Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

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's daily fantasy golf offering.

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. It's a great balance between time to research and time spent tracking your team.

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

There is no strokes gained data from the past few years that this course has been played, but we can still work to find out what matters most at Corales.

Firstly, datagolf's course fit tool shows that there is a huge emphasis on driving distance as opposed to accuracy. Over the past three years here, the average top-5 finisher ranked 53rd in distance and 47th in fairways gained, per FantasyNational, but with the added value of distance over accuracy to strokes gained: off the tee, we’re probably safe to bump up bombers.

Top-five finishers ranked, on average, 21st in greens in regulation, which is pretty common to see in a given week, but it’s another reason we should look to strokes gained: approach.

What also stands out is the sheer scoring trends at Corales. We see a lot of golfers finish at least 10-under par: 20 in 2021, 25 in 2019, and 18 in 2018. That's a stark contrast to what we saw last week at PGA National.

Overall, then, we should be seeking birdie-makers, and that -- typically -- comes from ball-striking and converting putts as opposed to scrambling and being great around the green.

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

Charley Hoffman (FanDuel Salary: $11,700 | Golf odds Win Odds: +1800) - Hoffman is a betting co-favorite and is my win model's favorite pick here this week. He rates well across the board, including in the 97th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green average and is in the 87th percentile in driving distance gained as well as the 99th percentile in birdie or better rate gained. He finished 14th here in September.

Luke List ($10,800 | +3100) - List was eighth in the September version of this event and ranked third in driving distance gained in it. His 98th-percentile length should let him fare well again at this course, and so his long-term putting (6th percentile) is a lot easier to swallow. With so many unknowns, we can take some savings on List at the top after a good showing here already.

Others to Consider:
Thomas Detry ($11,400 | +2600) - Has two straight T33s here and is one of the best long-term players in the field. Not long but makes birdies.
Lee Hodges ($10,700 | +3200) - Was T13 at Puerto Rico Open in a similar field and is tearing up the Korn Ferry Tour (7th and 14th, bookending Puerto Rico).
Will Gordon ($10,500 | +4000) - Long with a good putter and good enough irons to make a balanced lineup work.

Mid-Range Picks

Charles Howell ($9,900 | +2900) - My win simulations really like Howell (3.7%) for the salary, and he ranks as the second-best long-term golfer in the field, per my database. He is in the 92nd percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green and the 86th in putting. He should be able to score here and avenge his missed cut in September. He rebounded from three straight missed cuts to finish 36th at the Arnold Palmer and then 9th at THE PLAYERS.

Taylor Pendrith ($9,700 | +4000) - I bet Pendrith already because he was a solid value at 40/1, and I'll gladly build around him on FanDuel at this salary when salaries are mostly irrelevant. Pendrith has not played here but is the largest beneficiary of how the course plays, per datagolf. Pendrith's PGA Tour sample is tiny (a 53rd at the Puerto Rico Open and a 23rd at the U.S. Open), but adjusting his Korn Ferry Tour performance for field strength and recency, he is actually the fourth-best golfer over the past year in my database.

Others to Consider:
Sepp Straka ($9,900 | +4000) - Fits a balanced build and is in play in much better fields than this. Great ball-striker with birdie potential.
Joel Dahmen ($9,400 | +4800) - Didn't play here in September but has two top-15s in two tries and is in the 88th percentile tee to green.
Chase Seiffert ($9,600 | +4800) - Chasing his elite irons (90th percentile) and scoring potential (77th-percentile birdie or better rate) after a T41 here in September seems solid.

Low-Salaried Picks

Pat Perez ($8,900 | +7000) - Perez won't fit if you look for strict distance (31st percentile), but he's good elsewhere and has zero red flags in his strokes gained data. Believe it or not, not many golfers below $9,000 can say that in this field. He's a solid birdie-maker (63rd percentile) and finished 21st here in September. He's also the best golfer, long-term, in this salary range.

Tyler Duncan ($8,300 | +10000) - Duncan finished 33rd and 3rd at Corales when it was a Korn Ferry/Web.com event and then was cut and 59th on the PGA Tour. He has elite irons for this field (97th percentile). So while he's not a great overall fit, he has fared well and is a strong ball-striker who lacks distance. He's a terrible putter, though, so we can't get too anxious.

Others to Consider:
Lucas Herbert ($9,000 | +5500) - Primarily gets it done with the putter and driver, but that can work if it's clicking at an easy course.
Bronson Burgoon ($8,900 +4800) - Just a missed cut for him in one try at Corales, but we can get on the Pontoon to get some birdie potential (95th percentile) and a balanced profile.
Kristoffer Ventura ($8,600 | +7000) - Long off the tee and can make birdies; finished T52 in September here. Has missed a ton of cuts lately.