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Hello RotoBaller PGA family! Dustin Johnson pulled off a huge win at East Lake, capturing both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup with the victory.
While last week's event only had 30 entrants, basically all of them can be called "stars". This week's Safeway Open has a full field, but you'll be hard-pressed to find many stars outside of just a few recognizable names at the top. In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Safeway Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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Safeway Open - PGA DFS Overview
Silverado Resort & Spa North
7,166 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Poa Annua
A small group led by Johnny Miller purchased this Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed property in 2010. Miller quickly orchestrated a fairly extensive re-design which has been well received. This is a classic layout with tough-to-hit, tree-lined fairways that places an emphasis on accuracy off the tee. Elite ball striking is required at Silverado and will be an area that I will target heavily, while iron play will also take its usual prominent place in my research process. Recent winners here are players that I would largely place in the "ball strikers" category, with most being known for their length and ability off the tee. I'll also glance at scrambling and around-the-green ability this week, as this tournament definitely isn't a "birdiefest", with the average winning score at around 15-under par. For the first time in a while, we'll see true California Poa Annua greens. Poa is notoriously tricky, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye on players that have positive putting splits on Poa.
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Silverado North | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 284 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 52% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 67% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 59% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.45 | 0.54 |
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
- Birdies Or Better Gained
- SG: Putting (Poa Annua)
- Par-5 Scoring Average
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Phil Mickelson ($11,800) & Si Woo Kim ($11,700)
I'm listing these two together as they - wildly - sit atop the FanDuel salary scale together this week. This Safeway field is #NotGood and the DFS sites have to put somebody at the top of the board, so I suppose Phil and Si Woo make as much sense as anyone else in the field. Phil has elite course history in this event and recently won on the Champions Tour, while Si Woo has been on a bit of a heater as of late. At the end of the day, they are both "fine" plays in a vacuum, but it is really tough to swallow these price tags due the inherent volatility that comes with rostering either or both.
Brendan Steele ($11,400)
A two-time winner of the Safeway Open, Steele's price can be somewhat justified by his course history and recent solid play. He's gained strokes both T2G and on Approach in each of his last six, making the cut in all of those tournaments with two top-25s and a top-10. However, even though Steele won this event back-to-back in 2017-18, he's posted just a T53 and a T60 in his last two starts at Silverado, though his form at the time was terrible. All in all, Steele is a player that I would like to get some exposure to this week, but despite a couple of things being in his favor, he's simply not dependable enough to be considered an "All In" type of play at this price.
Harold Varner III ($10,500)
HV3 just feels like a really solid play here. He's made five-straight cuts at the Safeway - with three finishes inside the top-17 among those - and heads to Silverado in fine form. Varner has gained strokes T2G each of the last three times he's teed it up and posted impressive results in both the PGA Championship and the Wyndham. Obviously, the price tag is inflated, but HV3 is perhaps my favorite play at the top of the board this week.
Cameron Davis ($10,300)
The young Aussie is coming in hot this week, as Davis has looked extremely sharp over the last six weeks. He's went T12/T32/T15/T29 in his last four starts and posted a T17 at Silverado two years ago. Davis is both an explosive scorer - first in this field in Birdies or Better Gained - and a great driver of the ball - 13th in SG: OTT - both qualities that should translate well this week. He's streaky and could certainly disappoint here, but I like the course fit and his upside.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Sam Burns ($9,900)
A lot to like with Sam Burns here. The young stud's game has been trending in the right direction since the restart. He's made the cut in five of his last seven, with top-25s at the Travelers, Workday, and Wyndham. Burns bombs it off the tee (remind anyone of Cam Champ?) and ranks seventh in this field in both SG: Par 5s and Driving Distance. In addition to his length, he's also an exceptional putter that can get extremely hot on the greens. He's just 24-years-old, so there's naturally still some volatility with his output, but I really like the way he's played over the last couple months.
Mark Hubbard ($9,700)
One of the biggest surprises since the restart has been the consistent play of Mark Hubbard. He's teed it up nine times since play resumed and has made the cut in eight. Hubbard's game isn't flashy, but he's been rock-solid as of late. Though he's not exceptional in any one statistical category, he has been very good on Par-5s and stands tied for seventh in this week's field in SG: Par 5s. In addition to his steady form, Hubbard has played well at Silverado, logging a T13 in last year's Safeway.
Luke List ($9,500)
List fits the "Brendan Steele, Emiliano Grillo mold" that has worked on this layout before...great ball striker, horrible putter. The Vandy product nabbed a win on the Korn Ferry Tour after the restart and also posted a top-10 finish at the Memorial. He's found some success at the Safeway, scoring a T4 in this event two years ago and making the cut in three of his last four starts at Silverado.
Cameron Tringale ($9,500)
Tringale has been remarkably consistent in this event, making four of five cuts at the Safeway since 2016. He hasn't teed it up much since the restart, but a T3 at the 3M was a highlight in his post-layoff results. Tringale stands third in this field in SG: Approach and profiles as a nice, sturdy option on a wild week.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Patrick Rodgers ($9,400)
I'm not interested in Patrick Rodgers every week, but I'm always intrigued with him on certain types of layouts. Rodgers' strength lies with his driver (16th in Driving Distance) and putter (seventh in SG: Putting - Poa). He can bomb away on the Par-5s and will make tons of putts. This Silverado layout has proven to be a nice fit for his game, as he's made the cut in four of his last five Safeway starts with a T6 coming in 2016.
Wesley Bryan ($8,600)
Not a lot of starts for Wesley Bryan since he returned from shoulder surgery, but the former RBC Heritage champ has looked sharp when he's had the opportunity to tee it up. Bryan has been lights out with his irons, gaining an average of just over five strokes on Approach over his last four starts. The sharp iron play has resulted in some solid finishes and he heads to Silverado with top-25s in two of his last three starts. In this field, at this price, I'm happy to take a flier on Bryan and his hot irons.
Adam Schenk ($8,600)
Adam Schenk is a player that my RB colleague Spencer Aguiar has written up a few times recently with great success. I'm willing to go back to the well with him at $8.6k this week, as he has a nice enough blend of recent form and course history (a T14 here two years ago) to consider as a value option. Schenk ranks fifth in this week's field in SG: Par-5s and is an interesting option for those of us that might be forced to punt our sixth roster spot.
Wyndham Clark ($8,400)
We're getting down into pure dart throw territory now. Wyndham Clark has been scuffling as of late, but the young man has demonstrated some upside in the past. Clark fits the mold that we're looking for this week...he's long off the tee and an excellent putter. We can look for him to score well on this layouts four Par-5s and - hopefully - have a decent week with his irons.
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