GOLF

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Fort Worth Invitational

As the PGA Tour heads to Colonial Country Club, which golfers should be your primary targets on DraftKings?

Daily fantasy golf requires a new approach for each and every event.

The course and field change week after week, making no two contests alike. That means you need to refine your approach for each PGA Tour event to try to find golfers who are primed to excel for your daily fantasy golf lineups.

Each week, we have a course primer, and our daily fantasy golf projections and lineup builder can help you get started, but these golfers stand out specifically on DraftKings for THE PLAYERS Championship.

This Week’s Course

Colonial Country Club plays host to the Fort Worth Invitational this week, and while the name of the tournament seems to change every year, the course has been a staple on Tour.

Accuracy is favored over distance on this 7,209 yard par 70 track, but the key to staying in contention will be the second shot. Focusing on approach and good drives gained (defined by Fantasy National Golf Club as drives where the player either hits the fairway off the tee OR the player misses the fairway but still hits the green or fringe in regulation) can key in on players likely to get the most out of that second shot and put themselves in position to make birdies and avoid bogeys. At a par 70, two thirds of the holes are par 4s so we want to target golfers who excel on them.

Key Stats for the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial CC
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Par 4s
Good Drives Gained


Now, let’s get to the picks.

All stats are from Fantasy National Golf Club and are for golfers in the field over the last 50 rounds, unless otherwise noted.

High Priced Studs

Jordan Speith (DraftKings Price: $11,700 | bet365 Win Odds: 7/1) - The World number-three tops the board once again this week, ranking first in strokes gained: tee to green and tied for first in strokes gained: par 4s, as well as fourth in strokes gained: approach. He is 8th in birdies or better gained, 6th in bogeys avoided, and 15th in good drives gained. Spieth has great form but even better course history, with finishes of T2,1, T2, T14, and T7 in his last five trips to Colonial.

Jon Rahm ($11,000 | 14) - Rahm made a splash at the Dean & Deluca last year, finishing T2 in his Colonial debut. The Spaniard is sixth in strokes gained: tee to green and first in birdies or better gained and strokes gained: par 4s (tied with Spieth). At first glance, his iron play is a red flag, as he ranks 62nd in strokes gained: approach. He is up at 37th in good drives gained, though, and he ranks 7th in greens in regulation gained. The birdies or better gained numbers indicate he is converting his opportunities when he gets them.

Rickie Fowler ($10,400 | 18) - A flop at the PLAYERS coupled with high quality options at the top of the price range could finally cause a dip in ownership for Fowler. In addition to Spieth and Rahm, fantasy players could look to Webb Simpson ($10,200 | 20) fresh off a win, with similar odds to Fowler's, and terrific recent form and course history. All are fine options, but Rickie is still Rickie, ranking 12th in strokes gained: tee to green, 2nd in bogeys avoided, and 4th in strokes gained: par 4s.

Mid-Priced Options

Matt Kuchar ($9,300 | 28) - Another fan favorite who disappointed his last time out, Kuchar will look to bounce back from a course he clearly disliked to one where he has fond memories. Kooch has finished T12, T6, CUT, 2, and T26 his last five trips here, and on a Par 70 course, where birdies will be harder to come by than usual, finishing position bonuses could play a larger role. Last week’s missed cut was Kuchar’s first in over a year, and he should bounce back in this spot.

Patrick Cantlay ($9,000 | 28) - Cantlay ranks in the top 25 in all of the key stats, including 3rd in strokes gained: tee to green. He is also top 25 in birdies or better gained and bogeys avoided. The problem has been the putter. Cantlay has lost strokes with the short stick each of his last two times out, but he still managed to finish 23rd and 7th at the PLAYERS and RBC Heritage, respectively. He is a good value at this price, with the same win odds as the next five golfers priced above him.

Bryson DeChambeau ($8,800 | 33) - DeChambeau is playing the best golf of his life right now, with top-10 rankings among the field in strokes gained: tee to green, strokes gained: approach, birdies or better gained, strokes gained: par 4s, and good drives gained. Back-to-back missed cuts at this event are concerning, but he is just not the same guy. Last year, DeChambeau arrived at the Dean & Deluca off four straight missed cuts. This year, he enters off respectable performances at the PLAYERS (37th) and Masters (38th) to go along with three top-5s in his last 5 events.

Zach Johnson ($8,500 | 33) - Johnson is no worse than 19th in any of the key stats, and his win odds are closer to most of the guys in the mid-$9k range than the mid-$8k range. He has won this event twice and has never missed the cut in 12 tries. Last year’s 63rd place finish was just his second outside the top-30.

Chesson Hadley ($8,300 | 45) - Hadley ranks 11th in strokes gained: tee to green and is 1st in approach. He has two missed cuts in three trips to Colonial, but like DeChambeau the surrounding context reveals that he was in horrible form entering the tournament both times. Such is not the case this year, as he arrives off 5 straight top-20s, including an 11th at the PLAYERS.

Low Priced Options

Steve Stricker ($7,900 | 66) - Stricker is 17th in strokes gained: tee to green, 18th in strokes gained: par 4s, and 3rd in good drives gained. These stats only reflect his PGA Tour events, and Stricker is on fire on the Champion’s tour, where he has five straight top-5s, including two wins. A 23rd place finish at the PLAYERS proves he is not just beating up on weaker competition. To make him look even better, Stricker won this event in 2009.

Adam Hadwin ($7,600 | 55) - Hadwin’s stats for the last 50 rounds are solid but not extraordinary, but as the range is narrowed to the last 36 and last 24 his good form comes into focus. In the last 24, Hadwin is second in strokes gained: approach and first in good drives gained. Prior to a 57th place finish at the PLAYERS, Hadwin had posted 4 straight top-25s. He offers a high floor as well, having made the cut in every event he has played this year.

Chris Kirk ($7,600 | 66) - Another former winner at Colonial, Kirk ranks ninth in strokes gained: tee to green and seventh in approach. In addition to his win, he has four other top-25s at this event, and after missing the cut at the Houston Open he revived his Texas form with an eighth place finish at the Valero Texas Open. He finished eighth at Valero in 2015 and went on to win this event.

Bargain Basement

Kevin Streelman ($7,100 | 110) - Streelman’s stats read like a golfer whose odds should be half of what they are. He is fourth in strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: par 4s, and he is first in bogeys avoided and good drives gained. The problem: Streelman can’t putt. He has missed two straight cuts and lost 4.9 and 3.3 strokes putting along the way at the PLAYERS and Wells Fargo Championship, respectively. If he can just hold steady with the short stick he could find himself in contention.

Stewart Cink ($6,700 | 300) - Cink is third in strokes gained: approach. As a total dart throw, an elite ranking in one of the core stats is usually enough to warrant attention. But Cink has good history at Colonial as well, with a T10 finish last year and 10 other top-25s in his long career here.



Mike Rodden is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Rodden also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mike_rodden. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.