Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: The Genesis Invitational

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

The course tools from datagolf show that there's a pretty big emphasis on short-game: putting and around-the-green strokes gained explain more of the scoring dispersion than usual.

Driving distance is as important than usual, and there's a de-emphasis on driving accuracy. It's a bit of a peculiar situation because there are always comparisons to Augusta and ball-striking courses, but there's importance on short-game. Probably what this means is that we should look for guys without many red flags at all across the four areas of strokes gained data.

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

All stats cited below come from FantasyNational. Strokes gained data includes stats from the start of 2020 and is adjusted based on my field strength adjustments. Putting surface splits also come from FantasyNational and include the past 100 rounds when possible, unless noted. All ranks and percentile ranks are among the field.

Best of the Best

Dustin Johnson (FanDuel Salary: $12,100 | Golf odds Win Odds: +550) - So, Johnson is overvalued in the betting market at +550, but my win simulations put his win odds at 12.3%, which is easily the best rate in the field, and his salary is only $200 more than the second-ranked golfer's. It's not a big enough gap to pass up Johnson from a cash-game standpoint. He ranks first in the field in adjusted strokes gained average since the start of 2020, he won here in 2017, and he has won three of his past eight starts. C'mon.

Bryson DeChambeau ($11,400 | +1600) - We've got a ton of elite plays to pick from, and when we have deep fields like this, it's the best time to differentiate among the studs. DeChambeau rates out tied for third in win odds in my simulations. He leads the field in adjusted strokes gained: off the tee and is coming into this with two top-15 finishes at Riviera in his past two starts. Bryson ranks in the 83rd percentile in poa putting over his past 100 rounds.

Others to Consider:
Xander Schauffele ($11,500 | +1400) - The best stats aside from DJ and just does everything well; prefers tough courses (three top-25s here). High-floor play.
Adam Scott ($10,600 | +3300) - Last year's winner is 76th percentile or better in approach and off-the-tee play and is 77th percentile in poa putting.
Bubba Watson ($10,200 | +4000) - Three-time winner at Riviera; 81st percentile or better in both ball-striking stats and best when putting on poa.

Mid-Range Picks

Matthew Wolff ($9,800 | +6500) - You have to overlook the around-the-green play for Wolff, as he ranks in the third percentile when adjusted for fields since the start of 2020. But other than that? There's a lot to like. He ranks in the 82nd percentile in strokes gained: off the tee, 79th percentile in strokes gained: approach, and the 83rd percentile in strokes gained: putting on poa (over a small 16-round sample, but he's got good putting splits overall [74th percentile when adjusted for field strength]).

Cameron Tringale ($9,300 | +9000) - Tringale ranks in the 75th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: approach and in the 69th percentile -- nice -- in poa putting over a full 100-round sample. He has finished top-20 in three straight events and has a good history at Riviera, as well. He has finished top-12 twice and top-30 in six of nine starts at Riv.

Others to Consider:
Max Homa ($9,900 | +6000) - In elite form for the California swing. Putts best when on poa and fifth here last year.
Cameron Smith ($9,400 | +8000) - Has added length but is still best with short-game, which has mattered at Riviera.
Cameron Davis ($9,300 | +8000) - Has 81st-percentile adjusted tee-to-green play but not a good poa putter over a 46-round sample.

Low-Salaried Picks

Brendan Steele ($7,000 | +13000) - Steele's salary seems wrong here, and we can take advantage. Though we won't be alone in doing that, we can still differentiate in other ways. Steele ranks in the 67th percentile in adjusted strokes gained since 2020, which ranks ninth among golfers with a salary of $8,900 or below. Steele has played the Genesis nine times and has made seven cuts with two top-15 finishes. More importantly, he has four straight top-35 finishes since mid-January and has gained at least 5.2 strokes tee to green in three of those.

Talor Gooch ($8,700 | +13000) - I talk about Talor Gooch a lot, but it's for a pretty obvious reason: he's a balanced golfer at his FanDuel salary range. He ranks in the 50th percentile or better in all four strokes gained stats since the start of 2020, and he's in the 71st percentile in strokes gained: putting on poa. He has used that profile for two strong finishes at Riviera: 20th and 10th in 2018 and 2020 by gaining 7.5 and 7.2 strokes tee to green, respectively.

Others to Consider:
Lanto Griffin ($8,900 | +13000) - Good poa putter with length to stay in the mix at Riviera.
Henrik Norlander ($8,900 | +10000) - Enters with four straight top-26 finishes and strong ball-striking in them.
Kevin Streelman ($8,600 | +13000) - Is 80th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green and putts positively on one surface: poa.