Paulie’s Picks: 2020 BMW Championship

For the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the PGA Tour heads to Olympia Fields Country Club in the Chicago suburbs for the BMW Championship. This is a different kind of week for the pros. The majority of them will not have played this course since their college years.

Designed by Willie Park Jr. in 1923, the North Course at Olympia Fields has tree-lined fairways, elevated greens, and bunkers surrounding many of the landing zones. It’s a par 70 layout measuring over 7,300 yards, and it will play fairly long, especially considering that eight of the par 4s are 444 yards or longer. So in order to succeed this week, players will need either elite (preferably long) driving or elite mid- to long iron play.

Here are a few guys to target for your fantasy leagues:

DraftKings

Daniel Berger $9,700

We’re going back to the well again with Berger, who is still underpriced. At last week’s Northern Trust, he placed third, his eighth top-13 finish in his past nine starts. Plus, he has been near the top of every main statistical category since the restart.

Harris English $8,300

Harris English—aka Daniel Berger Jr.—is also priced way too low. He was runner-up last week for his sixth straight top-23 finish and his 13th top 23 in his past 18 events. In the BMW Championship field, he is top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach, SG: Around the Green, SG: Putting, and proximity from 200+ yards. Also, he has a bit of familiarity with Olympia Fields; back in 2009, he won a college event there.

One-and-Done

Bryson Dechambeau

If you haven’t used Bryson yet, this is the week. As has been well publicized, he won the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields in 2015 (possibly with the help of a friendly dog?), and his game fits the course perfectly. Players who hit the ball far off the tee will have an immense advantage, and Bryson is first in both distance and strokes gained off the tee.

Xander Schauffele

Since the restart, Schauffele has been very consistent, finishing 25th or better in each of his past six events. His game is predicated on long, accurate driving, which should stand him in good stead this week.

Scottie Scheffler

If you’re running out of players to pick and looking for a dark horse (relatively speaking), Scheffler is your man. He finished fourth in each of his past two starts at the PGA Championship and the Northern Trust. Last Friday at TPC Boston, he posted a 59. Scheffler ranks fifth in the field off the tee and has gained strokes driving in 12 consecutive events.