GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Valero Texas Open

Charley Hoffman has had a lot of success at this course in the past. Is he worth the price this week on FanDuel?

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 -- and we have daily fantasy golf projections and lineup building tools, too.

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

Key Stats

Key Stats for the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Scrambling
Proximity (From 175-200 Yards)
Par 5 Scoring
Bogey Avoidance


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

Best of the Best

Sergio Garcia (FanDuel Price: $12,400 | bet365 Win Odds: 14/1) - Garcia is the class of this event, and it's reflected in his price. He may not be the best fit statistically here, but he sure checks enough boxes to consider rostering on FanDuel. Garcia ranks 24th tee to green over the past 50 rounds among this field, via FantasyGolfMetrics. Strokes gained data won't include the Masters, of course. Garcia additionally ranks 4th in strokes gained: off the tee, 15th in birdie rate, and 12th in proximity from 175 to 200 yards. Garcia also helped design parts of TPC San Antonio, in case you're interested.

Adam Scott ($11,700 | 30) - Scott won here in 2010 but hasn't played TPC San Antonio since a T23 in 2011. The recent form will help, though, as he's 5th in strokes gained: tee to green, 14th off the tee, and 18th in both par 5 scoring and birdie or better rate over the past 50 rounds on tour. The scrambling hasn't been there (136th), but everything else points to Scott being a worthy pivot from Garcia.

Charley Hoffman ($11,200 | 18) - Hoffman's a course horse with passable form (primarily ranking seventh in strokes gained: off the tee over the past 50 rounds). In the eight years that TPC San Antonio has hosted this event, Hoffman has played it all eight years and won it in 2016. In total, he's got three top 10s and seven top 25s. The only non-top 25 was a T40 last year.

Luke List ($10,900 | 25) - List's price might make you make a double-take, but he's worth it based on the recent play. List enters 3rd in strokes gained: tee to green and 8th off the tee over the past 50 rounds, plus top 15 in par 5 scoring, bogey avoidance, and scrambling, as well as top-30 in birdie or better rate and proximity from 175-200 yards. He's dialed in and deserves your attention at this lengthy course.

Kevin Chappell ($10,500 | 33) - Last year's winner, Chappell will look to get back on track after consecutive missed cuts (RBC Heritage and the Masters) the past two weeks. In addition to his win, Chappell has a T4 (2016), a T15 (2013), and a T2 (2011) at TPC San Antonio. Despite the consecutive missed cuts, Chappell's done well over the past 50 rounds, ranking first in both strokes gained: tee to green and birdie or better rate among the field.

Mid-Range Options

Xander Schauffele ($10,100 | 40) - Schauffele missed the cut here last year but has the game to compete at this course. He generally earns strokes off the tee with his distance (he's 36th in strokes gained: off the tee over the past 50 rounds) and really doesn't have many holes in his game overall. He's top-35 in scrambling and bogey avoidance, so making the cut this time around seems like a good bet.

Jamie Lovemark ($10,000 | 45) - Lovemark's sixth in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds, plus 13th in scrambling and 18th in bogey avoidance. You'd ideally want a birdie rate that's a little higher (64th), given the importance of birdies on FanDuel. You'd also probably want to feel a little better about his finishes at TPC San Antonio (cut, 36th, and 40th in 2012, 2014, and 2017, respectively). Still, Lovemark enters with some of the best all-around form after bouncing back from four straight missed cuts.

Scott Piercy ($9,800 | 60) - Piercy's the top bogey avoider in this field over the past 50 rounds, and he's seventh in scrambling. He ranks just 66th in birdie rate and 99th on par 5s, so the upside from a fantasy perspective is capped if he continues that trend. However, he used that safe play to rack up five top-25 finishes in his past eight events.

Si Woo Kim ($9,600 | 40) - Si Woo Kim is always a boom-or-bust option, and he boomed his way to a playoff loss last week. We're probably playing with fire trying to chase him, but he does rank 19th on par 5s and 4th tee to green over the past 50 rounds. The upside is there. The safety isn't, as he's 83rd in bogey avoidance. He missed the cut last year in his only try at TPC San Antonio, yet he's still in play for tournaments.

Russell Knox ($9,200 | 75) - Knox brings the birdie upside (10th over the past 50 rounds) with some relative safety (40th in bogey avoidance). Knox is also 14th in strokes gained: tee to green and 32nd off the tee in that span. He's maxed out at T26 in his four tries here (the other finishes were 41st, 69th, and cut from 2013 through 2015). In total in 2018, Knox has as many missed cuts as he does top-20s (three apiece).

Kevin Streelman ($9,100 | 66) - Despite ranking 110th in birdie or better rate over the past 50 rounds, Streelman has flashed some upside, with a 6th-place outing at Pebble Beach and a 7th at the RBC Heritage last week. He produced two straight top-15s here back in 2011 and 2012 and finds himself 4th in bogey avoidance, 2nd in scrambling, and 16th in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds on tour.

Billy Horschel ($9,100 | 33) - Horschel's odds are jarring at this price. He's been boom-or-bust at TPC San Antonio since 2011: 74th, 75th, 3rd, cut, 3rd, 4th, cut. Horschel bounced back from missing five of six cuts to finish T5 at the Heritage last week. He could wind up being a really popular value pick this week.

Low-Priced Picks

Grayson Murray ($8,700 | 90) - Murray's 3rd in birdie or better rate and 15th in scrambling over the past 50 but just 48th off the tee despite his distance. Murray hasn't played TPC San Antonio before, and that could make him a bit risky if the wind picks up, but the birdie and finish upside (three top-15s in his past six events) is worth the risk (three missed cuts in the past six events, as well).

Kevin Na ($8,600 | 55) - Na ranks fifth in proximity from the 175-200 yard range in our split and is also 4th in par 5 scoring and 12th in birdie or better rate, despite ranking just 122nd off the tee. Na also has been safe, ranking 13th in bogey avoidance and 22nd in scrambling. In 2014 and 2015, Na finished 11th and 20th, respectively, here, so he's a nice salary-saving option this week.

Trey Mullinax ($8,200 | 125) - Mullinax has the distance to score well here (3rd in strokes gained: off the tee, 16th on par 5s, and 9th in birdie or better rate). Despite sitting 124th in scrambling, he's 19th in bogey avoidance. He missed the cut in his only attempt at TPC San Antonio last year. The world's 306th-ranked golfer enters with two straight top-25 finishes (8th at the Valspar and 22nd at the Corales Puntacana).

Daniel Summerhays ($7,700 | 200) - From 2012 through 2017, Summerhays has finished 29th, 7th, 2nd, 4th, 13th, and 58th here, all of which are viable at his low price. The win odds are low for a reason, as he's not finished top-25 on the PGA Tour in nearly a year (12th at the John Deere last year). However, the course is tricky, and he's played well here for quite a while. You could do worse in the sub-$8,000 range.