GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: WGC-Workday Championship

Each of the top 15 golfers in the world are playing this week at The Concession. How should that affect our lineups?

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

Key Stats

Key Stats for WGC-Workday at
The Concession
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
Bogey Avoidance


So, hear me out here. We don't have any data to go off of at The Concession. The most recent relevant event we've seen played here is the 2015 NCAA Men's and Women's national championship, which Bryson DeChambeau won. There's not much out there in actual course fit that we can apply.

But we can extrapolate from what we do know about the course. It's a hard course with a course rating of 76.7 (meaning a scratch golfer would shoot a 76.7 here, 5.7 strokes over the par 72). For context, Riviera Country Club from last week has a course rating of 75.6.

Chris Solomon talked about The Concession on this week's No Laying Up Genesis recap. Some things he noted included small and very undulating greens, slopes around the greens, and wide fairways -- but plenty of places to get into trouble.

The tougher the course and the tougher the field, the fewer holes we can accept in our golfers' games, so that puts all four strokes gained stats on my list. I want balanced golfers who can excel everywhere at the expense of some specialists. That's how I'm playing it this week.

For a more detailed breakdown on the course, check out our course primer from Mike Rodden.

All stats cited below come from FantasyNational. Strokes gained data includes stats from the past calendar year and is adjusted based on my field strength adjustments. Putting surface splits also come from FantasyNational and include the past 100 rounds when possible, unless noted. All ranks and percentile ranks are among the field.

Best of the Best

Jon Rahm (FanDuel Salary: $11,900 | Golf odds Win Odds: +850) - Rahm does it all -- 89th-percentile or better in all three adjusted tee-to-green strokes gained stats -- and actually played here in that 2015 championship. He finished 22nd while shooting 71-75-71-73. That's an added bonus to all the other reasons to like Rahm. Rahm also won the Memorial at Muirfield Village, a Jack Nicklaus design, just like The Concession is, and was 27th at the Workday Charity Open there the week prior.

Xander Schauffele ($11,500 | +1400) - Schauffele's tee-to-green numbers are just pristine week after week, and he has lost strokes tee to green in just 2 of his past 18 measured events. Also, he played here in 2015, finishing just 45th (among 84 golfers), but he's seen it, and he's played it. Schauffele's Bermuda putting splits place him in the 79th percentile among this field. He finished 13th at the Memorial this past summer.

Others to Consider:
Daniel Berger ($10,600 | +3100) - Fresh off a win with no blemishes in his profile and 77th-percentile Bermuda putting.
Webb Simpson ($10,500 | +2900) - Sounds as though Simpson's elite putting (97th percentile on Bermuda) and elite overall short game could pay off this week.
Sungjae Im ($10,200 | +3300) - The best from Im comes on Bermuda, and he's accurate (97th percentile) with solid irons (49th).

Mid-Range Picks

Scottie Scheffler ($10,000 | +41000) - Scheffler played The Concession back in 2015 for the NCAAs, finishing 33rd with a 6-over 72-78-72-72. Again, that's more of a bonus than a must, but it checks out. Scheffler is someone who has red flags, though, specifically as a Bermuda putter: 17th percentile. But Scheffler has started to level up the putter lately and was 20th at the Genesis last week. He finished 22nd at the Memorial after missing the cut at the Workday Charity Open, if we care about the Nicklaus architect angle.

Matthew Fitzpatrick ($9,500 | +5000) - We generally see Fitzpatrick excel at tougher setups, and this could be just that. Fitzpatrick finished fifth at the Genesis last week and was third at the Memorial at Muirfield Village and 27th at the Workday Charity Open at the same course this summer, as well. He's a 99th-percentile Bermuda putter, too.

Others to Consider:
Joaquin Niemann ($9,800 | +4500) - The putter is way improving, and he is 86th-percentile or better in both adjusted ball-striking stats.
Adam Scott ($9,600 | +5000) - Lacking Bermuda putting (13th percentile) but historically fares well at Nicklaus designs and has 89th-percentile bogey avoidance.

Low-Salaried Picks

Harris English ($8,900 | +5500) - English is easily the most likely golfer to win below $9,000, per my simulations. He ranks above the field average in all four adjusted strokes gained stats with 87th-percentile marks in both putting and around-the-green play. He's great on Bermuda, too (90th percentile). He finished 13th at the Memorial this summer. The salary is down from two missed cuts after a recent win.

Kevin Kisner ($7,900 | +12000) - Kisner's long-term form is quite good for the salary, and he has shown good irons (74th percentile) and putting (94th percentile) lately, which is all you can ask for from this salary range. Kisner also rates out in the 93rd percentile in Bermuda putting over the past 100 rounds.

Others to Consider:
Will Zalatoris ($8,800 | +5500) - Has 71st-percentile adjusted tee-to-green numbers and has shown spikey putting weeks. Could put it all together.
Abraham Ancer ($8,100 | +10000) - Second-best long-term adjusted form below $9,000 after English. Only red flag is around-the-green play.
Kevin Na ($8,000 | +10000) - Was 9th at Memorial and is one of seven golfers below $9,000 to rate 50th percentile or better in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green and putting.