Value Report: Cadillac Championship

Of course, no one is shocked that I’m a fan of the Zurich Classic, but with a schedule chock-full of the same structured events, a partner event brings some much needed flair to the DFS streets. It’s even better considering that most of the industry decides to take an off week, and if DraftKings will still keep posting massive GPPs that have no problem filling, then this event will continue to be circled on my calendar. Cheers to the Fitzpatricks, who have collectively won five events in the past two months, and playing a key role in helping your brother achieve a lifelong goal has to be so cool for Matt. The wrinkle of players competing who have no PGA Tour status is one of my favorite stories to follow, as a week like this changes Alex’s career and will for more players in the future!

From a Value Report perspective, the Zurich Classic was a touch above middling. In a week where 6/6 is so difficult, I grade out three of five teams making the cut as above average because you simply cannot afford to miss a round of scoring in best ball if you want to win a GPP. The best result was from Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson and Jacob Skov Olesen, who shot up the leaderboard with a Sunday bogey-free 66. Skov Olesen has been an absolute grinder on the DP World Tour since turning professional, and this result validates the kind of ceiling he can have. Especially when his partner, RNP, can show off his ball striking, both of these guys can make noise the rest of the summer. I viewed A.J. Ewart and Casey Jarvis in a very similar light, but a water ball on 18 cost them mightily in DFS, as it threw away a bogey-free round as well as all four rounds under 70. That’s a mistake that makes a wave of impact in GPPs, but it’s a blemish that shouldn’t take away from a very steady week out of the duo. We’ve monitored Ewart a lot this year, and we will have to keep tabs on Jarvis, as he’s for sure on the PGA Tour next season. Blades Brown and Luke Clanton had an insane streak to finish out Friday, making the cut on the nose, but they failed to capitalize on the weekend. Clanton was better than expected, but both still had a few too many mistakes with the short game to really keep up with the scoring. A missed cut for Pontus Nyholm and Jesper Svensson was frustrating to say the least after they crushed Thursday, and the high hopes from birdie getters Jimmy Stanger and Danny Walker just didn’t even come close to fruition. Overall, though, we will continue to learn from this event, as the more information we get each year on how the field reacts continues to set us up well for the next iteration.