The Valero Texas Open will play bridesmaid to Augusta National for the third time in its history. Most big-name players are electing to take this week off and get their Augusta National training early. Some golfers like Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth and Abraham Ancer have decided to find, or keep, their form leading into the Masters.
This week should be wide open for golfers to do well. We’ve seen Corey Conners, the 2019 winner, Monday qualify and go on to win. Andrew Landry (and Conners) missed three of his previous four cuts before winning in 2018. Don’t chase the chalk if you don’t have to.
Course history, current form, or your favorite golf tout has pumped up the projected DraftKings ownership for individual golfers throughout the week. This article will look at the projected chalk and pivot in each significant salary range when entering lineups in GPPs on DraftKings.
For a full course preview and who I like in the betting market, please refer to the DraftKings Preview article. Here are the pivots we should be considering this week on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st]
$10,000+ Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Jordan Spieth ($10,700)
Pivot: None
Tony Finau would be the golfer I’d target and pay up for in this range, but the strategy for GPPs should either be to play two golfers above $10,000 or fully fade and start in the $9,000 range. With the lack of big names, rosters may skew more stars and scrubs rather than balance. Differentiating yourself by going more balanced this week could set your lineup apart. If you’re looking to roster golfers in this range, I’d lean Spieth and Finau.
$8,000 to $10,000 Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Corey Conners ($9,500)
Pivot: Sam Burns ($8,000)
Per FantasyNational.com, the entire $9,000-range looks like it’s going to be chalky, with the lowest projected roster percentage belonging to Matt Kuchar ($9,000) at around five percent. The defending champ is projecting to be the most rostered player on the entire slate, so it should be a relatively easy fade if you’re looking to box out around a fifth of lineups this week. Instead, consider Sam Burns at $2,000 cheaper and close to half Conners’ projected roster percentage. It wasn’t too long ago Burns was battling for the title at Riviera CC in Los Angeles, where he gained 6.8 strokes with his irons. Burns’ Florida Swing was unpleasant for those of us who rostered him; he lost 12.2 strokes tee-to-green in four rounds (MC at THE PLAYERS and the API). Still, we should be looking to buy the proverbial dip in Burns with a price that not so long ago was more expensive in a stronger field at PGA National.
$7,000 to $8,000 Range
Projected Popular Golfer: Doug Ghim ($7,300)
Pivot: Sepp Straka ($7,300)
Ghim is a favorite of mine this week, but it’ll be an easy fade if his roster percentage is too high. Right now, he’s projecting to be the highest in this range, and even though he’s someone who could do well here, Sepp Straka at the same price and less than half of Ghim’s projected roster percentage is more appealing. Straka has gained with his irons in three straight tournaments and ranks 21st in SG: Ball-Striking over his last eight rounds. A top 10 at a windy track down at the Corales last week should give him confidence when facing the Texas winds this week. His best finish in 2021 was in Texas and the Vivint Houston Open, where he finished with a top 5.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Flop Shot [$200K to 1st]
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