Large-Field GPP Breakdown: Ryder Cup

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another week of Golf DFS, where we take almost no breaks throughout the year. I, for one, would much rather watch a Ryder Cup Sunday than whatever the hell product the NFL is putting out there, so consider me one of those people who is welcoming the return of golf for the next three weeks. It feels like we’ve been talking about the Ryder Cup since the beginning of the year when Keegan Bradley was named captain of the team, so I’m glad we can finally get this thing over with and stop wondering whether or not Keegan will pick himself to play on the team. Anyways, I hope those of you that have made it this far are still doing well and are solvent, and best wishes to anyone who is wading into the difficult NFL streets again this year. Once again, I don’t have to do a recap of last week, otherwise you’d just get a recap of me losing money in NFL to a huge amount of chalk. Instead, let’s dive right into the Ryder Cup and how we might be able to find some edge in this weird format. 

Ryder Cup – The Basics

Before we get into the DFS of it all, let’s just talk about what the heck these golfers are actually playing this week. It’s obviously Team USA vs Team Europe — if you don’t know that, you should probably just close the article and I’ll see you next week for Sanderson Farms. Both teams have 12 players apiece, determined by points, results, “team chemistry,” and other bullsh*t that I won’t really get into. They’ll be playing golf Friday through Sunday, with lock at about 7:00 a.m. ET on Friday morning. Please note this time if you plan on playing this week. I don’t want to hear about people missing lock and crying to DK Assist about 150 dead lineups. On Friday and Saturday, the teams will be playing two matches of “foursomes” and two matches of “fourball.” Just so everyone knows: “fourball” is best ball, where players play the full hole and the pairing takes the best score of the two. “Foursomes” are what everyone calls “alternate shot,” where players play one ball and, well, alternate shots. On Sunday, every player on both teams will play in a traditional 1v1 match-play format. Matchups are still to be determined. Obviously, we very rarely see this type of format, and I basically have only played it for the past two years in DFS. In these next sections, I’ll talk about how I’m attacking this slate given the unique contest structure.