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. This week is Week 2 of the “Dallas Swing” as we head to Colonial Country Club (CCC) for the Fort Worth Invitational.
The Tournament: The Fort Worth Invitational
Average Winning Score: NA
Average Cut: +3
Yardage: 7,205 yards
Par: 70
Skills emphasized: Last year the winner and one of the runners-up (Spieth) had similar statistical profiles. They thrived in good drive percentage, strokes gained approach and approach proximity from under 125 yards.
Top-5 finishers last year:
Kevin Kisner
Jordan Spieth
Jon Rahm
Sean O’Hair
Webb Simpson
Recap of last week’s picks:
Another solid week for our six-pack of golfers. Four finished in the top 25 with only one missed cut, and one bargain-priced golfer who made it to the weekend. Let’s see if we can carry that momentum forward!
The Favorite:
Jordan Spieth (Odds: 6/1, DraftKings $11,700, FanDuel $12,400) For the second straight week, Spieth enters a tournament as the odds-on favorite. Last week all the chips were lined up for him. As one of the founding members of Trinity Forest, he entered in good form but once again couldn’t get the flatstick working. Afterward he said he commonly struggles with the greens at Trinity, even as a member, but feels comfortable at Colonial. His last three Colonial finishes: 2, 1, 2. When he won this event in 2016 his game was off kilter – sound familiar? – and he was able to right the ship. I suspect he’ll do it again this week.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in great form
1. Webb Simpson (Odds: 22/1, DraftKings $10,200, FanDuel $11,600) The new Players champion returns after a week away. He ran away from the field at Sawgrass, and now he heads to CCC where he’s working on back-to-back top 5 finishes (5th, 3rd) . So, I’ll try to ride the wave. Simpson is ranked 19th in approaches from inside 125 yards, and he’s gaining strokes in all five categories over his last five starts. And his putter has been on fire. He might just win again this week on a course that appears to fit his eye.
2. Aaron Wise (Odds: 35/1, DraftKings $9,600, FanDuel $9,400) Time to acknowledge this 21-year-old phenom. Fending off world-class golfers like Marc Leishman and Jimmy Walker among others, Wise picked up his first career PGA Tour victory fresh after finishing second at the Wells Fargo Championship. He has all the tools to become an absolute superstar. Now he just needs to work on his post-round celebrations with his girlfriend.
3. Rory Sabbatini (Odds: 75/1, DraftKings $7,600, FanDuel $9,100) Riding six straight made cuts, he finished 13th last week, his best result during this run. It also marked four straight top 30s, and he’ll enjoy a home game this week as a member at Colonial. He’s 25th in par 4 scoring, 16th in good drive percentage, and he’s gained almost a stroke per round from tee to green over the last six weeks. The favorites this week are a bit expensive, so we’ll add Sabbo as a budget-friendly option.
4. Cody Gribble (Odds: 250/1, DraftKings $6,900, FanDuel $7,800) A bit of a stretch here, but Gribble has back-to-back top-35 finishes. He’s known as the one of the best putters on Tour but ranked in the bottom half of the field last week. That must mean other parts of his game are clicking, and as another low-cost option, he’s worth a flyer.
Mulligans: Players who need a reset and expect to play well this week
1. Matt Kuchar (Odds: 35/1, DraftKings $9,300, FanDuel $11,500) As covered on GOLF.com, last week Kuchar’s cut streak ended at 30. If you happened to catch the PGA Tour live coverage over the first two days, you may have picked up on Kuchar’s frustration. Lucky for him, he heads to Colonial, where he has three top 15s in the last five years. Kuchar ranks 46th in approaches under 125 yards and 20th in total proximity to the hole, which bodes well. I like him for a top-20 finish this week.
Where to play this fantasy Golf this week
DraftKings:
1. $33 buy-in contest call the “Dogleg,” with a top prize of $100,000 and a prize pool of $400,000.
2. $444 buy-in contest called the “Pressure Putt,” with a top prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $35,0000.
3. $4 buy-in contest called the “Fore,” with a top prize of $25,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $275,000.
FanDuel:
1. $7.77 buy-in contest called the “Eagle,” with a top prize of $20,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000.
2. $333 buy-in contest called the “Monster,” with a top prize of $10,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000.
3. $.60 buy-in contest called the “Lob Wedge,” with a top prize of $600 and a guaranteed prize pool of $8,000.
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 on twitter @dfsgolfer23.
