GOLF

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Houston Open

Henrik Stenson headlines a weak field at the Houston Open. Is he worth the highest price tag on DraftKings this week?

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 Houston Open at Golf Club of Houston.

Key Stats

Key Stats for the Houston Open
Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
Birdies or Better Gained
Strokes Gained: Par 5s
Greens in Regulation Gained
Proximity Gained (200+ yards)


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

Henrik Stenson (DraftKings Price: $11,400 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds +850) - DFS players will be surprised to see Stenson's name at the top of the pricing, but he is in fact the highest-ranked player in the field by Official World Golf Ranking and he has two great finishes at this event -- a tie for sixth in 2018 and a runner-up in 2016. He is fifth in overall ball striking, heavily weighted by a massive lead on the field in strokes gained: approach. He is 7th in greens in regulation gained, 8th in proximity gained from 200 yards and longer, and 14th in strokes gained: par 5s. He hasn't been seen stateside since skipping the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but he has made 13 straight cuts worldwide and looked sharp overseas recently, with a T17 at the BMW PGA Championship and T3 at the Scandinavian Invitation.

Brian Harman ($10,600 | +2200) - Harman posted another strong week at the Shriners, with a T18 finish his third straight top-20. He has poor history at GC of Houston, but he lines up tremendously from a statistical perspective. Harman ranks 2nd in proximity gained (200+ yards), 4th in strokes gained: ball striking, 6th in birdies or better gained, 13th in greens in regulation gained, and 21st on par 5s. If he had never played in Houston before, he'd be the chalk this week. But given that he has done no better than T52 in six attempts, he should go under-owned despite the fact that the season, setup, and field for this year's Houston Open are completely different.

Russell Henley ($10,100 | +2200) - It is scary to think of Henley as potential chalk at this price, but the form at GC of Houston is impossible to ignore. Henley has been inside the top-eight in five straight trips to this event, including a win in 2017. More recently, he's been very good with his irons and ranks seventh in this field in strokes gained: approach and third in proximity gained from 200-plus yards. Henley has made six straight cuts and lost strokes putting in half those events. He has always rolled it well at Houston and even without the overseeding, he can be a killer on bermuda.

Mid-Priced Options

Kyle Stanley ($9,300 | +4500) - A lack of consistency has kept Stanley out of the mix this swing season, but he's overdue for a correction. He's gained 7.0 and 4.9 strokes on approaches and lost 2.3 and 6.1 strokes with his putter the last two events. The week prior, at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he tread water with his putter but lost 3.8 strokes: approach -- his first event losing strokes with his irons since May. That won't happen again, and if he can put it all together he has the pedigree to contend at this event. He is 8th in both ball striking and greens in regulation gained, 22nd in birdies or better gained, and 26th in proximity (200+).

Keegan Bradley ($9,000 | +4800) - Bradley is decent if not spectacular in the key stats this week, ranking between 24th and 40th in ball striking, birdies or better gained, greens in regulation gained, and proximity gained (200+). He has shown an ability to contend no matter the field if he gets the putter to cooperate, and while that's a prayer every week, it does actually happen from time to time. In a field like this, major winners are few and far between.

Harris English ($8,900 | +4000) - English has been on a tear of late, with made cuts in 11 of his last 12 events and finishes of T33, T6, and T3 this swing season. He is 20th in greens in regulation gained, 23rd in birdies or better gained, and 24th on par 5s. The ball striking numbers look bleak at first glance -- 59th in ball striking behind a 13th off the tee and 101st (gross) in approach -- but he's been hitting it much better of late and in the sample of just the last 12 rounds English is actually 1st in strokes gained: ball striking.

Bronson Burgoon ($8,400 | +4200) - We can't pass on Burgoon in what might be our last shot with him until next summer. He finds the top-10 a couple times each year but in the regular-field events he has not been able to break through the past few seasons. Burgoon is sixth in proximity gained (200+) and was actually eighth in that statistic for the entire PGA Tour last season. His other statistics are mediocre at best, with an 18th in approach a bright spot that buoys just a 38th in total ball striking. He might be back in the $6k's next time we see him, but for now revel in the Houston Open field and plug him in at $8,400.

Low Priced Options

Kevin Chappell ($7,900 | +4800) - Chappell's stats can be deceiving since he missed an entire season, and his 50-round sample encompasses a much longer time frame than the rest of the field. He is 18th in ball striking and birdies or better gained, 24th in greens in regulation gained, and 30th on par 5s in that sample. In his return, he's made both cuts thanks to his putter, which is basically the opposite of his MO. His long term profile is that of an elite tee to green player, and with a few rounds under his belt in a weak field, now is the time to bet on a return to form.

Jhonattan Vegas ($7,600 | +6000) - *NARRATIVE ALERT*: Vegas threw out the first pitch at an Astros game a few weeks back and attended college in Texas, making this basically the same as if he was teeing it up in his backyard and his mom was caddying for him. Well, not exactly. But you get the point -- Vegas aligned himself with the World Series favorites, participating with the stated purpose to promote the Houston Open in October. It doesn't hurt that Vegas looks like a steal in this field, ranking second in ball striking, birdies or better gained, and greens in regulation gained, and fourth on par 5s.

Doc Redman ($7,200 | +9000) - Forgotten amidst all the hot young names joining the Tour this year is Redman, the 2017 U.S. Amateur champion. In his short career he has a runner-up finish and a top-20 at a major (last year's Open Championship), and he'll be looking to shine in this field and put his name firmly on the map. He lines up great from a statistical perspective, ranking 6th in ball striking, 10th in birdies or better gained, and 11th in greens in regulation gained.

Sepp Straka ($7,100 | +10000) - Straka is essentially the same price and only slightly shorter odds than he is offered in stronger fields, and along with Redman he looks to be one of the best ball strikers in this range. He is 5th in birdies or better gained, 12th in ball striking, and 21st in greens in regulation gained. He has missed five straight cuts but all of this best finishes have come off a MC, and in this field bet on the ball striking and figure the rest out from there.

Bargain Basement

Hank Lebioda ($6,800 | +12000) - Lebioda has flashed decent stats in small samples over his spotty PGA career, and despite losing strokes on approach in four of his last five events, he is actually a plus in that department in the long term, ranking 36th in approach over the last 50 rounds. He is well balanced enough to rank 29th in birdies or better gained and strokes gained: par 5s, 32nd in ball striking, 36th in greens in regulation gained, and 43rd in proximity gained (200+).

Zack Sucher ($6,600 | +10000) - Sucher made a splash with a runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship last season, but more importantly has been solid in each of his swing season events so far this season. He finished T18 at the Sanderson and T24 at the Greenbrier and gained strokes in both ball striking metrics in each event. With high-end upside and decent form of late, he should be priced well above $7k this week and comes in at just $6,600.



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.