GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: The RSM Classic

By now, you've probably dabbled in daily fantasy sports, but if not, don't worry. Now is a great time to start, especially with FanDuel's daily fantasy golf offering.

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. It's a great balance between time to research and time spent tracking your team.

But 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.

Key Stats

Key Stats for The RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort (Seaside & Plantation)
Driving Accuracy
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda
Par 4 Scoring (400 to 450 Yards)


So this week, driving accuracy is going to matter -- at least in the sense of the types of golfers who typically excel at Sea Island. The event will play three rounds at the Seaside course and one (pre-cut) at the Plantation course. The fairways are easy to hit, and the rough isn't that penal, so you could make the case to de-emphasize accuracy if everyone can hit the fairways, but it'll be easy to fall behind if errant.

Approach play matters here a little less than the usual PGA event but it's still the most important tee-to-green stat in terms of explaining scoring dispersion.

The RSM can turn into a putting event, and we're dealing with speedy Bermuda greens this week. Bermuda performance -- or at least overall putting -- should be considered. Eight of the holes on the Seaside course are par 4s ranging from 400 to 450 yards, so that range is good to key in on, as well.

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.

Best of the Best

Webb Simpson (FanDuel Price: $11,800 | Paddy Power Win Odds: +900) - Simpson ranks fifth in strokes gained: putting on Bermuda over a 100-round sample among the field, and over a 50-round sample on all surfaces, he rates out fifth in strokes gained: approach. The best par 4 player in the field over the past 50 rounds is also 30th in fairways gained and 5th in scrambling, giving him an all-around safe profile. He's the favorite and has enormous cut odds of 85.1%, according to my win simulations. Simpson has three top-10s in his past five finishes here.

Billy Horschel ($11,600 | +1600) - Horschel ranks 14th in fairways gained and 4th on par 4s of late, all while ranking 23rd in strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: approach. Those stats won't exactly blow you away, especially in a field like this, but Horschel rates out 10th in strokes gained: putting on Bermuda. Horschel has played here once in the past five years, a runner-up three years back.

Adam Hadwin ($10,100 | +2500) - He lacks good course form, but the current form is better than the $10,100 tag suggests. Hadwin finished 41st at the ZOZO and 46th at the WGC-HSBC after a 4th at the Shriners and a 2nd at the Safeway Open to start the swing season. Hadwin rates out 25th in approach and 32nd in fairways gained.

Vaughn Taylor ($10,100 | +4500) - Taylor is back on my radar yet again after his runner-up last week (let's face it; I was still into Taylor last week). He rates out 21st in fairways gained and 33rd in strokes gained: approach over the past 50 rounds. Though Taylor missed the cut here a year ago, he was eighth in 2017 at Sea Island.

Mid-Range Options

Rory Sabbatini ($9,900 | +5000) - Sabbatini leads the field in strokes gained: tee to green and is eighth in birdie or better rate on top of that. His long-term form puts him near the top of the field, but he's priced as a mid-tier option. His win odds are on par with golfers price in the $11,000 range.

Brian Harman ($9,900 | +5000) - Harman ranks first in my stats-only model because of his numbers across the board (19th in fairways gained, 21st in approach, 16th off the tee, 28th in Bermuda putting). On the full 2019 season, he's been good but not great. However, he has two top-10s here over the past six years, including a 4th in 2017 (followed up by a 32nd in 2018).

J.T. Poston ($9,800 | +4000) - Poston's form is dreadful at this course: three straight cuts. Last week, he finished 41st. Still, Poston's stats rate out well: 33rd in fairways gained, 38th in approach, 31st around the green, and 32nd in putting on Bermuda greens.

Adam Long ($9,500 | +6000) - Long is a fairway sniper (11th in fairways gained), 26th in approach, and 20th in opportunities gained. He has poor putting splits on Bermuda and did miss the cut here a year ago, but he just finished second last week and is trending up overall.

Low-Priced Picks

Doc Redman ($8,500 | +11000) - Redman sits 3rd in strokes gained: off the tee and 46th in approach, but the putting splits are dreadful on Bermuda. Redman ranks 16th in birdie or better rate and 9th in fairways gained, so he has the right profile outside of the Bermuda putting.

Andrew Landry ($7,800 | +15000) - Landry's cut odds are right around 50/50, which places him into risky territory, but unless you're building a balanced lineup, you'll have some of this. Landry ranks 16th in approach and 4th in fairways gained, all while posting promising Bermuda putting numbers. He has finished 4th and 59th there the past two years.

Sepp Straka ($7,500 | +12500) - Straka ranks as one of the field's best approach players (18th), and he's 7th off the tee while ranking 60th in fairways gained. Straka is mostly a neutral putter on Bermuda. He's a risky pick, given the cut odds, but the upside is quite obvious.

Lanto Griffin ($7,400 | +5000) - Griffin is pretty underpriced here. He ranks just 50th in strokes gained: off the tee and 52nd in strokes gained: approach over the past 50 rounds, yet he is still 21st in birdie or better rate gained and has promising putting splits on Bermuda.