Underdog PGA 2024 Majors: Best Ball Draft Rankings and Strategy

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Published on April 5, 2024

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors: Overview and Strategy

Underdog jumped into the golf waters with their first season-long contests this year, and they're now expanding with a contest dedicated strictly to the majors with ''The Albatross'' -- a $10 contest with a $50,000 first-place prize.

With less than a week to go, the contest is less than half filled, so there's ample opportunity to get a lot of teams entered, as well as a chance at overlay.

Scoring: Albatross 20 points, Eagles 10, Birdies 4, Pars 1.1, Bogeys -1.2, Double Bogeys -3, Triple Bogey or worse -7, Bogey free round 3, Consecutive birdies 1, Consecutive bogeys -1

Draft: Six teams, 10 rounds, serpentine/snake draft format.

Lineup: The six highest scoring players for each tournament will be automatically placed in your starting lineup.

In analyzing the format, we can see that birdies and eagles are rewarded much more than dropped shots are penalized, so we're giving a boost to players that are capable of posting birdies in bunches over the consistent golfers that make a lot of pars and avoid bogeys. The best-ball format also makes us more inclined to targeting players with higher ceilings and prone to spike weeks, especially in the later rounds.

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors: Overview and Strategy

With less than a week to go, the contest is less than half filled, so there's ample opportunity to get a lot of teams entered, as well as a chance at overlay.

Scoring: Albatross 20 points, Eagles 10, Birdies 4, Pars 1.1, Bogeys -1.2, Double Bogeys -3, Triple Bogey or worse -7, Bogey free round 3, Consecutive birdies 1, Consecutive bogeys -1

Draft: Six teams, 10 rounds, serpentine/snake draft format.

Lineup: The six highest scoring players for each tournament will be automatically placed in your starting lineup.

Remember, unlike a lot of contests such as one-and-done leagues that are based on total money won, that's not the case here. A player that finishes fifth could outscore the runner-up if they make a lot of eagles and/or birdies, as there are no bonus points based on the tournament result. While we avoided LIV golfers in the season-long contest, those players are much more viable as some are eligible for every major.

One thing to keep in mind is that some players are much better in majors due to their ability to handle pressure as well as the added emphasis on ball-striking. Over half of Brooks Koepka's PGA Tour wins have come in major championships, while Max Homa only has two career top-25s across 17 major appearances. Another key thing to keep in mind is who takes part in which major. Players can still work their way into the majors outside of the Masters, but you can't play in all four unless you're in the field for Augusta. We want to have as many golfers as possible who have already qualified for at least three majors.

A breakdown of who is currently eligible for each major can be found on the PGA Tour's official website.

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors Format

Round 1: Masters - The top two teams from your six-person league will advance to the second round, where you'll be placed into a 10-person group.

Round 2: PGA Championship - The top team from your 10-person group will advance to the third round, where you'll be placed into a six-person group.

Round 3: U.S. Open - The top team from your six-person group will advance to the final round.

Round 4: The Open Championship - The remaining 310 teams will compete for the $50k top prize, with a minimum of $400 going to each participant.

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors Rankings

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors Best Ball Draft Results

Here's a recent draft I completed in which I drew the last pick in the first round and went with Schauffele, who has been a steady presence in majors with seven consecutive top-20 finishes. Aberg, on the other hand, will be making his first major appearance at the Masters, but I'm not too concerned about that. His superb driving and improved iron play (35th in SG: Approach this year) on top of a runner-up he recorded in a Signature Event should make him a great fit at every venue.

I went with a pair of LIV golfers at the following turn, as Johnson is exempt for all four majors thanks to his 2020 Masters win, while Niemann is in all but the U.S. Open, and he's expected to go through qualifying. Niemann already has two LIV Golf wins this year and looks like a top-10 golfer, while Johnson is a two-time major winner that tends to elevate on the biggest stages.

Highlighting a couple of my other picks, don't sleep on Henley. He finished T4 at Augusta last year and was T14 at LACC. He's also had two top-5s this year, including one at Bay HIll, a Signature Event. I think he's a great value in that sixth round range. Jaeger may also get somewhat overlooked because he doesn't have that much major experience, but how well he's played this year overshadows that from my perspective. He's eighth in driving distance and 22nd in SG: Tee-to-Green, and there's not much risk in taking him in the eighth round.

Admittedly, this was my first draft in the contest, and I probably could've done a better job of getting players that are eligible for as many majors as possible. All 10 of the golfers I took are in the field for the Masters, so that should at least put this lineup in a good position to advance. Meronk, for example, is only currently also in The Open Championship.

Underdog PGA 2024 Majors End-of-Draft Targets

Here are a few players players not included in my rankings above that can be considered for a last-round target.

Akshay Bhatia

Bhatia is currently only eligible for the PGA Championship, but that could change as he's in contention to win the Valero Texas Open, and I imagine he'll play in at least two majors. The 22-year-old already has five top-20s across nine starts this year.

Ryo Hisatsune

Going with another up-and-coming golfer, the Japanese phenom is eligible for the Masters and The Open thus far. He hasn't played in any majors yet but could come in handy if you make it to the final cutdown at Royal Troon, as Hisatsune played primarily on the DP World Tour last year and won't be highly rostered.

Luke List

List has one major top-10 on his resume (sixth at the 2019 PGA) and is eligible for the first two majors of the year. He certainly deals with inconsistency, but that also makes him a better fit for best ball. He was T2 at Riviera, a Signature Event, showing that he can elevate his game against elite competition.