Club was added to his schedule in 2021 for the first time before the 2022 Presidents Cup (MC), and he cashed T21 here last year. He has not been the consistent force in 2024 that we have seen in years past.

Alex Noren ($8,200): Having a Wyndham Clark-esque 2023 in his run-up to the Wells Fargo Championship, he will look to become the sixth, first-time winner on the PGA TOUR at this event since 2010 and third in the last four events hosted at Quail Hollow Club. Posting solo third last week, the Swede has cashed six consecutive starts T23 or better. I'm buying again.

Viktor Hovland ($9,200): Quick! Name the last time he teed it up on TOUR! The reigning FedExCup champion posted 81 on Friday at the Masters to miss the cut. Signing for T19 at The Genesis Invitational in February is his best result of 2024. Quail Hollow Club is not the softest of landing spots to work out the kinks, but he will get four rounds. Pass.

Denny McCarthy ($7,300): Finally cracking the code in his fourth try last year with T8, the runner-up at Valero will look to add another big finish on another big track. Not the longest off the tee, his superior short game can relieve stress on and around the greens. Rolling in almost 400 feet of putts last year did not hurt!

Sungjae Im ($7,900): Fresh off a victory in his native land, he acquired an illness before THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and was forced to withdraw. Struggling with irons (166th GIR) and sitting 124th SG: Putting, I'll pass.

Makers or breakers

Wyndham Clark ($10,500): A win and three podium results in 2024 will make this a tough laydown. Defending for the first time on TOUR, especially against a field of this magnitude, is too much for me to digest.

Max Homa ($9,400): The 2019 winner and 2022 event winner at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm shines when the conditions are tough from tee to pin. Fresh after taking the last two weeks off, I would expect him to perk up at one of his favorite venues.

Brian Harman ($8,000): I’ll remind everyone that he won this event in 2017 at Eagle Pointe in Wilmington, not at Quail Hollow Club. Anybody who has posted 64 at TPC Sawgrass and Harbour Town, his last round on TOUR, registers with me.

Matt Fitzpatrick ($8,700): The Englishman hits too many fairways and holes too many putts. Cashing seven of his last nine at T28 or better has put me on notice.

Justin Rose ($6,660): The last three visits for the Englishman to Charlotte have resulted in solo third (2019), solo third (2016), and solo fifth (2014). Now, about that recent form…

Webb Simpson ($6,300): The sponsor’s exemption has a home on the course and another chance in a Signature Event. Making his 12th start, if you must dig down here, he stands out.

The lineup

Here’s a look at how I would devise a six-team roster this week while staying below the $50,000 salary cap offered for DraftKings contests:

• Rory McIlroy ($11,800)
• Justin Thomas ($8,500)
• Alex Noren ($8,200)
• Akshay Bhatia ($7,500)
• Denny McCarthy ($7,300)
• Taylor Moore ($6,700)

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