The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Summer Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
The Field
The PGA TOUR’s fall swing begins this week with the Procore Championship (formerly the Fortinet Championship). The event has been played at the Silverado Country Club (North Course) since 2014 and will feature a full field of over 150 golfers, with regular cut rules applying — only the top 65 and ties will play the weekend. This year’s version kicks off the fall swing, but there will be a small hiatus after this event with the Ryder Cup scheduled in two weeks.
The field this week features a ton of big-name players, many of whom will be partaking in the upcoming Ryder Cup, including world number one Scottie Scheffler. The Americans have 10 Ryder Cup team members in attendance this week, including Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Russell Henley, and US Open winner JJ Spaun. The European squad has all chosen to play over in Europe at the BMW PGA event.
This is a full-field event with 150+ players where the cut will take place after Friday, with the top 65 and ties making the weekend.
The Course
Silverado CC (North) • Napa, CA
7,166 yards, Par 72; Green: Poa Annua/Bentgrass
This will be the ninth year in a row that the players will tee it up at the Silverado CC. The Silverado North course isn’t extremely long, but there are several challenging features about it that will often work to keep the winning score in the mid-to-high teens. Many holes have tighter tee shots — with a few doglegs thrown in — that require some accuracy off the tee. However, many of these holes can also be challenged by longer hitters who don’t mind taking on some risk, and longer hitters have fared well here in past iterations. The driving accuracy numbers here tend to be quite low (often 10% below the PGA TOUR average), and with everyone missing the odd fairway, a kind of bomb and gouge approach can be used at this venue.
The smaller greens are primarily Poa annua, and players with good records at West Coast venues with similar green types (Riviera, Torrey Pines, and Pebble) have often excelled here, as well. Again, though, the four shorter par 5s mean the course sets up well for those who score well on these longer holes. Overall, the four par 5s at Silverado have played as the four easiest holes on the course. With three of them falling within the 550-600 yard mark, looking at efficiency ratings from that distance isn’t a poor idea. Additionally, there are three par 4s that measure in under 400 yards and only two that measure at over 450 yards. The course has a lot of birdie opportunities available, and those who can set themselves up well off the tee on the long and narrow fairways have tended to post the most consistently low scores here.
Recent winners have traditionally averaged much higher in driving distance for the week. In 2020, Stewart Cink averaged 315 yards off the tee, and the field also averaged slightly above the PGA TOUR average for driving distance. Max Homa ranked sixth in strokes gained off the tee at this venue in 2021 and averaged over 310 yards per drive. 2019 champion Cameron Champ is a well-known power hitter and one of the longest players on the PGA TOUR.
2023 winner Sahith Theegala didn’t gain strokes off the tee but did make it up on the greens by sinking an abnormal number of putts (+8.9 strokes putting). 2024 winner Patton Kizzire took a similar approach as he was just average off the tee (+0.89 strokes) but very good on approach (+3.4 strokes) and was lights out on the greens (+8.9 strokes). If you’re looking for styles of golfers to target, I’d emphasize big hitters and solid off the tee players (distance and accuracy), but when looking at more boom or bust options or cheaper values, putting and approach upside is where I’d shift my approach.
If any of the big hitters can’t get it going on the greens, then a shorter hitter or less consistent ball-striker could certainly steal the W this week with a big putting week.
2025 Outlook: There is no rain in the forecast, which isn’t surprising for this time of year in California. It won’t be hot, though, either with highs in the 75°F range for all four days. Overall, expect decent scoring conditions for most of the event. The wind starts fairly tame, with gusts getting up to around 10-14 mph in the afternoon on Thursday. Friday afternoon looks like a calmer day, as of writing, so the Thursday AM/Friday PM wave may have a slight advantage. I wouldn’t go targeting only players from this wave, but it would make for a good tiebreaker given the current forecast.
Last Five Winners
2024: Patton Kizzire -20 (over David Lipsky -15)
2023: Sahith Theegala -21 (over SH Kim -19)
2022: Max Homa -16 (over Danny Willet -15)
2021: Max Homa -19 (over Maverick McNealy -18)
2020: Stewart Cink -21 (over Harry Higgs -19)
Winning Trends
11 of the last 12 winners have all had a finish of T21 or better in one of their past four tournament starts.
Six of the last eight winners of the Fortinet Championship made it to the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs (BMW or Dell Championships) — none of the past seven winners made it to the final 30 of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Tour Championship.
Winner’s Stats and Course Overview
Patton Kizzire 2024 (20-under-par)
2023 Lead-in form (MC-MC-T8-T50-MC)
SG: OTT—+0.89
SG: APP—+3.4
SG: TTG—+8.0
SG: ATG—+3.6
SG: PUTT—+8.9
- Recent form has been a decent indicator with most recent winners, although Max Homa or Kizzire were not doing anything exceptional prior to their wins here.
- The last six winners of this event have all been players who didn’t play in the season-ending Tour Championship (including Sahith Theegala last year), and the longer rest period likely helped some of the veteran names like Cink, Homa and Kizzire come in fresh.
- The venue contains four par 5s, with three likely to fall in the 550-600 yard range for the week, making efficiency from this range important; on a similar note, seven of the par 4s this week measure in at 400-450 yards.
- The field here has averaged two-plus yards more in driving distance than the PGA TOUR average, suggesting this is a good course for players who dominate with the driver. Driving accuracy remains difficult for the entire field, as it typically trends 8-10% lower than the PGA TOUR average.
- Theegala and Kizzire were the first two winners in the last seven seasons who failed to gain at least 1.6 strokes off the tee.
- They both made up for the poor driving on the greens, where they both gained +8.9 strokes putting for the week. It remains to be seen if this sort of trend will continue, but the shorter setup and the improved driving of most pros (technology, strength, etc) could see less emphasis on driving stats.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
JJ Spaun +2200 and $9,100
Comparables:
- Ben Griffin +2200 and $9,200
- Cameron Young +2500 and $9,400
Keith Mitchell +7000 and $7,700
Comparables:
- Mark Hubbard +7500 and $7,900
- Gary Woodland +8000 and $7,800
- Matt Kuchar +9000 and $7,800
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
HORSES FOR COURSES
1. Max Homa ($8,600; best finishes: win-2022 and 2021): A two-time winner of this event from 2021 and 2022. Homa’s a great driver of the ball and loves playing in California, where he’s already racked up four career wins. He did miss the cut here last season, but should be motivated for a big week given his poor play last season.
2. Chez Reavie ($6,400; best finishes: T3-2020, T13-2017): Reavie has been very consistent at this venue despite being a short hitter. The Arizona State graduate has made the cut at this venue/event in 12 of his last 13 appearances. His best effort remains a T3 finish from 2020.
3. Sahith Theegala ($7,400; best finishes: win – 2023 and T6-2022): Theegala has taken to this venue well. On top of winning at Silverado in 2023, he also placed T6 here in 2022 and T7 here in 2024. He leads the field with a 68.80 since 2019.
4. Doug Ghim ($7,300; best finishes: T14 – 2023): Ghim hasn’t recorded any big finishes at Silverado, but he has played well here overall. He finished T14 here on debut in 2020 and was T17 here in 2023.
5. Matt Kuchar ($7,800; best finishes: T13-2024): Kuchar has played well at this event over his career and was T13 at this event last season, getting to 9-under par. His 69.63 round average at Silverado is third-best here since 2019.
Recent Form
1. Scottie Scheffler ($14,400; T4-win): It remains to be seen whether Scheffler has recovered from losing to Tommy Fleetwood at the Tour Championship. Jokes aside, he’ll be looking to get in a good tune-up this wee,k which means the field should be on high alert.
2. Cameron Young ($9,200; T4-T11): Young’s form has really skyrocketed since the late summer. He finished T4 at the Tour Championship and bagged his win in August. His focus is likely on Beth Page in two weeks, but still, he’s someone to watch going into 2026.
3. Justin Thomas ($10,200; T7-T33): Thomas found some form again towards the back half of the year, posting Top 10 finishes at the Tour Championship and Travelers. He’s had some big finishes at this event in the past, so a nice week wouldn’t be shocking.
4. Sami Valimaki ($8,400; T2-T8): The Finn has been tearing things up over in Europe of late, and most recently posted a T2 at the Omega Masters in Switzerland. It’s his first time playing Silverado, but he’s in fine form at the moment and a name to monitor this fall.
5. Ben Griffin ($9,400; T10-T12-T9): Griffin had an amazingly steady playoffs, landing top 12 finishes at all three stops. After his monster season, there is little reason to expect a slowdown this week with the Ryder Cup ahead.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Griffin and Spaun a nice duo
Given Scheffler’s salary, looking to deploy a balanced approach when building lineups this week does make some sense. Both Ben Griffin and JJ Spaun will want to prove something in their final warmup event, and, quite frankly, have been playing great golf of late. I see them as a nice duo to consider stacking for core lineups, which will leave you lots of flexibility down below. Matt Kuchar ($7,800) has a great record at this event and makes sense as a cheaper value to target. Below him, Andrew Putnam ($7,400) and Doug Ghim ($7,300) are two names I’d consider to help fill out lineups.
Tournaments (GPPs): Hossler could strike
It’s a great time for some of these middle-tier players to go out and show their worth against this America A-squad, which should act as nice motivation for a player like Beau Hossler ($7,700). Hossler had a great end to the regular season, landing multiple top 20s and a T4 at the Barracuda, which is played nearby. He’s (normally) a standout driver and great Poa putter, having landed top 20 finishes at Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines. At under 8k, he’s a player I like targeting in GPPs this week. Gary Woodland ($7,800) has some similar appeal at nearly the same price and certainly fits the “veteran” mold of recent winners like Kizzire and Cink. Taylor Montgomery ($7,000) is very boom or bust, but has played well of late and was a runner-up on the KF Tour a month ago. With putting specialists doing so well at this event recently he makes sense as a GPP target as well.
MY PICK: Akshay Bhatia ($8,700)
Bhatia had a down year in 2025, but seemed to find his game towards the end of the summer. He was in contention for portions of the 3M Open (before a poor final round) and then managed a T6 at the FedEx St. Jude, which allowed him to make the Tour Championship (he finished T13).
The ball-striking issues he dealt with early in 2025 seemed to have passed as he’s gained multiple strokes on approach now in three straight starts and seems like he only needs the putter to get going before he contends again. Given his success on Poa greens and on the west coast in the past (T2 Detroit – 2024, winner Barracuda – 2023), he profiles well for this venue. From a motivation standpoint, making a statement in front of all the Ryder Cup players would not be a poor thing either, as he makes his case to be included on the next International squad.
At $8,700, I view him as a great core value to build around this week and a player you could think about wagering on for more upside exposure at +3500 in the outright market on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
MY SLEEPER: Nicolas Echavarria ($7,300)
Echavarria had an interesting end to his regular season. He went off in the final group of the Wyndham in August, but blew up and shot 75, falling to T19 for the week. He also put in a T6 at the Rocket Mortgage the month prior, which is played on Detroit Golf Club, a course with Poa greens and decent comparables to Silverado.
Echavarria is still an up-and-down player who struggles with consistency at times (as he proved at the Wyndham), but if his irons are on, he’s someone who can challenge the big names in this field (last fall he beat Justin Thomas down the stretch to win in Japan). I see him as a great boom or bust GPP play this week for DFS, as his price hasn’t risen much, despite the solid end to last year. If he connects, he has top 10 upside, which also makes him an intriguing placement bet at +750 (top 10) on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
