jason mezrahi 
We’re getting ready for some winning PGA DFS picks for the Texas Valero Open and helping you win big money this week and bloat those bankrolls!
PGA DFS Course Notes:
- Solid field of 144 golfers
- Cut: Top 65 and ties play the weekend
- No 2020 Winner, but Corey Conners won in 2019 (-20)
- The course: TPC San Antonio – Oaks Course (Greg Norman design)
- Par 72 (7,494 yards)
- Wider fairways in spots but trouble off the tracks
- Long course with ball striking and second shots at a premium
- Par 5s are long, not guaranteed birdies
- Scrambling will help because bad approaches will run off greens
- Tough, Bermuda greens (overseeded with mixture)
- Wind is always an issue in Texas but we’re in the 10-12 MPH range for most of the play this week
- Correlative courses include Colonial CC, Silverado, Waialae CC, Bay Hill and the Pebble Beach courses
- Focus Stat Categories: Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, SG: APP, SG: OTT, SG: ARG, Driving Distance, GIR, Opps Gained
The Picks:
Elite PGA DFS (DK $9,500 and up):
Tony Finau (DK $11,000) – Playing a chalky Tony Finau – a guy who has burned me so many times I’ve lost count – doesn’t make me feel all that comfortable as I lead off the most expensive tier, but I don’t think I can fade this guy. Eventually I’ll get him right and there’s no discernible reason to leave him off my core builds other than bad feelings and high ownership. He’s No. 1 overall on my model, even including Dustin Johnson, who has already withdrawn from the Valero.
Jordan Spieth (DK $10,700) – He loves this course and its correlated venues and with his game shaping up considerably over the past couple of months, I think he might be ready for a win. His scrambling and short game will come in especially handy this week, and it’s the most excited I’ve been to play Spieth in PGA DFS in a long, long time.
Hideki Matsuyama (DK $10.100) – Hideki’s ownership might be the lowest of anybody in this top tier, so that’s one reason to jump on this ball striker extraordinaire in tournaments. Putting is always an issue, but he’s so surgical with his irons (and is a good enough scrambler at No. 37 in the field) that he’ll probably be gaining enough strokes on the field to offset his typical mediocrity with the flat stick.
Corey Conners (DK $9,500) – Second overall on my model, Conners is the defending champion here and has played well recently with 7 of his last 9 finishes among the Top 20, excluding a missed cut at the Genesis and T37 at the Farmers. He’ll be a near-lock for cash games and should be considered a core play for single-entry GPPs.
Also consider: Scottie Scheffler (GPP), Abraham Ancer
Mid-Range PGA DFS (DK $7,600 to $9,400):
Ryan Palmer (DK $9,400) – Palmer has stepped up his PGA DFS game in 2020-21 with nine straight made cuts after missing the weekend at the U.S. Open. This week he comes in at No. 7 on my model, and his dominance of Par 5s (No. 1 in the field) should help him solve these longer-than usual examples. A fine play in all formats.
Charley Hoffman (DK $9,200) – Hoffman’s numbers at TPC San Antonio might be the best in the field, with a win and eight finishes out of 10 (all made cuts) in the Top 15. If they ever build a new clubhouse, they should fashion a gargoyle on top of the roof in his honor. Fading him could be a mistake, but I’m not sure I’m in love with his price and projected popularity in large-field GPPs.
Brendan Steele (DK $9,100) – With a made cut in every event he’s played in 2021, Steele is starting to look like a solid cash game play in addition to his dynamic role as one of my favorite GPP plays. This week he comes in at No. 14 on my model and sports solid numbers across the board in the focus stat categories. His T3 at the Honda Classic means he’s got plenty of Top 5 upside.
Chris Kirk (DK $8,600) – Kirk (who’s made nine out of his last 10 cuts) sometimes struggles to find the fairway, but that should be mitigated a bit by these larger-than-normal target areas. He’s a solid scrambler, is excellent around the greens (No. 4 in the field in SG:ARG) and has a Top 10 (2018) and Top 15 (2016) straddled by two missed cuts at this event in 2019 and 2017. I’ll have exposure in GPPs, though I probably won’t have him in my single-entry builds.
Adam Hadwin (DK $8,300) – Nick and Sia discussed Hadwin in the breakdown, and he’s clearly doing some things right around the greens lately, making six out of his last seven cuts and spiking a T8 at the Honda Classic a couple weeks ago. Nick’s model has him much higher than mine, but nobody’s model is perfect. I’m hoping it could be a good week for Canadians, as both he and Conners seem to be shaping up well for this Texas venue.
Harold Varner III (DK $7,900) – I’m a little wary of investing too much in Varner this week because he’s popped on my model before (he’s No. 10 overall this week) and when that’s happened I seem to remember him finishing poorly and only fair to middling among the other players I liked ta his price point – which is not really where we want to go in GPPs. But he’s a solid ball striker who’s fine for cash games – and my large-field GPP ownership depends largely on where the field is projected to land on him.
Charles Howell III (DK $7,800) – Chucky 3 isn’t the greatest ball-striker around, but he gets it done off the tee and has the shops to get it done around the fast Texas greens. If I had to narrow my player pool down to about 20-25 players, he’d be in there, and the price is eminently affordable for his upside.
Danny Willett (DK $7,700) – I’m not hearing too many folks lauding the prospects of Willet this week outside of out crack team at WinDaily, which makes me feel all squishy and titillated in my gamblin’ bones. The Englishman finished solo eighth last week at the Corales Puntacana, and while my model isn’t in love with him, he’s definitely a guy that shows up a few spots better at windy venues and places where there’s some green run-off and crafty approaches to finagle. Get some exposure in your large-field GPPs, as it won’t be hard to get ahead of the field.
Sebastian Munoz (DK $7,600) – Munoz also seems to have gone overlooked a bit this week and that’s fine with me, because he’s No. 22 on my overall model and sports no glaring weaknesses heading into this venue. His game log isn’t too exciting, but Munoz is a guy that grinds away and gives you some exciting finishes when you least expect them – like a quiet assassin waiting to pounce.
Also consider: Cameron Tringale, Si Woo Kim, Cameron Davis, Lanto Griffin, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley (Cash), Sam Burns (GPP), Ryan Moore, Matt Wallace, Gary Woodland (GPP)
Value (DK $6,600 to 7,500):
Sepp Straka (DK $7,300) – I tend to view Straka and Higgs as almost interchangeable in DFS, and it’s almost hilarious to see where they land this week on my model and how much they align in the focus stat categories. Straka gets the nod in tournaments because he’s a lot less popular this week, but I’ll have shares of Harry as well.
Lucas Glover (DK $7,300) – I’m fine with Glover in large-field GPPs where you have to get a little bit different, and he’s on my short list for single-entry consideration given his T14 finish here in 2019 and decent SG:APP numbers at this and correlated venues. If anything he’ll give you a wild ride.
Denny McCarthy (DK $7,300) – Speaking of wild rides, McCarthy usually gets it done with elite putting and scrambling, but his ball striking has improved considerably in 2021 and he looks like he could be a decent value in this group, which if I’m being honest is pretty appealing for their upside. He, Glover, Kizzire and Laird all seem to be underpriced.
Patton Kizzire (DK $7,200) – Kizzire is another player who’s made big strides in the 2020-21 season, and his normal SG:OTT woes fall under the same category as Kirk. In effect, we can consider him to be kind of a “poor man’s Kirk” this week given the disparity in pricing and odds. I like him for GPPs and he’s in consideration for my SE.
Martin Laird (DK $7,100) – Laird is 30thoverall on my model and while his game is a tad finicky for my liking, he’s three for his last three at the VTO including two top 20s. I won’t go heavy, but coming in around the 5-10% range along with the field shouldn’t kill too many lineups if he doesn’t smash.
Matthew NeSmith (DK $7,100) – NeSmith will be more popular than Laird because he’s easily more recognizable; his solid February stretch made him a profitable play at the Pebble Beach AT&T and Waste Management Open. He’s No. 39 overall on my model and while the windy Texas venue might be a problem for him, he’s a decent enough ball striker to come out okay.
Tom Lewis (DK $6,800) – Lewis is my wild card play this week, but I’ll be careful not to exceed 10% ownership in my GPPs and probably can’t get behind him in single-entry. Still – he’s a guy who can go low and could make his mark in single-day, so stay tuned.
Chesson Hadley (DK $6,600) – Hadley’s not the best scrambler around, but if he can keep his head on straight and not melt down on the Par 5s, I’ve got confidence he can place well enough this week to help your teams. Expectations should remain relatively low at this price, but Hadley could surprise this weekend.
More value golfers to consider: Erik van Rooyen, John Huh, Doug Ghim (GPP), Harry Higgs, Tom Hoge, Jim Furyk, Will Gordon
Longshot Punts PGA DFS (DK $6,500 and under):
Jason Dufner (DK $6,500) – As we’ve discussed before,we should never be going all-in on this range of golfers unless there’s a glaring pricing error at play, but I don’t mind using some Dufner given the fact he’s made three out of his last four cuts and has some upside.
Bo Hoag (DK $6,400) – He’s missed the cut in his last two but Hoag offers plenty of Top 35 upside for his excellent scrambling numbers and overall finish in my model, where he’s No. 28 (just ahead of Si Woo Kim and Laird). He’s a 1/10 GPP play at most but I’ll have shares.
D.J. Trahan (DK $6,000) – Trahan is an awful putter but ranks No. 32 on my model and will find his way onto one or two of my cheap 20 max “studs-and-scrubs” lineups because…why not? At $6K if the other guys fare really well, all he needs to do is make the cut.
Additional punts: Kyle Stanley, Danny Lee (GPP), J.B. Holmes, Akshay Bhatia (GPP)
