DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Safeway Open

Daily fantasy golf requires a new approach for each and every event.

The course and field change week after week, making no two contests alike. That means you need to refine your approach for each PGA Tour event to try to find golfers who are primed to excel for your daily fantasy golf lineups.

Each week, we have a course primer, and our daily fantasy golf projections and lineup builder can help you get started, but these golfers stand out specifically on DraftKings for Safeway Open.

Key Stats

Let's get to the picks. For details on why these stats stand out this week, check out the course primer.

Stats are from Fantasy National Golf Club and are for golfers in the field over the last 50 rounds.

High-Priced Studs

Brendan Steele (DraftKings Price: $10,000 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: +2000) - You were expecting someone else? Steele is not our typical $10k golfer, but he's a two-time winner at Silverado Resort and Spa North and was pretty reliable post-COVID as the lowest priced golfer in our DFS lineups. He missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge coming back to action and then made six straight cuts to close his season. He had three top 25s in that span in three big boy events -- T6 at the Travelers Championship, T13 at the Memorial, and T22 at the PGA Championship. In this field, he ranks 6th in birdies or better gained, 7th in strokes gained: approach, 10th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and 17th in bogeys avoided.

Jordan Spieth ($9,800 | +2700) - Spieth gets a warmup before the U.S. Open, still marred in his slump since winning the 2017 Open Championship. His season ended with a thud, a missed cut in the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs after T71 at the PGA Championship and T72 at the Wyndham Championship. Spieth is still just 27, a three-time major championship winner with a career most would envy. His struggles are well documented, but the pedigree in this field is undeniable. He caught some bad luck to close the year, having gained strokes on approach in five straight events but struggled with the putter (of all things). He failed to gain even a single stroke putting in any event after gaining 8.6 at Colonial, and we'll buy consistent iron play with expected positive putting regression every time.

Mid-Priced Options

Erik Van Rooyen ($9,400 | +3100) - EVR is the stat king this week, ranking 2nd in birdies or better gained, 3rd in both strokes gained: tee-to-green and par 5s, and 15th in strokes gained: approach. He has mostly shown quality in strong, tough fields, and while this doesn't quite meet that standard on its face the Safeway is actually a bit more challenging than most fall courses. Fast, firm conditions and tight looks off the tee make Silverado a bit tougher than the average par 72, and that plays into Van Rooyen's hands as one of the most talented golfers in the field.

Doc Redman ($9,200 | +3300) - Redman may not lead the field in strokes gained: approach (he's eighth), but he has a case as the best iron player in the field. The former U.S. Amateur champion has had some spike weeks but also some major bombs. Just since the COVID layoff, he's had the best tee-to-green performance of his career (10.7 strokes gained at the Wyndham) as well of a couple of his worst (-5.3 strokes at THE NORTHERN TRUST and -5.8 strokes at the 3M Open). He is another talent play this week.

Harold Varner ($9,100 | +2900) - Varner is a golfer we like to target in DFS because he is consistent with his ballstriking and tends to get a decent result when he does anything else well. He's gained strokes with his putter in just 2 of his last 12 events and finished T7 at the Wyndham and T13 at the Genesis Invitational in those events. He ranks 1st in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 3rd in bogeys avoided, 6th in strokes gained: approach, and 21st in birdies or better gained.

Kevin Streelman ($9,000 | +3400) - Streelman leads the field in strokes gained: par 5s, and he ranks 5th in birdies or better gained and 17th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. He missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge coming out of the layoff before finishing second and T7 at the Travelers Championship and the Workday Charity Open, respectively. The performance tailed off from there, but he still made every cut through the rest of his season. He has two top 25s at Silverado.

Lucas Glover ($8,000 | +6000) - Glover will hopefully fly under the radar coming in with four straight missed cuts, but he was playing well before a few awful putting performances derailed his game. He is always going to stand out in the fall after reclaiming his career two years ago, and when he plays well he goes on runs of top 25s. We will take that at this price, and with many DFS players targeting the mid-$7k range and $9k and up, Glover makes a nice pivot both on his own and in overall lineup constructions.

Low-Priced Options

Cameron Tringale ($7,500 | +6000) - With the loaded fields since the return from the pandemic layoff, Tringale could only play six events including a disqualification at the PGA Championship for signing an incorrect scorecard. He was T3 at the 3M Open and T29 at THE NORTHERN TRUST in his last two completed events, and he ranks 1st in strokes gained: approach in our 50 round sample. He's also fifth in bogeys avoided and sixth in strokes gained tee-to green and he's sure to be popular at this price.

Charley Hoffman ($7,500 | +6000) - Perhaps less so is Hoffman, who is most comfortable with a wedge in hand and will have ample such opportunities this week. He ranks 7th in birdies or better gained, 8th in strokes gained: par 5s, 27th in approach, and 28th in bogeys avoided. He gained 6.8 strokes via approaches at THE NORTHERN TRUST, and he finished T13.

Luke List ($7,400 | +5500) - List fits the bill here, a big hitter off the tee who can't putt but produces a decent result if he just doesn't let the putter kill him. He did in two of his last three events, gaining big time in tee-to-green but losing over 7.0 strokes putting at both the PGA Championship (T51) and the Wyndham (T66). He lost 4.0 in his second round alone at THE NORTHERN TRUST, shooting 75 and missing the cut. Some guys are lost causes, so bad with the flat stick that they can't overcome. List is not that -- he's long with the driver, capable with his irons, and actually quite good around the greens.

Talor Gooch ($7,300 | +6000) - Gooch is solid across the board, ranking 11th in bogeys avoided, 15th in birdies or better gained and strokes gained: par 5s, 32nd in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and 35th in strokes gained: approach. The iron play has a high ceiling and would be ranked better but for a minus-6.8 strokes collar last time out at the BMW Championship. He was busy coming out of the layoff, playing all 10 events he qualified for (he was not eligible for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational), and had four top 25s in that span.

Bargain Basement

Jason Dufner ($6,900 | +10000) - Dufner ranks 8th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 10th in approach. He's a long way from his peak but still boasts some pedigree as a major champion.

Matthew NeSmith ($6,400 | +17000) - NeSmith had a nice run last year between the fall and west coast portions of the early schedule, picking up five top-30 finishes. He'll be hungry for status after graduating to the PGA Tour last year.

Mike Rodden is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Rodden also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mike_rodden. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.