Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS) - Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA family! If only Sergio Garcia had started putting with his eyes closed 20 years ago! The ball-striking Spaniard rode a very unique putting routine to a surprise win at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week.

We go from a solid field in Mississippi to a borderline elite one this week in Las Vegas, as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open boasts a very strong entrant list and will be the first of back-to-back tournaments in Sin City. In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the U.S. Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options.

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!

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open - PGA DFS Overview

TPC Summerlin

7,255 Yards - Par 71 - Greens: Bent - Designer: Bobby Weed/Fuzzy Zoeller

Fairly short by modern standards at just over 7,200 yards, this Las Vegas track has reachable Par-5s and a driveable Par-4 - which allows players to rack up birdies - but is short enough to bring every player in the field into the mix. The fairways are wide and firm with huge Bentgrass green complexes that generally roll on the slow side. Summerlin routinely ranks as one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour schedule, but we have seen wind and weather occasionally play a factor on this layout that sits at high elevation. While this course is on the shorter side, we haven't traditionally seen bombers have a huge advantage here, as the past winners of the Shriners have mostly been sharp ball strikers or been on fire with the putter...like last year's winner, Kevin Na. I'll be targeting ball striking and Strokes Gained: Approach this week, as well as players that can rack up birdies.

Let's Look At The Stats

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
• Birdies or Better Gained
• Par 5: Birdies or Better Gained
• SG: Off the Tee
• SG: Putting (Bent)
• SG: Approach

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 

Bryson DeChambeau ($12,200)

There aren't any bad options at the top of the salary scale, as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is truly loaded with elite options. It's probably not a bad idea to start with Bryson DeChambeau, a guy that is fresh off an ultra-impressive win at the U.S. Open and has a pristine track record at TPC Summerlin. DeChambeau has been an absolute BEAST in previous trips to TPC Summerlin, sandwiching a win in 2019 between a T4 and a T7. His Strokes Gained: Total number for this event trails only Patrick Cantlay by a sliver and he carries a 67.44 scoring average over his four Shriners appearances. Yes, there are other very legitimate options at the top of the salary scale this week, but DeChambeau might be the only player that has the ability to truly run away with this tournament if things are clicking.

Webb Simpson ($11,900)

Webb Simpson's style is basically on the other end of the spectrum than Bryson DeChambeau's, but it is perhaps no less effective on "regular" PGA Tour layouts. Simpson has certainly been bulletproof at TPC Summerlin, as he's posted a win, four top-10s, and never missed a cut in eight Shriners starts since 2010. While DeChambeau unquestionably has the ability to dominate with his power, Simpson's fairways-and-greens attack is more consistent, which is why he's only missed three cuts since November of 2018. He brings lots of stability to roster builds, while still possessing an amount of win equity that shouldn't be ignored.

Patrick Cantlay ($11,700)

Patrick Cantlay hasn’t necessarily played bad since the restart (he’s consistently gained strokes T2G), but he also hasn’t been the type of good that we’ve come to expect...logging just one top-10 in eight starts since the COVID-19 layoff.

Cantlay heads into a massive “get right” situation this week at the Shriners. He’s been downright dominant at TPC Summerlin, posting a win and two runner-up finishes over the last three years. His 66.67 scoring average on this layout is the best in the field and Bent is historically his best putting surface. Despite his lack of strong recent results, Cantlay's DFS price tag hasn't really budged, which might make him something of a contrarian play at the top of the board this week.

Tony Finau ($11,400)

It's frustrating to see Tony Finau not winning golf tournaments, but his consistency of late can't be ignored. Finau has posted top-10s in five of his last eight starts. He brings that strong form to a TPC Summerlin track where he's made six cuts in six career starts with four top-16 finishes. Like Webb Simpson, Finau brings a feeling of stability to the table this week, which makes him perfect a perfect core piece to build around.

Matthew Wolff ($11,100) 

I could make the argument that Matthew Wolff and Cantlay's salary should be flip-flopped this week, as Wolff has undoubtedly been in better form. He heads to Vegas off an impressive runner-up finish at the U.S. Open - his second top-five finish in a major in two months. However, TPC Summerlin is far from a major-type layout. It's a good thing for us that Wolff has proven himself adept on birdie-fest tracks as well as tough ones. The 21-year old finished runner-up in a shootout earlier this year at the Rocket Mortgage and his lone PGA Tour victory was a 21-under par victory at the 3M last year. He's one of - if not the most - explosive player in golf at the moment.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Cameron Davis ($9,900)

The young Aussie just continues to impress. Cameron Davis was featured in this write-up last week and didn't disappoint, posting a T6 at the Sanderson after holding a share of the 54-hole lead. Davis has now ran off five-straight made cuts with three top-15s among those. He heads to Vegas ranked first in the field in Birdies or Better Gained and third in SG: Par 5s over recent rounds. In his lone career start at TPC Summerlin two years ago he posted a T28 and there's a great chance that he improves on that finish this week.

Russell Henley ($9,700)

Henley hasn't teed it up in over a month, so it might be easy to forget that he closed out the 2019-20 season on a legit heater, going T25-T8-T9 in his last three starts. So while it might be a case of "out of sight, out of mind" with Henley for some DFS players, I'm interested in jumping right back on him despite his recent inactivity. His iron play has been a revelation and he stands first in this rather elite field in both SG: T2G and Approach if we stretch back 24 rounds. Of course, there's a downside in the form of his putting stroke, though he has looked better on the greens in his more recent starts.

Will Zalatoris ($9,700)

After a T8 at the U.S. Open and a T6 at Corales, the Willie Z bubble finally popped last week at the Sanderson. The youngster finished at even par after 36 holes to miss the cut at Country Club of Jackson. Despite last week's underwhelming performance, I see this week's Shriners as a nice bounce-back opportunity for Zalatoris, a player that ranks 12th in this field in Birdies or Better Gained over the last 12 rounds. He's very familiar with these types of birdie-fest-layouts from his time on the Korn Ferry Tour and has a great chance to rebound at reduced ownership this week.

Denny McCarthy ($9,200)

I've been in on Denny McCarthy lately and he’s popping for me again this week. His track record at TPC Summerlin is strong - T9/T15 last two years - and he’s a tremendous Bent putter (McCarthy is great on every surface). The concern with him is always his ball striking, though we have reason to believe that he’s in a nice groove T2G, as he heads to Vegas off an outing at the Sanderson in which he gained strokes on the field in every statistical category. There aren't many events on the schedule where a guy can just blatantly putt his way to victory, but last year Kevin Na proved that it is possible on this track. I'm giving McCarthy a bump this week, as these huge greens are easy to hit, but difficult to navigate...and McCarthy is the best putter on the PGA Tour.

Cameron Smith ($9,100)

I rarely find Cameron Smith in my lineups because he's so tough to put a finger on statistically and his ball striking is routinely poor. However, the Aussie is something of a "gut" play for me this week, as he heads to Vegas with an intriguing blend of good recent form and strong course history. Smith has posted top-25s in three of his last four starts (gaining strokes on Approach in all four) and he's went T10-T13 in his last two starts at TPC Summerlin. I'm not letting him anywhere near my core builds, but I love him as a "boom or bust" GPP play.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Kristoffer Ventura ($8,800)

The youngster has been a popular DFS value option over the last couple of weeks. Ventura fell short at Corales, but responded nicely last week with a T6 outing at the Sanderson. This week's Shriners field is undoubtedly stronger, though Ventura still feels underpriced at just $8.8k. He grades out 10th in this field in SG: Putting on Bent and has gained strokes T2G in five of last six starts on the PGA Tour. Couple that recent form with a solid T18 result in last year's Shriners and Ventura tops my list of value plays this week.

Lanto Griffin ($8,700)

Lanto is a player that's easy to overlook in DFS because he doesn't really standout in any particular statistical area. What he does manage to do is be "pretty darn solid" in every facet of the game (14th in this field in SG: T2G), which makes him the type of guy that you don't see on TV all week, but at the end of the tournament he's posted a sneaky T12 or something. True to form, he logged a quiet T18 in last year's Shriners.

Stewart Cink ($8,600)

I don't know what's gotten into Stewart Cink lately, but the 47-year-old is partying like it's 1999. We've seen the veteran play well in short spurts over the last couple of years, but Cink's irons have been firing like never before as of late. He's gained over five strokes on Approach in each of his last two starts...a win at the Safeway and a T12 last week at the Sanderson. This TPC Summerlin track is manageable for veterans due to its relative lack of length, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Cink continue to play well this week if he keeps the irons going.

Tyler McCumber ($8,000)

Our "What the hell, let's roll with it!" play of the week is Tyler McCumber at $8k. After missing seven straight cuts, McCumber has exploded for a runner-up finish (Corales) and a T6 (Sanderson) in his last two starts. Golf is a weird game, so chances are this is an unsustainable level of play for the son of PGA Tour-lifer Mark McCumber. However, he's been doing it with amazing ball striking both with his driver and his irons, rather than just an insanely hot putter, which makes me more willing to gamble on riding the wave with him this week.

Justin Suh ($7,200)

I'm reaching deep into my bag of tricks for you boys this week. If you have read this column all the way to the end, THANK YOU! A fun little dart throw this week is Justin Suh at just $7.2k. The class that included Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, and Matthew Wolff was supposed to produce four superstars, as Suh was just as decorated in college as those other three. While that trio has found instant success on the PGA Tour, Suh has struggled mightily to find his way. We can chalk a lot of his troubles up to a nagging wrist injury that has finally healed. Couple reasons to keep an eye out for Suh this week...he lived in Las Vegas for a time after college and spent a huge chunk of his practice time playing at TPC Summerlin and he reunited with his college golf coach during the COVID-19 downtime, which has helped him to finishes of T21 at the Barracuda and T14 at Corales in his only two PGA Tour starts since the layoff.

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Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:

If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU

— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020

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