GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for the Masters

Jordan Spieth's track record at Augusta is impossible to overlook. Who else should be in consideration for you this week?

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 now offering a brand new sport: PGA golf.

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, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the basics of building a lineup on FanDuel, the scoring setup, and advanced stats to know about the PGA.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target for the Masters.

Stats to Target

Based on the course makeup and field for Augusta National, these are some of the most vital stats to target this week. For a more detailed explanation why, check out our course primer for this week.

Key Stats for the Masters at Augusta National
Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green
Par 5 Scoring
Bogey Avoidance
Scrambling


So, who has the right combination of stats, recent form, course history, and salary this week?

Best of the Best

Jordan Spieth (FanDuel Price: $10,600) - Spieth has nothing -- yet everything -- to prove this week. After finishing second in his debut at Augusta in 2014, he earned the green jacket in 2015. Last year, he struggled mightily on the 12th (to put it nicely) and wound up with a second runner-up finish at Augusta in three years. Still, that gives him three consecutive top-two finishes, and you can't overlook that.

Despite iffy recent form -- if you can count a missed cut at the Shell Houston Open iffy -- Spieth sits 8/1 to win outright, per Bovada, third-best odds of anyone in the field. Spieth, additionally, is third on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation percentage, second in birdie-or-better percentage, third in bogey avoidance, and first in strokes gained: approach-the-green. He also ranks 39th in strokes gained: putting.

Dustin Johnson ($11,000) - I'm looking for reasons to worry about Johnson, but I just can't. Aside from ownership, there's no reason not to like Johnson at Augusta. He's first on the tour in driving distance, greens in regulation percentage, and strokes gained: tee-to-green. He's 21st in scrambling, 5th in birdie-or-better and in bogey avoidance, 10th in strokes gained: approach-the-green, 6th in strokes gained: around the green, and 29th in strokes gained: putting. He's 5.5/1 to win, and the only reason to avoid him is game theory (i.e. ownership).

Justin Rose ($9,500) - Rose, 25/1, has some fantastic history at Augusta National, making 11 of 11 cuts. He hasn't won here in those events, but he has nine top 25s, and since 2011, he finished T11, T8, T5, T14, T2, T10. Rose ranks 25th on the tour in distance, 10th in birdie-or-better percentage, 11th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and 19th in strokes gained: around-the-green.

Rickie Fowler ($9,200) - Fowler should be popular, considering his recent form: T4, 1, T16, 12, T3. And the stats are always there: 24th in driving distance, 36th in accuracy, 20th in greens in regulation, 3rd in scrambling, 7th in birdie-or-better, 4th in bogey avoidance, 4th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 3rd in strokes gained: approach-the-green, and 9th in strokes gained: putting.

If you're worried about the ownership here, consider Jon Rahm ($9,300) in tournaments. Rahm's statistical profile is nearly as good as Fowler's, but he doesn't have any course history, which has been historically problematic at Augusta, at least for identifying winners.

Mid-Range Options

Sergio Garcia ($8,100) - Garcia isn't super cheap at this price, but he is 40/1, so the oddsmakers have things right in line with the FanDuel salary. He's ranked 11th in the world, after all. Garcia sits 18th in driving distance this year and is 13th in greens in regulation. He's first in strokes gained: off-the-tee and third in strokes gained: tee-to-green. The putter is an issue (193rd), but with how tough the greens are here and his event history, that could be irrelevant. He's played here plenty (18 times) and has some strong finishes in his past five events at Augusta: T12, T8, T52 (a missed cut), T17, T34.

Jimmy Walker ($7,900) - Walker is a curious case. His stats are worrisome, though he is 23rd in strokes gained: approach-the-green. He's 24th in the World Golf Rankings and has a major under his belt: the 2016 PGA Championship, the most recent major. Walker also has a top-10 finish here at Augusta (T8 in 2014) and has made three consecutive cuts. He makes for a low-owned tournament play, after having missed the secondary cut last week.

Tyrrell Hatton ($7,600) - Hatton ranks 15th in the world but 23rd in FanDuel salary. He's 60/1 to win after having dropped from 40/1. Still, he is 1st on the tour in strokes gained: putting and is 19th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. And you can't ignore the recent form: T4 at the Honda Classic, 10th at the WGC-Mexico, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and T17 at the WGC-Match Play. The biggest problem is a lack of event history at Augusta National.

Kevin Kisner ($6,800) - Kisner, like Hatton, has strong recent form but no track record at Augusta, but at this price, you don't need him to win. Since the start of 2017, Kisner has finished T4, T25, T10, T48, 11th, T2, and T17. That's good no matter who you are. Kisner ranks top 40 in scrambling and birdie-or-better percentage on the tour this season and is 9th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, primarily because of his approach (7th) and around-the-green (26th) ranks. He's also 46th in strokes gained: putting.

Low-Priced Picks

Marc Leishman ($6,500) - Leishman, having won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, was a late addition to the Masters. But that hasn't been all he's done recently, as he earned a T27 at the Honda Classic and a T9 at the WGC-Match Play. His stats are strong, too. He's 31st on the tour in driving distance, 14th in scrambling, 17th in birdie-or-better percentage, 8th in bogey avoidance, and 3rd in strokes gained: putting. Leishman has contended at Augusta in the past, too. He earned a T4 in 2013.

Adam Hadwin ($6,300) - Hadwin sits seventh on the year in strokes gained: putting. He's also first in bogey avoidance and second in scrambling. Ranking 18th in birdie-or-better, he can also break par. Hadwin has been converting those stats into results, too. In 2017, he has made all seven cuts and finished 2, T49, T12, T39, T34, 1, 6. The big problem? No course history to speak of. The other problem? He's just 113th on the tour in strokes gained: around-the-green. You just won't find anyone in this range without blemishes.

Brendan Steele ($6,100) - This week, the stats point to Steele, who sits 31st in driving distance, 58th in accuracy, 27th in greens in regulation, 5th in scrambling, 19th in birdie-or-better, 6th in bogey avoidance, 13th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and 20th in strokes gained: approach-the-green. He missed the cut in 2012 at Augusta, but that at least means he's played the course before. At 200/1, he's not likely to push for first place, but that's what you get in a field as tough as this one. He's a Rounds 1-2 option who helps you load up on more expensive options in the later rounds.

Jhonattan Vegas ($5,300) - You might need a guy in the $5,000 range to make your lineups work this week, and if that's the case, you're kind of out of luck if you want to feel good about it. Vegas has recent form in his favor, with a T28, T15, T4, T38, and T15 in his past five events. He's got just a missed cut at Augusta on his résumé in 2011, but you won't find many guys this hot at this price.

Angel Cabrera ($5,100) - If you'd rather trust course history than recent form and need a punt play, consider Cabrera. He won in 2009 and followed that up with a T18, 7, T32, 2, a missed cut, T22, and T24. In all, he's made 13 of 17 cuts at Augusta and has 11 top 25s. You could do worse with a Round 1-2 punt.