GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for the Safeway Open

Who should you roster for the first event of the new PGA Tour season?

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 Safeway Open.

Key Stats

Strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: putting are always worth monitoring. This week, these are the most important stats, based on historical data.

Key Stats for the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort and Spa North
Strokes Gained: Approach
Par 4 Scoring
Driving Accuracy
Scrambling
Strokes Gained: Putting on Poa Greens


To find out more on why we're focused on these stats, check out our course primer.

Best of the Best

Tony Finau (FanDuel Price: $9,500 | bet365 Win Odds: 12/1) - Finau's price should be pretty eye-opening. It's just that time of year where the Finaus of the world will be priced near the top of the player pool. Finau is the odds-on favorite at 12/1, and only two other golfers have odds better than 25/1 to win. Finau is one of six golfers in the field to make all three cuts at this course in the past three years, and his finishes (26th, 32nd, 12th) aren't bad. According to FantasyGolfMetrics, he's 8th among 95 qualified golfers in the field in strokes gained: tee to green in the past 12 events.

Webb Simpson ($9,100 | 16) - Of course, Simpson is one of just three golfers with odds better than 25/1(the other is Phil Mickelson, whose odds are also 16/1). Simpson has played this course twice, but he missed the cut in both years (2015 and 2016). Well, he's playing well enough now to rule that out. His past results speak for themselves: 13th, 9th, 75th, 6th, 3rd, 33rd, 37th, 14th, 8th, 35th, 67th, and 5th. Those include a 13 at the TOUR Championship, a 33 at the PGA, a 37 at The Open, and a 35 at the U.S. Open. His putter is hot, and that's a problem if you're waiting for regression to hit, but in this field, Simpson deserves his hefty salary.

Ryan Moore ($8,800 | 30) - In the past 12 events (in which Moore has played 7), he's 6th in strokes gained: tee to green, 3rd in approach, and 26th in driving accuracy in the field. Moore finished 10th in 2015 at Silverado, his only start at this course. At 30/1 to win and with reigning champion Brendan Steele at $8,600 and 28/1, Moore could go a bit overlooked here.

Mid-Range Options

Chez Reavie ($7,600 | 35) - Reavie has made his past seven cuts and has played Silverado three times (22nd, 17th, 53rd). That alone puts him on the radar. But he also ranks 27th in strokes gained: tee to green in the past 12 events, as well as 11th in strokes gained: putting, 16th in par 4 scoring, 10th in driving accuracy, and 11th in scrambling. Reavie also has four top-25s in his past six events.

Kevin Na ($7,800 | 28) - Na finished second in 2015 and seventh in 2016 at Silverado and also has two top-six finishes in his past four events. Na also ranks 4th in strokes gained: approach in the past 12 events, as well as 21st in strokes gained: tee to green, 25th in putting, and 32nd in driving accuracy among 95 qualified golfers in the field.

Keegan Bradley ($7,500 | 33) - Keegan has made his past 10 cuts and ranks 5th in strokes gained: tee to green, 25th in approach, 29th in accuracy, and 21st in scrambling in the field. He also finished 22nd at this event last year, his only attempt at Silverado.

Lucas Glover ($6,500 | 35) - Glover bookends a 17th-place finish at Silverado with missed cuts, but that at least gives him three go-arounds here, and that's something. The real reason to like Glover is that he ranks 7th tee to green, 17th in approach, 16th on par 4s, 33rd in accuracy, and 21st in scrambling in the past 12 events.

Low-Priced Picks

Sam Saunders ($5,600 | 80) - Saunders is actually 2nd in the field in strokes gained: tee to green, 10th in approach, 3rd in par 4s, 5th in birdie or better rate, 20th in driving accuracy, and 15th in scrambling in the past 12 events. He played here twice, with a missed cut in 2015 and a 73 in 2014. Saunders was 2nd at the Web.com Tour Championship, cut at the DAP Championship, 40th at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, 11th at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, and 8th at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay (whew these Web.com event names -- but also the finishes!).

Luke List ($5,400 | 60) - List is a fall swing season hero and will look to re-inflate his season-long stats with some stellar showing early on in the new PGA Tour schedule. List is 4th in strokes gained: tee to green and 12th in approach in the past 12 events. He played here last year and finished 26th, just missing a top-25 bonus.

Chesson Hadley ($4,800 | 55) - Hadley's 2017 calendar year on the PGA Tour is a bit misleading. Hadley was cut at the Wyndham and Barracuda. He finished 27th at the Barbasol, 25th at the John Deere, cut at the Wells Fargo, and 76th at the Puerto Rico Open. Hadley finished 46th at the Web.com Tour Championship after finishing 2nd, 1st, 10th, cut, 3rd, 1st. He ranks second in par 4 scoring and fifth in scrambling in the past 12 events, so he looks like a value play who could be fairly safe.