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-10 daily fantasy golf players. Let’s get to it.
The Tournament: Valero Texas Open
Average Winning Score: -13
Average Cut: Even to +1
Yardage: 7,435 yards
Par: 72
Skills emphasized: Par 5 scoring, driving distance
Top-5 finishers last year:
Kevin Chappell
Kevin Tway
Aaron Baddeley
Brian Gay
Jimmy Walker
Recap of last week’s picks:
Luke Donald missed a 4-footer to make the cut Friday afternoon. But Grillo, Hoffman, Hossler and DJ cracked the top 25, providing good value. On to this week’s picks!
The Favorite:
Sergio Garcia (Odds: 12/1, DraftKings $12,000, FanDuel $12,400) After carding an infamous 13 on the 15th hole at Augusta, Sergio now looks to make amends for the worst hole in his professional career. He handled it like a champ, and now finds himself the favorite to win in San Antonio. Prior to the Augusta debacle, Sergio had reeled of three straight top-10s, making him the class of this week’s weak field. Tee to green, Sergio is the best in the field over the last six weeks, gaining over 2 strokes, and he’s also gained over a stroke on his approaches.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in great form
1. Luke List (Odds: 20/1, DraftKings $10,900, FanDuel $11,500) Once again, I’m banging the drum for List, who’s on a run of eight straight finishes inside the top 26. Not bad for an under-the-radar name. List was, and still is, known as a bomber, but it’s the other parts of his game that have clicked. He’s ranked 32nd in approaches, 17th around the green, and sixth tee to green, an impressive mix. He’ll look to use his power off the tee, (4th in driving distance) to his advantage.
2. Xander Schauffele (Odds: 40/1, DraftKings $8,800, FanDuel $10,100) So far it’s been a consistent season, as he’s made 10 of 11 cuts, with four top-25s. We know he has winning upside, and with this consistency, he’s hard to pass up at this price. Ranked 64th in driving distance, Schauffele is sneaky-long off the tee. Over the last six starts he’s gaining just over a stroke from tee to green, and over three-quarters of a stroke with his approaches. A few mistakes last week cost him a better finish, but its only a matter of time before he’s back in the top 10 and contending for his third career victory. This will be his first trip to TPC Southwinds.
3. Chesson Hadley (Odds: 35/1, DraftKings $8,500, FanDuel $9,500) Near the top of the leaderboard all four days last week, Hadley just couldn’t avoid the bogeys long enough to break through. Still, a top-10 finish is a positive sign. Ranked 25th on the year in strokes gaine tee to green, Hadley returns to TPC Southwinds, where he fourth in 2014. His recent form, combined with a weak field, sets him up for success. Lastly, Hadley has the best and most lethal combination of stats – he’s ranked 15th in GIR & sixth in proximity to the hole. So not only is he hitting greens, he’s hitting it close.
4. Abraham Ancer (Odds: 80/1, DraftKings $6,900, FanDuel $8,300) For three straight starts Ancer has cracked the top 2 pages of the leadboard, with each finish better than the last. If that trend continues this week should be a top 5. He has local ties, as he was born in McAllen, Texas, and was raised in Mexico. Ancer is not particularly long, but does put himself in good shape off the tee, ranking 38th in good drive percentage. He’s also very good around the green, ranking 24th in scrambling. He finished 42nd here in his lone appearance in 2016.
Mulligans: Players who need a reset and expect to play well this week
Si Woo Kim (Odds: 35/1, DraftKings $8,600, FanDuel $9,600) Kim needs about five mulligans for all the putts inside of 10 feet he missed down the stretch last Sunday. One of the most interesting storylines of the week will be how he handles the heartbreak of giving away that tournament.
Where to play this fantasy golf this week:
DraftKings:
1. $4 Buy-in contest called the “Fore” with a top prize of $25,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000.
2. $444 Buy-in contest called the “Pressure Putt” with a top prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $400,0000.
3. $33 Buy-in contest called the “Dogleg” with a top prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $450,000.
FanDuel:
1. $6 Buy-in contest called the “Eagle” with a top prize of $20,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $120,000.
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!
Jason Rouslin is founder of tourlevelfantasy.com. He has been playing golf for the last 18 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.
