GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for the BMW Championship

Jordan Spieth has finished second in consecutive events. Is he in must-play territory 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 revamped version of 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 BMW Championship.

Key Stats

Strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: putting (greens are bentgrass) are always good to monitor, but these are the most important stats for the course, based on the two years of data that we have to work with.

Key Stats for the BMW Championship at Conway Farms
Birdie or Better Rate
Par 4 Scoring
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Greens in Regulation
Strokes Gained: Approach


For more information on why we're targeting these stats, check out our course primer.

Best of the Best

Jordan Spieth (FanDuel Price: $10,200 | bet365 Odds: 6) - Spieth is the odds-on favorite for a reason. He's come in second in back to back events and has good form at Conway Farms (16th in 2013 and 13th in 2015). In the past 12 events, Spieth is 1st in strokes gained: tee to green, par 4 scoring, and birdie or better rate. He's also third in bogey avoidance and top 10 in greens in regulation and strokes gained: approach, according to FantasyGolfMetrics. According to DataGolf, he's got nearly a 66% chance to finish top 20, highest odds in the field.

Dustin Johnson ($10,000 | 7) - Yeah, so these two are obvious, but Johnson's odds are the only other odds better than 11/1, and he's got a 62.2% chance to finish top 20, per DataGolf. No other player is above 56.5%. DJ finished seventh at Conway Farms in 2015 and just won the Northern Trust two events ago. His 18th-place finish at the Dell Technologies Championship gives him five straight top 20s. DJ is always a threat off the tee, but he's ranked fifth in approach in the past 12 events, so jamming in DJ and Spieth should be a strategy you consider.

Paul Casey ($9,000 | 20) - Casey's got a lot going for him this week. He's reeled off five straight top 13s since the Open and has three top 5s in his past four events. He also ranks tops in approach in the past 12 events, as well as second tee to green. Casey also ranks ninth in birdie or better rate and third in greens in regulation in that span. He finished 23rd at this course in 2015, so he at least knows it, and he makes for a nice way to pay down a bit off of the other big names.

Henrik Stenson ($8,500 | 25) - Stenson's FanDuel price puts him 11th, and in this field, he may or may not qualify as a high-priced or mid-priced option, but I want him in my lineups regardless. Stenson is top six in strokes gained: tee to green and approach, par 4s, birdie rate, bogey avoidance, and greens in regulation in the past 12 events, five events for Stenson in that span. All were top-17 outings, including a win at the Wyndham. He is experiencing some knee tightness, but that makes him a stellar GPP play to me in a field where you have to take risks in tournaments.

Mid-Range Options

Daniel Berger ($7,300 | 60) - Berger's recent results have been pretty gross: 61st last week, 33rd the week before, and 84th at the PGA. However, he was 17th at the Bridgestone, 27th at the Open, and 5th at the John Deere, as well. Berger finished second at this event back in 2015. He's picked up strokes on approaches in each of his past seven events and is 11th in that stat in the past 12 events, according to FantasyGolfMetrics.

Marc Leishman ($7,100 | 40) - Leishman has some pretty great odds for a price tag this low. He comes into the event after finishing 3rd at the Dell Technologies Championship, 71st at the Northern Trust, 13th at the PGA, 41st at the Bridgestone, and 6th at the Open. He's actually seventh in the FedEx Cup standings, for what that's worth to you in a DFS format. In the past 12 events, Leishman is 15th in strokes gained: tee to green and 18th in approach, while sitting top-18 in par 4s, bogey avoidance, and greens in regulation.

Patrick Cantlay ($6,700 | 50) - Cantlay ranks first in bogey avoidance in the past 12 events and second in greens in regulation. As for the strokes gained stats, he's 11th tee to green and 19th in approach. At 50/1, Cantlay is a clear bargain considering his FanDuel price tag. He doesn't have a lot of starts on the PGA Tour, but he has clearly done enough to find himself in the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings and was 10th at the Northern Trust and 13th at the Dell last week.

Kevin Chappell ($6,400 | 60) - Chappell's price remains low despite some good finishes lately. He was 35th last week but 6th the week before, as well as 33rd at the PGA, 13th at the Bridgestone, and 8th at the Canadian Open. Chappell ranks seventh in strokes gained tee to green in the past 12 events and 17th in birdie or better rate. The other stats aren't quite as strong, but he's still 24th in approach. He should make enough birdies to return a good fantasy total at his salary.

Low-Priced Picks

Gary Woodland ($6,100 | 80) - Woodland ranks ninth in strokes gained: tee to green, eighth in approach, and fourth in greens in regulation in the past 12 events. He bounced back from a missed cut with an 18th-place finish last week and has three top-25s in his past five events. Woodland has also played here twice (18th in 2013, 60th in 2015), so he makes sense as a salary-saver. The low finish in 2015 isn't great, of course, but things are pointing up for Woodland overall.

Kevin Na ($6,100 | 70) - Na is a huge discount this week on FanDuel (he's $7,900 on DraftKings by comparison) and enters with really great marks in tee-to-green and approach play, ranking 20th and 6th, respectively, in the past 12 events. He's also top-22 in par 4 scoring, birdie or better rate, and bogey avoidance in that span, among players in the field. Na's also got strong form, finishing 6th last week, 29th the week before, and 4th at the Wyndham.

Keegan Bradley ($5,800 | 100) - Bradley's recent finishes don't inspire much confidence (35 last week, 43, 42, 33, 14), but the stats do. In the past 12 events, Bradley ranks 8th in strokes gained: tee to green, 28th in approach, and 21st in birdie or better rate. At his price, that's not bad. Also, Bradley is one of 23 golfers in the field to play this course both years. He did finish just 16th in 2013 and 28th in 2015, but he's playing well of late even if the results haven't shown it.

Emiliano Grillo ($5,000 | 140) - Grillo hasn't fared well at the recent majors (113th at the Open and 112th at the PGA) and was 116th at the Wyndham. But he has finished 29th at the Northern Trust and 22nd last week at the Dell Technologies Championship. He did that primarily with elite iron play, picking up tons and tons of strokes with his approach play in the past two events. He's a punt play that makes things work if you want to buy into the few recent strong showings.