DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: THE PLAYERS Championship

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, our daily fantasy golf projections and lineup builder can help you get started, but these golfers stand out specifically on DraftKings for THE PLAYERS Championship.

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, unless otherwise noted.

High-Salaried Studs

Rory McIlroy (DraftKings Price: $10,600 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: +1600) - This time last year, McIlroy was the unquestioned top golfer in the world and the defending champion at THE PLAYERS. He'd finished inside the top five in seven straight events, and was the odds-on favorite to repeat at TPC Sawgrass. Perhaps no golfer has seen as much on-course disruption since then, as McIlroy has been passed by seven others in the Official World Golf Ranking. And after all those top fives, he has just one since. Coming off a T10 finish that Rory wrapped up by bemoaning his current form that he is looking for a spark, we can potentially pick up McIlroy at lower ownership than the three other golfers over $10k. Rory's still got top 10s in half of his 2021 events and just one finish worse than 16th.

Xander Schauffele ($10,300 | +2400) - Schauffele is typically one of the most popular DraftKings plays any time he tees it up, but with the big guys just a few hundred away and popular plays on the cheap right below, Xander may actually get squeezed out here after his worst finish since mid-June. That T39 at the WGC-Workday Championship was just his third finish outside the top 25 in 18 months. A runner up and a missed cut give Schauffele the typical uneven history here, and given his remarkable consistency but checkered history when it comes to closing the deal, Xander makes for a high-floor DraftKings play once again this week.

Justin Thomas ($9,900 | +1900) - Sub-$10k for JT?! Thomas has undoubtedly had his struggles over the past few events, but fortunately for him he's mostly been mired by a poor round, or even just poor hole or two, and has otherwise been just fine aside from a tournament from hell performance at Riviera. He lost strokes in all areas of the game for the first time since the 2016 Memorial, and after another ghastly round to start at The Concession it was good to see him bounce back and finish T15 at the WGC-Workday. Thomas is 2nd in birdies or better gained, 4th in strokes gained: approach, 16th in proximity gained from 200-plus yards, and 30th in scrambling gained. He'll be popular at this price, but we can afford some chalk if we differentiate elsewhere and grab some major equity on a top golfer at this price.

Mid-Salaried Options

Collin Morikawa ($9,400 | +2200) - We need golfers who can keep it in play off the tee and then dial up their irons this week -- in other words, we need Collin Morikawa. He is 3rd in approach and 12th in proximity gained from 200-plus yards, and as he's shown now in a couple elite fields if he putts it at all he'll be in contention. First-timers are not a historically good bet at THE PLAYERS, but Morikawa and his fellow young stars are rewriting what's possible, and they are no ordinary debutantes as they at least got a couple practices and one full round in last year before the tournament was canceled.

Viktor Hovland ($9,300 | +2500) - This range is loaded and we can expect most of these guys to be popular pairings with one of the top five, but Hovland is undeniable in his current form. He has just a handful of bad holes over the past two events, and were it not for an eight on his last hole in the second round at the WGC-Workday he may well have won. He has six finishes of T6 or better in his last eight worldwide events, and he ranks 8th in birdies or better gained, 13th on par 5s, and 19th in proximity gained from 200-plus.

Tony Finau ($9,100 | +3200) - Another popular option who fits nicely into a cash game construction this week, Finau had three straight top-five finishes before a T14 at the WGC-Workday Championship and has just two missed cuts in the past year. That's a span of 21 events, and while he's famously without a signature win he has performed well in even the strongest fields. Finau is 4th in strokes gained: par 5s, 7th in birdies or better gained, 13th in proximity gained from 200-plus yards, and 15th in strokes gained: approach.

Adam Scott ($8,100 | +8000) - Scott has some of the best course form at TPC Sawgrass, with a win in 2004 and 15 made cuts in 18 tries. While he's been short on high-end finishes of late he's still shown a reliable floor, having made every cut on the PGA Tour since he returned to action in August. When he's on he's one of the best players in the world approaching the green, and with viable options above and below we should see Scott on a single-digit percentage of rosters.

Low-Salaried Options

Cameron Smith ($7,900 | +7500) - we all love Tommy Fleetwood ($7,900 | +4100) at the same price, but we can get some major leverage by rostering Smith, who is actually in better form than Fleetwood. His most recent finishes were 4th and 11th compared to Fleetwood's 44th and 10th. Smith gained 4.8 and 4.4 strokes in his last two events, respectively, and if he maintains that trajectory with his irons he can return value on this sub-$8k salary if he sniffs the top 10.

Louis Oosthuizen ($7,800 | +9000) - Everything we said last week still applies, except for a last-minute withdrawal at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Oosthuizen will be even less popular this week on DraftKings. He comes in at $1k cheaper and like many has some highs and lows at THE PLAYERS. He was runner up in 2017 but has three missed cuts in the past eight years. We know Louis comes ready to play against the toughest competition, and he's in terrific form with recent finishes before the WD of T6 and T11.

Will Zalatoris ($7,600 | +7500) - The run continues after yet another top 10 at the API, giving Zalatoris top 25s in 9 of his last 12 events. He's the 46th ranked golfer in the world and is not an official PGA Tour member. Zalatoris ranks seventh in the field in strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: par 5s and proximity gained from 200-plus yards. The consistency is off the charts, and while that will be tested this week it will be a surprise to see Zalatoris blow up.

Corey Conners ($7,400 | +9000) - A 3rd place finish last week gives Conners top 25s in 8 of his 11 events so far this season, finally finding the consistent results we saw two seasons ago. He gained 7.1 strokes on approach last week to lead the field, and he's gained with his irons in all but two measured events in the past year. He's 18th on par 5s, 19th in approach, and 22nd in birdies or better gained over the last 50 rounds.

Russell Henley ($7,400 | +14000) - Henley is second in strokes gained: approach and fifth in scrambling, a good recipe for success here if he can do anything off the tee. He's had a few weeks off and is making his Florida debut for the season, and while there is some debate as to whether the bermudagrass is totally dormant, Henley has historically thrived with the short stick when he leaves the poa annua behind him and gets rolling on different surfaces.

Bargain Basement

Keegan Bradley ($6,900 | +18000) - Bradley has been playing good golf of late, with a T10 finish last week evidence of his upside at a low price point. He gained with his putter for the first time since his last top 10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and he is as steady tee-to-green as you're likely to find below $7k. Keegan has gained strokes tee-to-green in all but two events in the past year. He ranks 9th in strokes gained: approach, 11th in proximity gained from 200-plus yards, and 15th in strokes gained: par 5s.

Charley Hoffman ($6,700 | +23000) - Like Bradley and Conners, Hoffman shined in tough conditions last week. Each of the last five winners had a top 25 finish in their last event before THE PLAYERS, and Hoffman is trending way up with three straight gains in approach including 5.5 strokes last week and 4.8 strokes at the Genesis Invitational.

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.