GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf: Tournament Targets and Avoids for the Wyndham Championship

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, but the volatility -- top-tier golfers can miss the cut, and longshots can win outright -- makes it a unique daily fantasy sport.

Ownership won't always matter, and favorites will win and thrive some weeks, but when the chalk struggles and the pivots hit big, you can put yourself in a great position to succeed when playing large tournaments on FanDuel.

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 in GPP tournaments on FanDuel.

Key Stats for the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC
Birdies or Better Gained
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
Par 4 Scoring (400-450 yards)
Proximity Gained (150-175 yards)

The PGA tour heads to Sedgefield CC for the Wyndham Championship, a familiar stop on the tour. With most of the top-golfers skipping this event, there are some unusual names with top salaries.

Par 4 scoring (400-450 yards) comes in to play as there are eight Par 4s within that range on the scorecard, and the shorter length brings proximity gained: 150-175 yards into play as most players will be attacking these greens with wedges. Strokes gained approach, per usual, has a huge impact on who competes at this course and strokes gained: ball striking also plays a role -- as off the tee success (not distance) can impact results. With the winner likely passing 15 under par, Birdies or better rounds out the remainder of the five key stats this week.

For a more detailed breakdown on the course, check out our course primer from Mike Rodden.

Stats cited below come from FantasyNational and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour unless noted. Ranks are among the field.

High-Priced Tier ($11,900 - $10,000)

Target: Webb Simpson (FanDuel Salary $11,900) - The hometown narrative will obviously come into play this week for Simpson, but the fact is that he has finished in the top-five in back-to-back appearances at the Wyndham, and he has five top-12 finishes since 2012, including seven straight made cuts. Despite the great course history, Simpson is in great form as he has finished inside the top-30 in eight straight appearances, with two second place finishes over that span. When looking at the last 24 rounds, Simpson ranks inside the top-15 in four of the five key stats, including coming in first in par 4s gained: 400-450 yards, and he sits 49th in proximity gained: 150-175 yards. Simpson is projected as the top-owned golfer in this field, currently sitting at just over 16%, but he is fairly close to the mass of golfers in the 12-14% projected range which presents a great opportunity for DFS players to gain leverage over the field with a large piece of Simpson.

Target: Alexander Noren ($10,000) - Currently projected as one of the lowest-owned golfers in this tier at around 6%, Noren has made the cut in eight of his last nine events, including two straight top 12 finishes -- in much stronger fields. To be frank, Noren's ranks in the key stats are not good, as he sits outside of the top-100 in three of the five key stats over the last 12 rounds (and they are just as atrocious when expanding to the last 50 rounds), but he does sit 29th in birdies or better gained. Despite what the stats show, Noren is in good form, gaining strokes tee-to-green and off the tee in six straight events, and with DFS players will not need a ton of exposure to gain leverage on the field.

Avoid: Paul Casey ($11,400) - Currently projected at just over 10% ownership, Casey has made the cut in six straight events, but he has cracked the top-20 just once over his last five appearances. Over the last 50 rounds, Casey ranks inside the top-55 in all five key stats, and he cracks the top-10 in strokes gained: ball striking, birdies or better gained and strokes gained: approach. When narrowing in on the last 24 rounds, Casey sits inside the top-10 in strokes gained: ball striking and strokes gained: approach while dropping to 19th in birdies or better gained and sits outside the top-35 in proximity gained: 150-175 yards (39th) and par 4s gained: 400-450 yards (74th). Casey is obviously one of the best players in this field, but his recent results, albeit in much stronger fields, do not bode well at his price point.

Mid-Priced Tier ($9,900 - $9,000)

Target: Sepp Straka ($9,300) - While there are not a lot of projected high-owned golfers in this tier, Straka is currently listed at sub-9% ownership, and he has made the cut in five of his last seven appearances, including two top-30 finishes over his last three events. Over the last 36 rounds, Straka ranks inside the top-35 in all five key stats and sits inside the top-10 in proximity gained: 150-175 yards and birdies or better gained. When narrowing in on his last 12 rounds, Straka's stats fall off a bit as he ranks outside the top-20 in four of the five key stats, while coming in second in birdies or better gained, a stat that will be needed this week with golfers likely shooting low scores. Due to his putting, Straka is always a risk to roster, but at his ownership, if he can put together a week of not losing strokes putting he can likely compete in this field.

Avoid: Brian Harman ($9,100) - Projected as one of the top-owned golfers in this tier, Harman has missed the cut in two of his last four events, while finishing inside the top-30 in his other two appearances over that span. Harman has missed the cut in four of his five appearances at the Wyndham Championship since 2012. Over the last 50 rounds, Harman ranks outside the top-60 in all five key stats, and while his stats do improve over his last 12 rounds -- siting inside the top-15 in four of five key stats -- he ranks 79th in birdies or better gained, which may limit his win equity. While his stats are moving in the right direction, Harman has struggled at this course in the past, and, as one of the higher-owned golfers in this field, should be avoided.

Low-Priced Tier ($8,900 and below)

Target: Roger Sloan ($7,900) - Sloan, who has not played since the John Deere, has finished inside the top-25 in three straight events while making the cut in six of his last seven appearances. Over the last 24 rounds, Sloan ranks inside the top-50 in all five key stats but doesn't crack the top-20 in any of the five. When expanding out to the last 50 rounds, Sloan sits inside the top-50 in four of the five key stats, moving up to 15th in birdies or better gained, but does drop to 97th in par 4s gained: 400-450 yards. Coming in a sub five percent ownership, Sloan is in good form and provides top-15 upside -- in this field.

Avoid: Nick Watney ($8,800) - Watney is projected at just over 7% ownership, although his “favorite” percentage, per FantasyNational, is high for this tier, which could ultimately push up his ownership. He has missed two cuts over his last five events while finishing 30th or worse twice when making the cut over that span, and he has back-to-back missed cuts at the Wyndham Championship. Over the last 50 rounds, Watney is outside the top-40 in four of the five key stats while sitting 18th in proximity gained:150-175 yards. When narrowing in on the last 24 rounds, Watney’s ranks in the key stats improve as he comes inside the top-45 in all five key stats. While the stats suggest good form, the results have not been as consistent, and Watney has struggled in his last two appearances at the Wyndham, making him a fade for large-field tournaments.


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