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'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

Silverado is a course that has started to show some interesting splits. According to datagolf, putting has explained at least 40.0% of scoring here the past two years (the PGA Tour average is 35.8%). Around-the-green play has also been more of a factor than usual. This, naturally, puts less emphasis on strokes gained: approach for a change. That said, approach has been right around 28.0% of the scoring dispersion, roughly equal to strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: around the green combined. It still matters more than any other tee-to-green stat.

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

Stats cited below come from FantasyNational and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour unless noted. Ranks are among the field.

High-Salary Picks

Brendan Steele (FanDuel Salary: $11,400 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: +2000) - Steele, at +2000, is tied with Phil Mickelson in win odds behind only Si Woo Kim (+1600). A big reason for that is that Steele is a two-time winner at this course, sure, but his current form is great, as well. Steele leads the field in strokes gained: total over the past 50 rounds and is 10th tee to green. He ranks 67th in strokes gained: putting on poa over a 100-round sample.

Harold Varner ($10,500 | +2900) - This is a high salary for Varner, but in a field such as this, it makes sense. Varner leads the field in tee-to-green average and is top-eight in both ball-striking stats (off the tee and approach). No other golfer in the field can make that claim. The big issue with Varner is the putter, as he ranks 80th in poa putting over a 100-round sample.

Others to Target:
Sergio Garcia ($11,500 | +2700) - The favorite in my win simulations, Garcia's poor putter pushes him to more of a tournament-only pick than a safe cash-game play.
Chez Reavie ($10,600 | +3100) - Is 12th tee-to-green and 50th in poa putting, making him safer than some other picks around his salary.

Mid-Salary Picks

Talor Gooch ($9,400 | +6000) - Gooch is a pretty strong pick for this field at this salary. He has made five of his past seven cuts and is 35th in approach and 16th in putting over the past 50 rounds. He had a really bad showing at the BMW, yet I don't care about a single-event sample and am putting stock into the longer form.

Carlos Ortiz ($9,100 | +5000) - Ortiz is a balanced golfer if we excuse his off-the-tee play (106th). Ortiz, though, ranks sixth in putting on poa greens. His long-term form puts him toward the top of the field despite the salary, so he's a priority play for me.

Others to Target:
Cameron Tringale ($9,500 | +6000) - Field leader in approach and 46th on the greens with positive poa splits.
Luke List ($9,500 | +5500) - Risky pick because of the putter but 8.6 strokes gained in the PGA Championship against an elite field. Has obvious upside if putter isn't terrible.

Low-Salary Picks

Adam Schenk ($8,600 | +8000) - Schenk is kind of an all-around golfer compared to the rest of the field, as he sits 14th in strokes gained: off the tee but is also top-80 in all three other strokes gained stats. That may not sound incredible, but only five golfers are top-80 in all four stats: Steele, Cameron Davis ($10,300), Gooch, Schenk, and Chase Seiffert ($7,700).

Wesley Bryan ($8,600 | +8000) - Brian has played just one event since July when he finished 31st at the Wyndham and is pretty terrible off the tee. While I'm downplaying off-the-tee performance, I'm not loving the terrible driving from Bryan. But if we overlook that, we're looking at a good iron player who is also good on poa.

Others to Consider:
Chesson Hadley ($9,000 | +9000) - Only real blemish is around-the-green play; 17th in approach and 34th in poa putting.
Pat Perez ($8,200 | +10000) - Biggest knock is a lack of distance, which shouldn't hurt him too much; 37th in poa putting and 38th in approach.