GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Palmetto Championship at Congaree

Which golfers stand out in a weak field and at a new course leading into the U.S. Open?

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 Palmetto Championship
at Congaree Golf Club
Strokes Gained: Approach
Driving Distance
Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda
Birdie or Better Rate


Congaree Golf Club is new to the PGA Tour, but it’s also new overall, opening in 2018.

Congaree is a Tom Fazio design. Some other Fazio designs recently on the PGA Tour being Corales (the Corales Puntacana), PGA National (Honda Classic), and Shadow Creek (CJ Cup). However, there probably aren't any angles we can take from those courses.

We can also play the Carolina course angle if we want, and it's something to consider just because we know so little about the course overall.

Congaree is long at 7,655 yards and playing as a par 71. That makes it around 370 yards longer than the average par 71 on the PGA Tour, and only three holes are notably shorter than usual, relative to par, meaning distance will be a constant necessity.

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

Daily Fantasy Golfer Picks for the Palmetto Championship at Congaree Golf Club

All stats cited below come from FantasyNational. Strokes gained data includes stats from the past calendar year and is adjusted based on my field strength and recency 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: $12,200 | FOX Bet Win Odds: +750) - Okay, the top of this field is good. It's about seven or eight golfers deep, and with how iffy the rest of the field is, I can't fault any of the top golfers in particular. Johnson at least is playing in his home state and is -- even when factoring in the recent poor form -- so much better than the rest of this field that we have to take notice at the reasonable salary. DJ is in the 95th percentile or better in all three adjusted strokes gained stats from tee to green and is in the 88th percentile in adjusted putting while also being the field leader in birdies gained.

Tyrrell Hatton ($11,800 | +1300) - Hatton doesn't quite fit the angle from a pure distance standpoint (57th percentile) but isn't short and is also just really good: he's the second-best golfer over the past year in adjusted strokes gained, via my database. Hatton also has positive putting splits on bermuda greens (78th percentile). Hatton (7.4%) trails only Dustin Johnson (9.5%) in my win simulations.

Others to Consider:
With the $10,000 range being pretty barren, I think I have to mention that any of the top seven are viable, and I'd rank them as such: Johnson, Hatton, Brooks Koepka ($12,100), Matt Fitzpatrick ($11,700), Tommy Fleetwood ($11,500), Harris English ($11,300), Sungjae Im ($11,600).

Mid-Range Picks

Lucas Glover ($9,900 | +4000) - Glover is an ambassador of Congaree Golf Club, so we should anticipate a popularity bump for that reason, but the statistical case is easy to make for him, as well. Glover is in the 95th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green over the past year and is 86th percentile or better in all three areas. Glover isn't a particularly good bermuda putter (30th percentile) but should have course knowledge unmatched by pretty much anyone else in the field.

Luke List ($9,200 | +7000) - List is long off the tee (98th percentile in driving distance gained) and can make birdies (84th) even though the putter is bad (3rd percentile overall in putting over the past year and 4th on bermuda over the past 100 rounds). That may not matter much because List is one of a few (27) golfers with positive long-term adjusted strokes gained in this field over the past year, per my database.

Others to Consider:
Harold Varner ($9,700 | +4500) - Went to East Carolina for college for a bit of an angle and is 98th-percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green.
Jhonattan Vegas ($9,600 | +5000) - 90th-percentile tee to green data, 95th-percentile birdie-or-better rate, and 97th-percentile distance.
Scott Stallings ($9,300 | +7000) - Elite iron play (94th percentile); the third-best long-term golfer below $9,500 in my database.

Low-Salaried Picks

Martin Laird ($9,000 | +6600) - Laird rates out well for the stats on the list: he's in the 89th percentile in distance gained, 84th percentile in adjusted approach, and 49th in bermuda putting, which is enough not to worry about him actively in that department. Laird notably gained 8.6 strokes: tee to green at the PGA Championship, with 11.7 coming from approach play (he lost 3.2 around the greens).

John Huh ($7,900 | +12500) - Huh has holes in his game and has missed three straight cuts. The off-the-tee play is up-and-down, and so is just about everything. But the long-term data is pretty solid for a $7,900 salary, including 93rd-percentile adjusted strokes gained: tee to green. Huh has also been solid at Carolina courses, gaining an average of 0.4 strokes per round over 45 rounds.

Others to Consider:
Bo Hoag ($8,700 | +9000) - Typically gains on approach and is a plus bermuda putter but isn't long with driver.
James Hahn ($8,100 | +12500) - Five straight missed cuts, losing approach in each, which isn't indicative of long-term form.
Roger Sloan ($7.900 | +15000) - 80th-percentile approach and average distance with good sand splits.