DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Waste Management Phoenix 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 the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Key Stats

Let's get to the picks.

All stats are from Fantasy National Golf Club and are for golfers in the field over the last 50 rounds, unless otherwise noted.

High-Priced Studs

Justin Thomas (DraftKings Price $11,000 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds 10/1) - Thomas has been one of the steadiest, most consistent golfers on Tour for the past two years. He missed just one cut all of last season, and he enters the week with just one finish outside the top 25 since that MC at the Open Championship. He has two 17th place finishes at this event, but they bracket two missed cuts in 2016 and 2017. He is first in strokes gained: approach, fourth in birdies or better gained and proximity gained from 150-175 yards, and fifth in opportunities gained.

Hideki Matsuyama ($10,700 | 12) - An injury withdrawal last year sullied an otherwise near-perfect record at TPC Scottsdale for Matsuyama. Four straight top-5s, including back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017, make Matsuyama one of the favorites this week regardless of his play heading into the week. It just so happens his play has been spectacular. Hideki is second in strokes gained: approach and strokes gained: par 5s (550-600 yards), and third in opportunities gained. Coming off a great weekend to finish T3 at the Farmers and with the stellar course history, Matsuyama will be a great play this week and will be among the most highly-owned players on DraftKings.

Tony Finau ($9,500 | 21) - Finau is first in opportunities gained and ninth in both par 5s (550-600) and strokes gained: off the tee. He has missed three straight cuts here, but after his breakout 2018 campaign he is as safe a play as DFS players are likely to find on just about any course. Another top 25 at the Farmers Insurance Open gives him eight such finishes in his last nine events.

Mid-Priced Options

Phil Mickelson ($9,300 | 24) - Mickelson is very (very, very) familiar with TPC Scottsdale. He attended college at Arizona State and has competed at this course 29 times. He has three wins, most recently in 2013, and has three straight top-16 finishes in the past three years. He showed at the Desert Classic that his game is in top form, and at his age and status he is going to strategically pick his spots this season. It is no accident he's in Arizona. His stats are fine, popping mostly as 16th in proximity gained (150-175) and 18th in opportunities gained.

Billy Horschel ($8,800 | 41) - Horschel quietly climbed all the way to eight place last week at the Farmers with a steady week of golf. He checks all the boxes in the key stats, ranking 5th on par 5s (550-600), 12th off the tee, 15th on approach, 22nd in opportunities gained, and 34th in proximity gained from 150-175 yards. He was in terrific form for the FedEx Cup playoffs and carried that over to a solid start to 2019. Aside from a couple lackluster results at two no-cut events (the Tournament of Champions and the CJ Cup), Horschel has been money basically since the PGA Championship. He has made the cut at this event in six of his seven tries.

Byeong-Hun An ($8,600 | 50) - An is just the type of player to target at this event. He bombs it off the tee and strikes it well with his irons but just seems to lack much consistency with his short game. He is 25th in strokes gained: OTT and was 19th on the entire Tour in driving distance last year. He is 5th in proximity gained (150-175), 17th in strokes gained: approach, and 27th in opportunities gained. He has only played here twice but finished T23 and 6th in 2018 and 2017, respectively. While he has not played in the United States since the FedEx Cup playoffs and underwhelmed in the swing season, he did finish 12th last week at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour. The travel is no issue as he made the same trip last year after finishing sixth in Dubai.

Luke List ($8,000 | 70) - List is 1st in strokes gained: off the tee, 23rd in strokes gained: par 5s (550-600), 34th in opportunities gained, and 36th in proximity gained (150-175). After missing two consecutive cuts at this event, he finished 26th here last season in the thick of the best stretch of his career in early 2018. He'll look to start another run and he is someone to be on early before he pops and the price and ownership get out of control.

Low-Priced Options

Abraham Ancer ($7,700 | 75) - Ancer should be a popular play this week after a price drop following his missed cut at the Farmers. But one event doesn't wipe out his solid form heading to Torrey Pines, where he was four feet from the cut before missing a birdie putt on the 36th hole and failing to make the weekend. Ancer is 5th in strokes gained: off the tee, and 27th in proximity gained (150-175). The last three times he missed the cut, he came back and finished inside the top 10 at his next event.

Talor Gooch ($7,500 | 120) - Why fight it? Gooch qualified for this event after another top-5 at the Farmers and is the toast of the Tour right now. He is an ugly 118th in strokes gained: off the tee, but everything else looks great; he is 6th in opportunities gained, 13th in proximity gained (150-175), 14th in strokes gained: approach, and 24th in strokes gained: par 5s (550-600). He's on a tremendous heater right now, but all that shines is not gold. His 3rd- and 4th-place finishes the past two weeks are his first consecutive made cuts since the same two events last year.

Joaquin Niemann ($7,300 | 100) - After a few dubious performances, most people should be off this elite ballstriker. With just one finish better than 60th between the swing season and the early 2019 events, Niemann has frustrated plenty of DFS players over the past few weeks. Now, he comes in at a lower price and likely lower ownership at a course that should set up nicely for him. Niemann is second in opportunities gained and third in both strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: approach.

Lucas Glover ($7,200 | 75) - Glover has similar win odds as golfers priced well above him on DraftKings this week, making him a prime value target. His stats fail to tell the entire story because he was relegated to the Web.com Tour after his missed cut at the U.S. Open, and therefore his last 50 rounds include a much older sample. He finished strong on the Web and has been phenomenal so far this season, finishing each event at 17th or better between the swing season and the Desert Classic. Despite the layoff, he is still 14th in strokes gained: off the tee and 27th on par 5s (550-600).

Bargain Basement

Joel Dahmen ($6,800 | 120) - Dahmen easily has the biggest discrepancy in his rankings in the key stats compared to his price. He is 8th in strokes gained: approach, 15th in opportunities gained, 19th off the tee, and 30th in proximity gained (150-175). He usually is someone to target in weaker fields and easier courses, but with a ninth place finish at the Farmers last week, Dahmen is very much on the radar this week.

Anders Albertson ($6,300 | 190) - Albertson only has 24 rounds on Tour, so his stats are much narrower than his fellow golfers but are still impressive. In the past 24 round sample, Albertson ranks 3rd in opportunities gained, 4th in strokes gained: approach, 26th in proximity gained (150-175), and 38th in strokes gained: par 5s (550-600). He is worth a tournament flier in an extreme stars and scrubs roster construction.

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.