Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for THE PLAYERS Championship

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 PLAYERS Championship.

Stats to Target

Based on the course makeup and field for TPC Sawgrass, 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.

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

Best of the Best

Jordan Spieth ($9,700) - Spieth has two straight missed cuts at TPC Sawgrass, but he's quite cheap given his pedigree. He grades out 2nd in the field in good drive percentage, 2nd in birdie or better, 1st in bogey avoidance, 13th in strokes gained: tee to green, and 1st in strokes gained: approach the green. There are so many expensive options this week that Spieth, given his shaky history at this course, could be underowned.

Hideki Matsuyama ($9,600) - Matsuyama is just $100 cheaper than Spieth and has good form here: he was T7 in 2016, T17 in 2015, and T23 in 2014. He also has some good stats for this course, including ranking 12th in the field in greens in regulation and scrambling, 3rd in birdie or better, 10th in bogey avoidance, 7th in strokes gained: tee to green, and 30th in strokes gained: approach. The putting is always a concern, but he's overcome that to sit 11th in the field in birdie or better rate at this course since 2006, according to FantasyGolfMetrics.

Sergio Garcia ($9,200) - Garcia has made the cut here every year since 2003 and was T4 in 2002. Since 2006, he has finished T14, 2, 1, T22, T47, T12, T56, T8, 3, T2, T52. In all, he has four top threes and nine top 25s, while making 15 of 17 possible cuts. Garcia also checks off the stat list, sitting 4th in the field in greens in regulation, 5th in bogey avoidance, and 3rd in strokes gained: tee to green. He's just 61st in strokes gained: approach, but with the event form and current form, we can overlook that.

Justin Thomas ($9,100) - Thomas finished T24 here in 2015 and T3 in 2016 and should be fairly lightly owned with so many top-flight choices. Among players in the field, Thomas is 5th in driving distance, 13th in greens in regulation, 1st in birdie or better, 19th in bogey avoidance, and 11th in strokes gained: approach the green. He's a world class player with a good statistical profile and strong event form. He leads the field in birdie or better rate at this course in the past 10 years, per FantasyGolfMetrics, though keep in mind that he's played here just twice.

Mid-Range Options

Martin Kaymer ($8,500) - In 2017, which is all since the Honda Classic in late February, Kaymer has made six of six cuts, including a T4 at the Honda Classic and four other top 25s. His worst finish was a T32 at the RBC Heritage, so the form is good. The course form is great, too. Kaymer is eight for eight with cuts at TPC Sawgrass since 2009, including a win in 2014 and two additional top fives. The finishes haven’t been stellar, but he’s been consistent and makes for a safe play even in this tough field.

Russell Knox ($7,100) - Knox sits 11th in this field in strokes gained: approach at TPC Sawgrass since 2006, according to FantasyGolfMetrics. That helps make up for his iffy marks elsewhere (he's just 94th on the season among players in the field in that stat). Knox is, though, 8th in driving accuracy, 28th in greens in regulation, and 16th in birdie or better among players in the field. Knox is three for three on cuts made here and has finished T34, T17, and T19 in those, with a closing round 68 three years running. If not for an implosion on the infamous 17th, he could have pushed for a win last year.

Marc Leishman ($7,100) - Leishman is 14th in the field in scrambling, 34th in birdie or better, 17th in bogey avoidance, and 40th in strokes gained: tee to green. He's just 68th in strokes gained: approach, but he's also 7th in strokes gained: putting. He's made five straight cuts and reeled off three straight top 25s from 2013 to 2015. In his past five events here, he's averaged a 70.8 in Round 1 and a 70.2 in Round 2.

Jason Dufner ($7,100) - Dufner comes in with good current form. He’s made 10 of 11 cuts this season, including 8 top 25 finishes. The cut came in mid January at the Sony Open. Prior to that, he hadn’t been cut since the Masters in 2016, and if you forgive him for that, he hadn’t missed a cut since early February in 2016, so he’s made 35 of his past 39 cuts.

Dufner’s stats don’t jump off the page here: he’s 41st in greens in regulation in the field, 33rd in scrambling, 19th in birdie or better and 41st in strokes gained: approach, but you can’t knock the consistency. Dufner hasn’t done super well at TPC Sawgrass, but his implosions didn’t really come until after the cut. He averaged a 70.6 and 70.4 in the first two rounds before a 74.17 in the rounds after the cut, leading to good FanDuel performances. Dufner could be a Rounds 1-2 option who could push for a finishing bonus if he doesn’t fall off during the final 36 holes.

Low-Priced Picks

Patrick Cantlay ($6,000) - Cantlay is 70/1 to win, the only player with those odds, but those near him at 66/1 are Patrick Reed ($8,200) and Russell Henley ($6,800), both more expensive. At 75/1, we have Daniel Berger ($7,300). Cantlay is five for five in cuts this year, including a 2 at the Valspar, a T3 at the RBC Heritage, and a T14 at the Zurich, with Reed. He doesn't qualify for the stats leaderboard, but he can scramble and gain strokes approaching the green.

Kyle Stanley ($5,500) - Stanley continues to grade out well statistically. He's 14th in the field in driving accuracy, 7th in good drive rate, 3rd in greens in regulation, 13th in bogey avoidance, and 7th in strokes gained: approach. At $5,500, you won't find a better stat profile than that.

David Hearn ($5,200) - Hearn comes to TPC Sawgrass having made five consecutive cuts with some decent finishes, as well: T28, T42, T6, T26, and T68. He makes for a sturdy Rounds 1 and 2 play, as he averaged a 69.8 in Round 1 and has just one round at even par in those contests. In Round 2, he posted a 71 in four straight years but had a 75 in 2012. Prior to his missed cut at the Valero Texas Open, he made five straight cuts and had two top 20s. Hearn has some good form here and at $5,200, he likely won’t ruin your lineups.