Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Safeway Open
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 Safeway Open at Silverado |
|---|
| Strokes Gained: Approach |
| Greens in Regulation |
| Driving Distance |
| Birdie or Better Rate |
| Strokes Gained Putting on Poa |
For more information on why we're focused on these stats, check out our course primer.
Stats cited below come from FantasyGolfMetrics and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour unless noted. Ranks are among the field.
Best of the Best
Patrick Cantlay (FanDuel Price: $11,900 | Paddy Power Win Odds: 11/1) - This is a really strange week to sift through. Cantlay is the odds-on favorite (and nobody else opened at better than 18/1; in fact, just four golfers had odds better than 25/1 to open). Cantlay ranks 7th off the tee, 10th in approach, 15th in greens in regulation, and 17th in distance over the past 50 rounds among 91 qualified golfers in this field. Cantlay has made 10 straight cuts and played through the TOUR Championship and is a California native, helping with the poa angle.
Brandt Snedeker ($12,000 | 18/1) - Snedeker's had a spotty streak of late with withdrawals, but he's finished 8th, 42nd (at the PGA Championship), 1st (at the Wyndham), 31st, and 67th in his past five. He's also a top-10 putter on poa in his career among golfers in this field. The upside is worth the price this week.
Ryan Moore ($11,200 | 20/1) - Moore ranks 18th in approach but doesn't really stand out overall relative to the field. However, compared to the other high-priced options, he's second after Cantlay in recent form in terms of the stats we're seeking. That's with a missed cut at the Northern Trust and a 71st at the Dell Technologies Championship as his two most recent events.
Chris Kirk ($10,700 | 45/1) - Kirk got to the BMW Championship (41st) after a 35th at the Dell Technologies Championship in the FedEx playoffs. Kirk enters ranked 12th in approach and 30th in greens in regulation. He just has been a subpar putter on poa annua in his career, but he's got an 8th and a 30th here to his name.
Mid-Range Options
Kevin Tway ($9,700 | 45/1) - Tway ranks top-20 in strokes gained: off the tee, driving distance, and birdie or better rate over the past 50 rounds. Tway has made eight straight cuts, including 3 top-25s in his past 5 events. Tway has been just okay here (62nd and 52nd), but the stats set up for an improvement this year.
Harold Varner ($9,400 | 50/1) - Varner is yet another weak poa putter based on his career splits, but he's got great form overall and ranks third in strokes gained: tee to green over the past 50 rounds. He's also 23rd in approach, 12th in par 5 scoring, 16th in birdie or better rate, 11th in greens in regulation, and 7th in distance. Varner has made all three cuts at Silverado (48th, 15th, and 59th).
Abraham Ancer ($9,300 | 35/1) - Ancer finished 37th here last year and has three top-25s in his past five events. Ancer ranks 3rd in strokes gained: off the tee, 14th in par 5 scoring, and 18th in greens in regulation. The only gripe is the putting splits on poa (-0.83 career average), albeit a small split of 10 events.
Low-Priced Picks
Sam Ryder ($8,700 | 125/1) - Ryder hasn't putted well on poa in his career (-1.97 strokes gained on average in 5 events), but everything else is pointing up, as he's 2nd in tee-to-green play, approach, and par 5s, as well as 4th in birdie or better rate and 10th in greens in regulation. Ryder missed the cut here last year.
Denny McCarthy ($8,400 | 33/1) - McCarthy missed the cut here last year but has been on fire on the Web.com Tour. He won the Web.com Tour Championship after finishing 13th at the Boise Open, 9th at the DAP Championship, and 5th at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.
Tyler Duncan ($8,200 | 125/1) - Duncan enters third in approach and ninth in greens in regulation. He's been a bad poa putter in his six events, but he was fifth here last year while putting well. Duncan did miss his past two cuts but was 12th at the John Deere, 49th at the Barbasol, and 17th at the RBC Canadian Open. Welcome to swing season.
Hunter Mahan ($7,800 | 66/1) - Mahan sits 10th in tee-to-green, 23rd in off-the-tee, and 18th in approach, plus 10th in par 5s, 6th in birdie rate, and 2nd in greens in regulation. Mahan has some success on poa in his career and has finished 3rd, 32nd, cut, and 13th here.
Sang-Moon Bae ($7,100 | 40/1) - Bae won here four years ago before serving mandatory military duty in South Korea. He missed the cut in his return here last year, but he has been golfing pretty well since a withdrawal at the RBC Canadian Open (45th at the Wyndham, 35th at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, 6th at the DAP Championship, and 1st at the Boise Open). He's also been a stellar poa putter in 22 events.
