Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: Travelers 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

TPC River Highlands is one of the few courses on the PGA Tour that plays under 7,000 yards, but statistically, driving distance has led to a leg up for players, and off-the-tee performance gets a boost overall. You can be short, but you need to gain strokes off the tee one way or the other. That's been a constant at this course in recent years.

The yardage gets cut off on four particular holes: two par 3s around 150 or shorter, the 277-yard par 4 15th, and the 333-yard par 4 16th. The short cumulative distance doesn’t mean distance is irrelevant, so just remember that.

The bentgrass greens typically play fast, which can benefit better putters.

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

Daily Fantasy Golfer Picks for the Travelers Championship

All stats cited below originate at FantasyNational. Strokes gained data includes stats from the past calendar year and is adjusted based on my field strength and recency tweaks. 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

Patrick Cantlay (FanDuel Salary: $11,800 | Golf odds Win Odds: +1700) - We are not lacking with big names this week, and the top trio in salary is Bryson DeChambeau ($12,300), Dustin Johnson ($12,100), and Brooks Koepka ($11,900), but I think we can make better cases for the course for other golfers at more agreeable salaries.

Cantlay is rating out as the second-most likely golfer to win this week behind just Dustin Johnson in my win simulations, and the case for him is easy to make. Cantlay ranks in the 99th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green over the past year, including a 97th-percentile rank off the tee and a 92nd-percentile rank in approach. Cantlay has finished top-15 at the Travelers three straight years.

Abraham Ancer ($11,000 | +3200) - Ancer missed the cut at the U.S. Open but striped the irons (gaining 5.2 strokes from approach). Distance -- while it matters this week -- isn't necessarily a must, which is good for Ancer, who is in the 28th percentile in distance gained over the past 100 rounds on Tour. Ancer still excels off the tee (96th percentile) despite that. Ancer is a 77th-percentile bentgrass putter, his best surface, and has finished 8th and 11th at TPC River Highlands the past two years.

Others to Consider:
Paul Casey ($11,600 | +1600) - Has five top-20 finishes here the past six years and has 97th-percentile adjusted tee to green data.
Kevin Streelman ($10,600 | +3200) - Is 33rd-percentile distance-wise but 90th-percentile off the tee; virtually always gains in ball-striking.
Sam Burns ($10,100 | +7000) - Cut on the number at the U.S. Open and has two top-two finishes since the start of May we shouldn't forget.

Mid-Range Picks

Si Woo Kim ($9,900 | +6500) - Kim had a quiet 40th-place finish at the U.S. Open last week while gaining 6.0 strokes tee to green to rank him tied for 18th in the stat. Kim has three top-26 finishes at TPC River Highlands in four starts but notably has lost strokes putting in all of them despite bentgrass being his best putting surface. Kim enters ranking in the 92nd percentile in adjusted strokes gained: tee to green.

Emiliano Grillo ($9,600 | +9500) - Grillo has been off the radar for a bit on the PGA Tour but is largely dialed with his irons. His past six starts have yielded 7.1, -0.6, 7.1, 7.5, 6.1, and 2.1 strokes gained from approach. The two results under 6.0 were both missed cuts. Over the past 20 rounds, Grillo has gained 1.49 true (i.e. adjusted) strokes per round, via datagolf. Next best in this field is Casey at 1.23. So, yeah. Also, bentgrass greens are the only surface where Grillo isn't a huge negative.

Others to Consider:
Cameron Smith ($10,000 | +6000) - Generally gains across the board or has the ability to do so. Better than the salary suggests.
Brendon Todd ($9,600 | +9500) - 99th-percentile bentgrass putter and two top-15 finishes here in the past, including an 11th last year.
Max Homa ($9,400 | +7500) - Over past 11 events, either top-25 (six times) or cut (five times) but cuts were three majors, THE PLAYERS, and the Wells Fargo.
Doc Redman ($9,100 | +7500) - Runner-up at Congaree and only weak spot is around-the-green play, which isn't a key stat.

Low-Salaried Picks

Cameron Tringale ($9,000 | +8000) - Tringale is rating out as my model's best value when looking at his stats rating and long-term form relative to his salary. He's only in the 40th percentile in adjusted strokes gained: off the tee but is 83rd-percentile or better in the other three strokes gained stats. He's historically struggled at TPC River Highlands but is in much better form now than then.

Doug Ghim ($8,300 | +25000) - If we want to build around the stars, we'll need to save salary. Ghim makes a lot of sense and ranks 31st in my player ranks for the week despite the low salary. Ghim should fit the course well as someone who can gain strokes off the tee (65th percentile) and has pretty elite iron splits as well (91st percentile). He's a bad overall putter but is mostly neutral on bentgrass.

Others to Consider:
Lanto Griffin ($9,000 | +12000) - Has been missing cuts but still driving it well and has 85th-percentile irons.
Talor Gooch ($8,900 | +17000) - Two straight top-20 finishes with good iron play and a balanced profile as always.
Kevin Kisner ($8,500 | +14000) - Missing lots of cuts but is best on bentgrass and doesn't need distance.