Welcome to the Fantasy Six Pack, where we highlight six golfers to use in two popular fantasy golf platforms, DraftKings and FanDuel. On each, you must select six golfers for your lineup under a specific salary cap. (DraftKings $50,000, FanDuel $60,000). As a reminder, I’m a golf nut with a 1.3 handicap and a nose for analytics — according to Rotogrinders, I’m one of the top daily fantasy golf players. Let’s get to it.
The Tournament: Wells Fargo Championship
Average Winning Score: -10
Average Cut:– +2
Yardage: 7,600 yards
Par: 71
Skills emphasized: After a major redesign in 2016, Quail Hollow now plays to almost 7,600 yards at par 71. Golfers that excel off the tee, especially with distance, as well as par five scoring and scrambling, are the key stats this week.
Top-5 finishers last year:
Justin Thomas
Francesco Molinari
Patrick Reed
Louis Oosthuizen
Rickie Fowler
Hideki Matsuyama
The Favorite
Rory McIlroy (Odds: 8/1, DraftKings $11,800, FanDuel $12,300) If you follow the Tour and its stars, you know Rory loves this course. Since 2013 he has one win, four top-10s, five top 25s and no missed cuts. He’s also coming off a Florida stretch that included a win, but a letdown Sunday at Augusta surely left a sour taste. Statistically speaking, he’s gained strokes in every measured category, a very positive sign, while currently ranking fifth in distance, ninth in scrambling and 14th in par-5 scoring. Everything seems to be lining up for Rory to have another big week in Charlotte.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in great form
1. Patrick Reed (Odds: 30/1, DraftKings $9,700, FanDuel $11,700) The Masters champ continued his strong form last week while teaming up with Patrick Cantlay. Team Patrick tied for seventh, marking five straight top-10s for Reed. He was also the runner-up at the PGA Championship last year at Quail, so course form is there as well. Reed’s been getting it done over the entirety of his game, gaining strokes in all measured categories. I doubt the magic of Augusta will be with him in full force this week, but priced $2,000 less than Rory, I like the bargain.
2. Tony Finau (Odds: 33/1, DraftKings $8,700, FanDuel $11,300) After suffering what looked to be a catastrophic injury to his ankle during the Masters Par 3 Contest, Finau was able to play through the pain and earn a top 10 in his first trip to Augusta. He then followed that up with a great showing at the Zurich, finishing 6th with partner Daniel Summerhays. Given his length off the tee and recent form, I like him to land on first two pages of the leaderboard come Sunday. Finau ranks second in distance this year and first in GIR. This week is a perfect spot for those two stats to gel and produce a big-time win.
3. Sam Burns (Odds: 100/1, DraftKings $7,500, FanDuel $8,700) We’ve highlighted Burns once before on here, and that was before his win on the Web.com tour. This kid will be a force on the PGA Tour someday, and possibly soon. If he doesn’t earn a top 10 here, he’ll head back to the Web.com and likely earn a promotion before the season is over. He ranks 17th in driving distance while gaining over a stroke with the putter, ranking third on Tour. Those stats should be a great combo this week, his first trip to Quail Hollow as a pro.
4. Chesson Hadley (Odds: 70/1, DraftKings $7,500, FanDuel $9,700) Hadley is on the list for the second straight week as he earned yet another top 10 in New Orleans. That marks five straight made cuts and four straight top 20s. He also has 11th- and 20th-place finishes at Quail Hollow, a sign that he’s comfortable with the course. According to his stats, Hadley’s strengths are his approach shots and putting. He’s ranked third on Tour in approaches, seventh in putting inside of 10 feet and 10th in proximity the hole, so it’s no wonder he’s on a roll.
Mulligans: Players who need a reset and expect to play well this week
Grayson Murray (Odds: 125/1, DraftKings $6,900, FanDuel $8,500) Murray has needed a few “mulligans” over the course of his very short career, particularly after a few social-media missteps. He’s a boom or bust play. In the last five starts, he has two missed cuts and three finishes inside the top 16. In his only trip as a pro to Quail Hollow he placed 22nd at last year’s PGA Championship. Murray’s best stat is actually driving distance, where he ranks 22nd. He’s also gaining almost a stroke per round from tee to green. His salary makes him worth a flyer.
Lastly, A check on Tiger
Tiger Woods (Odds: 60/1, DraftKings $9,100, FanDuel $11,400) After a three-week break Tiger returns this week, and once again he’s playing a harder course where the likely winning score is going to be around 9 or 10 under. He ranks inside the top 12 in approaches, around the green and putting, which is impressive. A win may not be far away.
Where to play this fantasy Golf this week
DraftKings:
1. $4 Buy-in contest called the “Fore.” It has a top prize of $20,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $200,000.
2. $444 Buy-in contest called the “Pressure Putt,” with a top prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $350,000.
3. $33 Buy-in contest called the “Dogleg,” with a top prize of $50,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000.
FanDuel:
1. $7 Buy-in contest called the “Eagle,” with a top prize of $20,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000.
These are just some of the many contests between the two sites. For a full breakdown of all contests and offerings check out the links in my bio. Good luck this week!
Jason Rouslin is founder of tourlevelfantasy.com. He has been playing golf for the last 20 years, betting on golf for the last five and writing about golf for the last two. Connect with him via Twitter @dfsgolfer23 or by email at Tourlevelfantasy@gmail.com.
