Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: RBC Heritage

By now, you've probably dabbled in daily fantasy sports, but if not, don't worry. Now is a great time to start, especially with FanDuel now offering a revamped version of PGA golf.

Golf can be one of the most exciting DFS sports to follow, as tournaments span four days and allow ample time to prepare each week, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the basics of building a lineup on FanDuel, the scoring setup, and advanced stats to know about the PGA.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target this week.

For more information on why we're focused on these stats, check out our course primer.

Best of the Best

Dustin Johnson (FanDuel Price: $12,800 | bet365 Win Odds: 8.5/1) - DJ's win odds and overall pedigree relative to this field put him in contention. He's part of Team RBC, so he's here partially because he needs to honor his sponsorship agreement. Johnson's around-the-green play has been iffy lately (82nd in this field in strokes gained: around the green over the past 50 rounds, according to FantasyGolfMetrics), but he's still 2nd in birdie or better rate, 15th in greens in regulation, and 12th in proximity. Of course, strokes gained data won't include Augusta, so keep that in mind this week. He'll need to score birdies and likely win to be worth such a lofty salary, but if you can afford him and feel comfortable with your lineup, he makes a lot of sense.

Paul Casey ($12,000 | 14) - Casey ranks fifth in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds, and he's also top six in approach play, birdie rate, greens in regulation, scrambling, and proximity. He's simply dialed in, as evidenced by a 65 on Sunday at Augusta. Casey has an inconsistent history here, having played in 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2016, but his finishes in those were 11th, 22nd, 18th, and a missed cut. He's a viable pivot from DJ, but most lineups this week will likely be anchored by at least one of these two.

(Editor's Note: Hadwin has withdrawn from the RBC Heritage)
Adam Hadwin ($11,000 | 33) - Hadwin, also part of Team RBC, has fired off two straight top-30 finishes at Harbour Town (30th and 22nd a year ago), and he ranks top-10 in strokes gained both in approach (3rd) and around the green (9th). He's also 12th in GIR in the past 50 rounds, as well. Including a 24th-place showing at the Masters, Hadwin has four top-25s in his past eight weeks (five events).

Brian Harman ($10,600 | 33) - Harman has played Harbour Town for six straight years, missing just one cut (2016). He bounced back from that with a ninth-place showing last year, his second top-10 in four years (seventh in 2014). Harman is eighth in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds, but the underlying stats aren't quite there. Still, he's made five straight cuts and has shown upside at this course in the past. He could be forgotten in this pricing range.

Patrick Cantlay ($10,400 | 35) - Cantlay comes in 7th in greens in regulation and 28th in birdie or better, plus 27th in driving accuracy. He did miss the cut at the Masters last week, but four of the past seven winners (who played at the Masters over the past 10 years) did just that. Cantlay finished third here in his debut and has had success at similar tracks in his career.

Mid-Range Options

Kevin Chappell ($10,300 | 50) - Chappell let down a lot of folks last week by missing the cut at Augusta, yet he makes the list this week. The 31-year-old American finished ninth here in 2016 after two missed cuts in 2013 and 2014. Chappell ranks 10th in approach play over the past 50 rounds and is 4th in birdie or better rate and 10th in proximity. That's a fantasy-friendly formula.

Luke List ($9,900 | 30) - List generally draws our attention when we're focused on driving distance, but his approach and short game have been pretty solid lately. He's 13th in approach and 7th around the green over the past 50 rounds. List does come in 113th in driving accuracy in that span but is 29th in greens in regulation despite that.

Cameron Smith ($9,800 | 28) - Smith ranks 12th around the green and 17th in scrambling, plus 35th in approach. Everything else is a bit iffy, including ranking 114th in driving accuracy. That does include playing Augusta last week, of course, where he finished 5th. Smith has done well here in two tries and owns a 23.6% birdie or better rate at Harbour Town.

Emiliano Grillo ($9,600 | 40) - Grillo is new to Harbour Town but enters with some strong finishes, including a T3 at the Houston Open, a 26th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a 6th at the Hero Indian Open, and an 8th at the Honda Classic. That'll work in a field like this. Grillo ranks 16th in birdie or better rate and 15th in accuracy over the past 50 rounds, as well.

Ian Poulter ($9,500 | 35) - Poulter followed up a win at the Houston Open with a 44th-place outing at Augusta but has really strong win odds. He's actually first in this field in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds and sixth in approach. Poulter also ranks top 30 in greens in regulation, accuracy, and proximity in that span. He's a really nice source of value this week.

Low-Priced Picks

Russell Knox ($9,000 | 60) - Knox comes in ranking ninth in birdie rate, sixth in greens in regulation, eighth in accuracy, and eighth in proximity over the past 50 rounds, so that puts him in a pretty good spot to outperform his low price tag. The 60/1 win odds are nice, too. Knox is also a course history stud, having finished 9th, 18th, 2nd, and 11th here over the past four years.

William McGirt ($9,000 | 75) - McGirt is a course horse, with three top-10s over the past four years. He does well what's needed here, as he's 17th in approach, 5th in scrambling, and 9th in greens in regulation over the past 50 rounds. He's just 61st in birdie rate, though, so scoring could be an issue.

Kevin Na ($8,900 | 40) - Na has played Harbour Town five times since 2011. Three of those have been top-10 finishes (but just one since 2012). Still, Na is 5th in accuracy, 11th in proximity, 12th in birdie or better rate, and 18th in approach over the past 50 rounds on tour. He's really got his approach play dialed in, and he's a safe bet to make it through the cut at this range.

Kevin Streelman ($8,500 | 110) - Streelman is the top scrambler and is ninth in driving accuracy over the past 50 rounds, so that's a nice base here, despite the lower win odds than you'd like in a field this weak. Streelman is 19th in proximity in the past 50, as well, though they've resulted in just one top-40 finish in his past six events (6th at Pebble Beach).

Brian Gay ($8,200 | 125) - Gay is a long shot to win but has some strong stats entering the Heritage. Gay ranks 4th in strokes gained: around the green, 3rd in birdie or better rate, and 17th in proximity over the past 50 rounds, though he hasn't played since the Arnold Palmer (22nd). He had missed three straight cuts prior to that, but those came after top-10 finishes at Pebble Beach and the Waste Management.

Ted Potter Jr. ($7,300 | 250) - With such a weak field outside the top group, you can feel a little better taking a gamble on low-cost guys. Potter's got holes in his game, especially around the green (94th in strokes gained), yet he's actually first in birdie or better rate and proximity in this field over the past 50 rounds of PGA Tour action. Just know that since his win at Pebble Beach, he's missed five straight cuts.