GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Rickie Fowler tees it up at the Shriners for his first event of the PGA Tour season. Who else is worth rostering on FanDuel?

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 -- and we have daily fantasy golf projections and lineup building tools, too.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target this week.

Key Stats

Key Stats for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Birdie or Better Rate
Greens in Regulation
Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass


For a deeper look at the course this week, check out our course primer from Mike Rodden.

Stats cited below come from FantasyNational and include the past 36 rounds on the PGA Tour unless noted. Ranks are among the field.

Best of the Best

Rickie Fowler (FanDuel Price: $12,200 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: 12/1) - Fowler hasn't played since the TOUR Championship but has finished 7th, 8th, 12th (at the PGA Championship), 17th, 28th (at the British Open), and 6th in his past six events. The form is scarce, but Fowler's recent stats are on point: 25th in approach, 7th in birdies gained, 17th in greens in regulation gained. He's a plus putter and has finished T25 here in his only attempt (2016) since 2010 (which was a 22nd after a 7th).

Tony Finau ($12,000 | 12/1) - Finau ranks 1st in birdies gained and 6th in distance in our split, plus 5th off the tee and 27th in approach. He's also been putting well (perhaps too well), yet he's on his best surface possible this week. He's run hot at TPC Summerlin, finishing 7th, 16th, 41st, and 16th the past four years.

Bryson DeChambeau ($11,900 | 15/1) - Bryson had three wins this summer before a pair of 19s to end the PGA Tour season. He's top-15 in both ball-striking stats, one of six golfers who can say that this week, and his solid, all-around play keeps him in contention again this week.

Gary Woodland ($11,600 | 18/1) - Woodland ranks sixth in approach, third in distance, and third in birdies gained because of his great ball-striking. He finished T18 here a year ago. He putted well but also posted one of the top strokes gained: approach numbers in the field, too. Woodland enters with a 25th, 12th, 11th, 5th, and 2nd in five no-cut events. He also was 6th at the PGA Championship of late and hasn't missed a cut since THE PLAYERS.

Mid-Range Options

Aaron Wise ($9,800 | 23/1) - Wise has moved from 35/1 to 23/1 already and is fifth in greens in regulation gained and eighth in birdies gained. His putter runs hot and cold, but he's played this course a bit extra when younger and has turned in a T10 and T32 on the PGA Tour here.

Joel Dahmen ($9,400 | 110/1) - Dahmen missed the cut here in his only attempt (last year) but actually leads the field in approach over the past 36 rounds. As usual, the putter has been failing him. He's 106th in putting in that span, so the results haven't been overly stellar.

Harold Varner ($9,300 | 85/1) - Varner is a solid all-around option this week. He's 10th in distance and 37th in approach, plus 19th in strokes gained: off the tee. Varner has three tries here -- cut, 57th, 63rd -- but he's in play due to the current stats.

Sam Ryder ($9,100 | 70/1) - Ryder ranks 5th in approach and 14th in greens in regulation gained in our sample. He missed the cut here a year ago, losing the fourth-most strokes with his putter. He's still bad with that flat stick, ranking 87th in strokes gained: putting over a recent sample, yet we've seen what his upside can be (four top-10 finishes in 22 events this year).

Low-Priced Picks

Bronson Burgoon ($9,000 | 70/1) - Burgoon's been solid all around lately, outside of scrambling, and has bounced back after three straight missed cuts to finish 11th, 58th, 53rd, and 2nd (CIMB).

Jason Kokrak ($8,800 | 85/1) - Kokrak's upside has been pretty weak (just three top-10s in 26 events this year), but he's played the weekend in eight straight events. Kokrak also has played here six times, finishing 38th, 74th, and 20th after three missed cuts to start his tenure.

Corey Conners ($8,800 | 85/1) - Conners ranks 1st off the tee and 19th in approach and has the game to contend here, provided he can putt and scramble even a little bit. He's a tournament-only option, as he was 2nd last week at the Sanderson Farms but had missed three of four cuts entering that event.

Shawn Stefani ($7,700 | 140/1) - Stefani's four finishes here are a missed cut, 62nd, 10th, and 68th, so nothing great, but the price helps us fit in another stud if we want to risk it. He's 32nd in approach, 8th in birdies gained, and 2nd in greens in regulation gained of late. He bounced back from a cut at the Safeway to finish 7th at the Sanderson Farms.

Anders Albertson ($7,500 | 85/1) - Albertson finished his final three Web.com events 9th, 2nd, and 31st before missing the cut at the Safeway and finishing 5th at the Sanderson Farms. He ranks 8th in approach but 117th in putting in our split, something that keeps him a tournament-only option, even at his price.