DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Mayakoba Golf 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 Mayakoba Golf Classic.

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: $11,200 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: +1400) - When Hovland teed it up at last year's Mayakoba Golf Classic, only a handful of people had any idea of the talent the amateur possessed. He missed the cut in that, his first PGA Tour event, just as he had on the European circuit a few weeks prior, and what now looks to be one of the brightest futures in the sport barely registered as a flicker. Fast forward a year, and we find Hovland as one of the best ballstrikers not only in this field but across the entire PGA Tour. In the Mayakoba field, he ranks second in strokes gained: off the tee and third in strokes gained: approach, and despite a weakness with the putter, he is scoring well enough. He is sixth in bogeys avoided and ninth in birdies or better gained.

Tony Finau ($10,600 | +1600) - The first captain's pick by the President's Cup captain Tiger Woods, Finau looks to tune up in a field where he is -- or should be -- the undisputed most talented golfer. Hovland and our next golfer garner plenty of praise, but neither has the body of work to compare to Finau over a large enough sample. Finau is 11th in both off the tee and approach, and despite a flop in Asia -- T59 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and T53 at the WGC-HSBC Champions -- he had been playing well with back-to-back top-10s to close the Playoffs and another to start the 2019-20 season at the Shriners. After earning the approval of Woods, Finau should be revived and confident heading to Mexico.

Joaquin Niemann ($9,800 | +2700) - Niemann gets respect here because his stats line up so well -- 2nd in birdies or better gained, 4th on par 5s, 8th in both strokes gained: approach and strokes gained: off the tee, and 19th in bogeys avoided. He followed up his breakthrough win at the Greenbrier with a T54 at the Sanderson Farms and a missed cut at the Shriners, but he bounced back with a T12 at the CJ CUP and a T33 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP that could have been much better had it not been for a Sunday 74. He's brimming with confidence having been named to the President's Cup team, and that should dull the pain of his T60 here last year.

Mid-Priced Options

Aaron Wise ($9,400 | +3100) - Wise was a hot commodity in 2018 after winning the Byron Nelson and Rookie of the Year honors, and after a disappointing in 2019, he showed signs of life with a T3 at the Bermuda Championship. In his brief career, he has clustered strong finishes in consecutive starts, most notably his win at Trinity Forest being preceded by a T2 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He posted a T15 at the Shriners and a T10 at the Mayakoba last fall in consecutive starts, and he managed two quality finishes in loaded fields during the spring with a T17 at Augusta and a T18 at the Wells Fargo. Coming off a T3, Wise will be looking to contend this week. He is fifth in birdies or better gained, fifth on par 5s, and seventh in strokes gained: off the tee.

Scottie Scheffler ($9,100 | +3300) - Scheffler's T3 finish two weeks ago at the Bermuda Championship will fly under the radar given that it was an alternate event, but this field compares much more to that event than the WGC one that received more attention. It was Scheffler's second top-10 this season, and his ballstriking acumen makes the Mayakoba a plum spot for a third. He is 14th in strokes gained: approach and 27th off the tee in his last 50 rounds, but that sample includes some old piecemeal data from spot starts before he got his Tour card and does not include the Bermuda stats. So far this season, he is 13th in strokes gained: off the tee and 2nd in greens in regulation percentage on the entire PGA Tour.

Emiliano Grillo ($8,900 | +3100) - The four golfers right above Grillo in pricing should all garner some attention, making the Argentine a terrific leverage play at the lowest price with ownership spread between him, Scheffler, Russell Knox, Abraham Ancer, and Lanto Griffin. The recent form is just OK, but with three top-15s in three tries at El Camaleon, something fits here for Grillo. His lack of elite distance is not penalized, and his field-leading approach play gives him an even bigger advantage if the bombers can't just throw it out there. He is also 8th on par 5s and 12th off the tee, and he can hold his own in a track meet, which this week could very well turn into.

Dylan Frittelli ($8,000 | +4500) - Fritelli is another solid approach player (17th in this field) who has played quite well in this young season. A missed cut in Vegas doesn't wipe away back-to-back top-10s at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Safeway Open, and a T22 in a strong field at the ZOZO can give him confidence after a few weeks off. The South African claimed the title at one of our comparable courses at TPC Deere Run last year. While two wins in four months is asking a lot, another top-10 at a resort course is certainly not out of the question.

Low Priced Options

Rory Sabbatini ($7,800 | +5000) - Another South African headlines the $7k range, arriving in Mexico on the strength of a T33 at the ZOZO, T31 at the CJ CUP, and a T10 at the Italian Open. None of those events register in the statistics because they do not track strokes gained data, but Sabbatini still profiles as one of the best plays in the field this week on stats alone. He is 7th in bogeys avoided, 9th in birdies or better gained, 13th on par 5s, 21st off the tee, and 26th in approach.

Brian Harman ($7,700 | +5000) - Too cheap! Prior to a missed cut at the Houston Open, Harman had posted three straight top-20 finishes. He is 1st in bogeys avoided, 15th in birdies or better gained, 22nd in approach, 24th off the tee, and 33rd on par 5s. He has plenty of experience at El Camaleon but so far has been unable to post better than the T26 in his 2012 debut. That should change this year, as he arrives in some of the best recent form of his career with plenty of rest.

Brice Garnett ($7,600 | +8000) - Typically, we prefer the stats over course form, but Garnett's history at this event is hard to ignore. After missing the cut in his 2014 debut, Garnett has three top-10s and a T25. He is 9th in bogeys avoided and 20th off the tee but just 94th in strokes gained: approach. Confidence will be key for him, and despite the stats, he has been relatively consistent recently, making 8 cuts in his last 10 events with five top-25s along the way. Knox is the other elite course history candidate, but Garnett comes at a $1,700 discount.

Cameron Tringale $7,400 | +6000) - A familiar name in this space, Tringale has been rock solid since the summer. He's missed just 1 cut in his last 12 events, and half of those finishes came in at T18 or better. The stats line up, as he is 4th in bogeys avoided, 7th in birdies or better gained, 12th in strokes gained: approach, and 20th on par 5s. Tringale is going to push for a title soon or fall off a cliff. Take your stand in tournaments, but for cash games, he makes a ton of sense given his expected return and his likely high ownership.

Bargain Basement

Scott Harrington ($6,900 | +12000) - The 38-year-old rookie isn't going to garner as much excitement as the 22-year-old at the top of the page, but Harrington has made the most of his opportunity so far with made cuts in four of his first five tournaments, including a runner-up at the Houston Open. He only has 20 rounds in his sample compared to most others' 50, so paring down the stats to the last 24 rounds puts him at a more even playing field and is quite revealing. In that split, Harrington is 18th in birdies or better gained, 22nd in approach, 23rd off the tee, 30th in bogeys avoided, and 33rd on par 5s.

Rafael Campos ($6,100 | +21000) - Another rookie who had to hit his 30s before earning a Tour card, Campos has a sweet swing and was a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour last season. Campos was terrific with his irons last time we saw him at the Houston Open, though his tournament was marred by awful putting to the tune of nine(!) strokes lost with the short stick. He won't be that bad again, and if he can carry the approach game over the long layoff, he should be well within the cut line (he's made four in a row). At this price, a made cut and some salary relief is all we can ask for.

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.