DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: John Deere Classic

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 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.

Key Stats

Let's get to the picks. For details on why these stats stand out this week, check out the course primer.

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

Viktor Hovland (DraftKings Price $10,900 | Golf odds Win Odds 18/1), Collin Morikawa ($10,700 | 20), and Matthew Wolff ($10,500 | 18) - The three highest priced golfers need to be grouped together for a couple reasons. First, their stats won't line up with most of the rest of the field, as they do not yet have 50 pro rounds under their belts. Hovland has the most rounds at just 28, while Morikawa has 22 rounds and Wolff just 13. But more importantly, these three studs have some of the best pedigree of any incoming college athletes-turned-pros in recent memory. All three will be popular this week, but Hovland offers the highest floor at a comparable ceiling. It would not be a shocker to see any of them win here, though first-time PGA Tour winners are kind of the John Deere Classic's thing. Wolff would be the odd man out having just earned his victory at the 3M Open (what a way to be disqualified).

Joaquin Niemann ($10,200 | 18) - The co-favorite at a marginal discount in this range, Niemann has doubled down on summer golf after crushing this stretch last year. Over six 2018 events between the Fort Worth Invitational (now known as Charles Schwab Challenge) in May through the John Deere, Niemann had a missed cut and five top 25s, three of which were inside the top 10. This year since the Schwab, he has six straight finishes of T31 or better including two top 5s. He has gained six strokes or more tee to green in four of those events and is third in the field over his last 50 rounds. His longer term stats are dogged by a pre-summer swoon that saw him miss cuts in three of four PGA events leading into the Schwab, and he doesn't get credit for his third place finish at the Albierto de Chile in April because it was a PGA Tour Latinoamerica event.

Mid-Priced Options

Ryan Moore ($9,200 | 29) - Moore could slip under the radar this week with so much ownership concentrated in the four highest priced golfers, but Moore won the John Deere in 2016 and has two other top 10 finishes to his name at TPC Deere Run. He is 4th in strokes gained: approach, 14th in strokes gained: tee to green, 18th in opportunities gained, 34th on par 5s, and 39th in birdies or better gained. Coming off two missed cuts with the added bonus that roster construction will push people past him, Moore has a lot of tournament appeal on DraftKings.

Ryan Palmer ($8,600 | 50) - Another potentially sneaky play this week, Palmer has been MIA for the birdie fests the last few weeks and naturally he'll be easily forgotten amidst all the exciting names at the top of the board. Palmer was T35 at the RBC Canadian Open and T6 at the Charles Schwab Invitational his last two times out, and back in April he won the team event alongside Jon Rahm. He is 3rd in both birdies or better gained and opportunities gained, and he is 13th in strokes gained approach. He's underwhelming on par 5s, as he ranks just 58th in strokes gained on those holes, but he more than makes up for it on par 4s, where he ranks 4th. He is also third in DraftKings scoring relative to the field.

Joel Dahmen ($8,400 | 50) - Dahmen was tied for runner up position last year, and unlike some of the other golfers who only pop in these weak fields, Dahmen has shown some real firepower this season in fields both strong and weak. He stormed out to first round leads in back to back weeks at the Valspar Championship and the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, ultimately finishing T30 and T12, respectively. He was also T12 at THE PLAYERS the week before Valspar and turned in solid finishes at the RBC Heritage (T16) and Wells Fargo Championship (2nd). He is 14th in opportunities gained, 21st in birdies or better gained, and 28th in strokes gained: approach.

Low Priced Options

Talor Gooch ($7,700 | 65) - Gooch tumbled down the leaderboard at 3M Open during a disastrous Sunday that saw him lose 6.6 strokes total, 2.6 of which came on approach, his typical area of strength. He is first in strokes gained: approach to go along with fifth in birdies or better gained and sixth in strokes gained: par 5s. Gooch is first in DraftKings scoring.

Vaughn Taylor ($7,700 | 60) - Taylor is 2nd in opportunities gained, 15th in birdies or better gained, 24th in strokes gained: approach, and 40th in strokes gained: par 5s. Taylor has been riding a hot short stick for much of the season, but in the weeks he's posted strong finishes he has been carried not by the putter but by his irons. He did so at the Travelers Championship, gaining 6.2 strokes with his approaches and finishing in fourth place with four rounds in the 60s.

Cameron Tringale ($7,700 | 50) - Tringale has made five straight cuts and finished inside the top 25 three of those events, including a T5 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He is 6th in strokes gained: approach, 9th in birdies or better gained, and 22nd in strokes gained: par 5s. He also pops in peripheral stats like bogeys avoided (6th), strokes gained on par 4s (15th), and DraftKings scoring (16th).

Jhonattan Vegas ($7,400 | 65) - Having missed the cut in four of his last five worldwide events, it is easy to forget that Vegas had a ton of steam heading into the PGA Championship in May. He had finished 30th or better in six straight events and had two top 10s in that span. Then the rough patch with the putter coincided with a difficult stretch of events. He's had a few weeks off and should be able to get right at TPC Deere Run, where he came in third back in 2014. The approach numbers are icky (76th), but that just means he is performing about average among this field. Despite that, he is first in opportunities gained and seventh on par 5s. He is 20th in birdies or better gained, and his off the tee numbers (1st by a mile) buoy his tee to green ranking (12th).

Hank Lebioda ($7,100 | 100) - With just 4 missed cuts in 15 events in 2019, Lebioda has some pretty attractive consistency in this range. The stats bear that out as well, as he is 4th in birdies or better gained, 10th in strokes gained: tee to green, 12 in strokes gained: par 5s, and 20th in strokes gained: approach. Most encouraging is his ability to fit the DraftKings scoring model - he is seventh in DK scoring relative to the field.

Bargain Basement

Adam Svensson ($6,700 | 210) - Svensson broke the streak last week with a T15 finish after missing five straight cuts, and while it might seem like fool's gold to go back to him after his best finish of the year by far, his statistical profile at this price is hard to ignore. He is 2nd in strokes gained: tee to green, 8th in approach, and 10th in opportunities gained. He's now gained 3.7 strokes or more in three of his last four events despite losing at least 4.2 strokes putting in each of those performances. Poor putters have tamed these greens in the past and those examples give Svensson hope at TPC Deere Run.

Robert Garrigus ($6,300 | 260) - In his return from suspension, Garrigus made the cut but had to settle for an MDF (made cut, didn't finish) at the 3M Open. He will bring some fond memories to TPC Deere Run, as he has four top-30 finishes in six trips dating back to 2012. His rounds are pretty far back since he was suspended beginning in February, but in his sample he is 8th in opportunities gained and 19th in strokes gained: approach.

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.