GOLF

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Jordan Spieth kicks off his 2018-19 PGA Tour season this week at the Shriners. Who else is worth paying up for 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 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Key Stats

Key Stats for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Strokes Gained: Approach
Birdies or Better Gained
Strokes Gained: Par 4s (400-450)

Check out the primer for more details on why these stats stand out this week. 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

Tony Finau (DraftKings Price: $11,300 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: 12/1) - Finau was caught from behind at the WGC-HSBC Champions and failed to capture that elusive first real PGA victory as he instead came away with his fourth second-place finish. The other three came in his breakout 2017-18 season, and the stars are aligned for another huge year from Finau. He is 1st in birdies or better gained, 6th in strokes gained: tee to green and 20th in strokes gained: approach. He is also first in strokes gained on all par 4s in this week's key range of 400-450 yards as well as eighth in bogeys avoided.

Jordan Spieth ($11,000 | 12) - After a disappointing 2017-18, Spieth kicks off the new season hoping for the good form from his Ryder Cup pairings with buddy Justin Thomas to carry over. He has never played the Shriners before, but the course should set up nicely for him. A shorter course with scoring opportunities at every turn should serve as both a warmup for the main schedule and a confidence builder for the former World No. 1. Spieth is 4th in birdies or better gained, 12th in strokes gained: tee to green, and 17th in strokes gained: approach.

Bryson DeChambeau ($10,800 | 15) - On the opposite end of the spectrum from Spieth is DeChambeau. After an inconsistent start to his career, the 25-year-old had an excellent season that saw him earn three wins and miss just two cuts, rising to seventh in the Official World Golf Rankings and finishing third in the FedEx Cup final standings. DeChambeau is second in birdies or better gained and strokes gained: tee to green and fourth in strokes gained: approach. He is 19th in the key par 4 range and is 4th overall in strokes gained on par 4s.

Mid Priced Options

Aaron Wise ($9,400 | 30) - Wise was one of the most up-and-down players of last year, his first as a full-time Tour member. He booked his first career win at the AT&T Byron Nelson and promptly missed five straight cuts. He has an opportunity to make a huge leap this year, and he already pops in this field, ranking 5th in birdies or better gained and 10th in strokes gained: tee to green. Wise is 14th overall in par 4s and 24th in the 400-450 yards range.

Andrew Putnam ($8,900 | 44) - Putnam is 9th in strokes gained: par 4s (400-450) and strokes gained: approach and is 16th in strokes gained: tee to green. Although he missed the cut here last year, something clicked about halfway through the 2017-18 season, and he’s currently on a nine-event streak of made cuts and finished T4 last week at the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Kevin Na ($8,800 | 48) - Na sits in a unique position among PGA Tour players. As the Tour skews younger and more and more toward the bomb-and-gouge type player, Na is an anomaly. He doesn’t have above-average distance or ironplay, but he scrambles and putts and plays the par 4s well -- the kinds of things that translate to real life success and high finishes in golf tournaments. He is 6th in the key par 4 range and 11th overall in strokes gained: par 4s. Na is also 4th in strokes gained: putting and 20th around the green.

Joaquin Niemann ($8,400 | 55) - Niemann has seen his price plummet after two straight disappointing outings at the Safeway Open and The CJ Cup, but over the long term, he still has elite ranks in this field. He is second in strokes gained: approach, third in birdies or better gained, and fourth in strokes gained: tee to green. A month ago, he'd be the overwhelming chalk at this price, so take the likely lower ownership and price discount on Niemann this week.

Low Priced Options

Bronson Burgoon ($7,800 | 70) - Burgoon's length off the tee gives him an advantage every week, and although he gets a slight ding for missing out on the extra par 5 this week, he is still able to convert birdie opportunities as well as almost anyone in the field. He is 11th in birdies or better gained and just 22nd in bogeys avoided.

Austin Cook ($7,800 | 70) - Cook is just 46th in strokes gained: tee to green, but he is getting it done. He made 10 straight cuts to end the season. He is 24th in total strokes gained and 19th in DraftKings points gained (excluding finishing points). Cook is doing work on the par 4s, ranking 8th overall on those holes and 27th in the key range of 400-450 yards.

Sam Ryder ($7,600 | 70) - Ryder is 5th in strokes gained: approach, 12th in bogeys avoided, and 17th in both strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: par 4s (400-450). The inconsistency with the putter is not going away, but it is noteworthy that in the two events since July in which he has putted well -- the Safeway Open and the John Deere Classic -- he finished inside the top five. Both of those courses also featured bentgrass greens.

Russell Henley ($7,300 | 70) - Henley is always in play on bentgrass greens, and he is due for some major regression after two poor putting performances at the Safeway Open and the Dell Championships. He is 14th in strokes gained: approach and bogeys avoided, and he is 20th on par 4s in the key range of 400-450 yards. Henley finished 10th here in 2015 and 24th in 2016.

Joel Dahmen ($7,100 | 110) - Dahmen once again pops as the best statistical profile in this price range as he ranks 3rd in strokes gained: approach, 5th in strokes gained: tee to green, 6th in bogeys avoided, and 15th in both birdies or better gained and strokes gained: par 4s (400-450). The finishes have not been great, but with such a disparity in talent at the very top of the pricing this week, daily fantasy players have to find cheap golfers if they want to fit in the studs. Dahmen offers some security given his consistency tee to green.

Bargain Basement

Alex Cejka ($6,900 | 70) - Cejka follows the Na model of real life success despite lacking the profile daily fantasy players typically gravitate toward. He is 27th in strokes gained: tee to green but well out of range in the key par 4 range (74th) and birdies or better gained (96th). But he ranks first in strokes gained: around the green and has tremendous course history here, with two second-place finishes in the last four years.

Corey Conners ($6,600 | 85) - Conners arrives in Vegas fresh off his best career finish, a solo second at the Sanderson Farms. He is 9th in strokes gained: tee to green, 13th in the key par 4 range, and 15th in strokes gained: approach. He suffered one of the worst putting stretches of his career at the Safeway, and even though he is not a strong putter by any means, he is likely to regress back to his average and is due for a couple good rounds with the short stick.


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 FanDu