Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS) - Valero Texas Open

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate for the Valero Texas Open, 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 crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller!

In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Valero Texas 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 that are worth considering.

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!

Valero Texas Open - PGA DFS Overview

TPC San Antonio - Oaks Course

7,494 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bermuda - Designer: Greg Norman

Opened in 2010, this Pete Dye/Greg Norman design (with an assist from Sergio Garcia) immediately found its way into the PGA Tour rotation and has hosted this event since it opened. Norman incorporated the natural terrain to create a layout that's long and tough. It's length definitely gives a bump to the bombers, though we have seen precise ball strikers - such as 2019 winner, Corey Conners, thrive here in recent years due to course conditions. The Par-5's are no picnic, as all four play almost 600 yards and don't yield the amount of birdies and eagles that we normally see on the Tour. The wind is always a huge factor at TPC San Antonio, just as Norman intended with his design. It's somewhat of a fool's errand trying to predict the weather, especially wind, but it's worth keeping an eye on the forecast for any possible tee-time draw advantage. The big takeaway this week is: ball striking, ball striking, and more ball striking.

For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!

Let's Look At The Stats

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Strokes Gained: T2G
• Total Driving
• Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
• Par 5: Birdies Or Better Gained
• Wind Play

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 

Jordan Spieth ($11,500)

Ok...so it's a little weird to Jordan Spieth at the top of the salary scale again. However, there are plenty of reasons to roster him this week at Valero. He heads to San Antonio with his irons firing in a way that we haven’t seen from him in years. Spieth has gained an average of 4.5 strokes on Approach over his last five tournaments, his best output with the irons in a five-event window since the summer of 2017, a stretch in which he won the Travelers and the Open Championship. He’ll try to keep things going this week at TPC San Antonio, a course where he posted a T30 in 2019 after a three-year absence following a runner-up finish in 2015 and a top-10 in ‘14.

Tony Finau ($11,400)

It's happened a million times before...we see Tony atop the board against a somewhat watered-down field and think: THIS IS THE WEEK! I don't know, maybe it is...but I just feel like I've seen this movie before and know how it ends. Hell, I hope I'm wrong. I hope Tony finally gets his second PGA Tour win this week.

From a DFS perspective Finau is an absolutely fine play. He's looked sluggish in his last two outings at the PLAYERS & WGC-Match Play, but had been in beast mode in the months prior, posting a ridiculous three consecutive runner-up finishes at one point. Tony hasn't been terrific in three spot starts at TPC San Antonio, but did post a T3 in the 2017 Valero, so this is a gettable course for him.

Scottie Scheffler ($11,300)

If you watched any of last week's WGC-Match Play telecast then you certainly don't need me to remind you that Scottie Scheffler is a "Texas guy"! I mean seriously, how many times do we need to hear it? Anyway, Scheffler stays in his home state this week after playing beautiful golf last Saturday to reach the Match Play final. He ultimately fell to Billy Horschel, though a clear statement was made to golf fans: Scheffler is ready for the big time and is going to win on the PGA Tour very, very soon. It could very well be this week if the youngster is able to shake off the WGC hangover. He posted a T20 in his Valero debut in 2019 and has all the tools needed to succeed on this layout.

Corey Conners ($11,000)

I'm kinda running out of superlatives to explain how good Corey Conners' ball striking is, so I'll simply say that Conners ranks first in this Valero field in Strokes Gained: T2G, Total, & Ball Striking over the last 24 rounds. TPC San Antonio is notoriously a ball-strikers paradise and obviously a great fit for him - he won the Valero in 2019 - so I expect to see another strong performance from the Canadian this week. Conners heads to the Valero on the heels of two sparkling performances in his last two stroke-play starts, a T7 at THE PLAYERS and a T3 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational...big time results on tough golf courses against elite fields. It doesn't really feel like he's on the same level as guys like Spieth, Finau, or Scheffler; but on this specific week, on this specific course, he might be my favorite spend up option.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Ryan Palmer ($10,700)

It's a quasi-homecoming this week for Texas native, Ryan Palmer. Despite missing the cut in his last two Valero Open starts, the veteran should feel right at home on a golf course where he logged three consecutive top-six finishes between 2015 and 2017. Palmer is notoriously erratic, so I recommend him as a "GPP Only" play, but he’s gained strokes both T2G and on Approach in three of his last four starts and should be considered a serious threat this week.

Charley Hoffman ($10,500)

Like the aforementioned Ryan Palmer, Charley Hoffman is tough to rely on at this price point, but there is some serious upside potential for him this week. Hoffman has been dominant in this event and on this TPC San Antonio layout.  He won the Valero in 2016 and has been ridiculously-good good on this layout, posting three top-three finishes, four top-13s, and never missing a cut over 10 starts since 2010.

In addition to the ultra-elite course history, Hoffman has demonstrated encouraging form in 2021. He’s posted two top-10s and a couple of top-20s over seven starts this year. The vet is finding success due to his razor-sharp ball striking. He’s grades out first in this field in SG: Approach over the last 12 & 24 rounds, while averaging 3.2 strokes gained T2G over his last five tournaments.

Chris Kirk ($10,300)

I’ve been all aboard the Chris Kirk Express this year and I ain’t jumping off now. Not when our hero heads to a TPC San Antonio layout on which he’s posted three top-13 finishes in his last five Valero starts. Kirk has battled a lot of off-the-course issues over the past year or so and his dramatic T2 at the Sony Open earlier this year allowed him to keep his PGA Tour card. It was one of the most impressive performances under pressure that I’ve ever seen in professional golf. The former Georgia Bulldog has managed to carry that momentum into 2021, posting a top-10 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and top-25s at the AmEx, AT&T, and Honda. Kirk was also right in the thick of things at the PLAYERS before a horrible final round sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.

Lanto Griffin ($10,000)

I imagine a lot of folks will hop on Matt Kuchar at this price point after his deep run at the WGC-Match Play last week, but I'll lean towards a player that's been doing it consistently all year in Lanto Griffin. Griffin isn't the type of player that's going to blow us away in a specific statistical category, but his rank of sixth in this Valero field in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds indicate that his irons are indeed firing. He's made the cut in seven of his eight 2021 starts with a top-10 and three top-25s, which adds to the feeling that he's simply a "rock solid" option this week.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Greyson Sigg ($9,600)

If you guys are price shopping between sites, Greyson Sigg is significantly cheaper over on DraftKings. However, I imagine his rather stout price tag on FD will make his ownership extremely low, which puts him on my GPP radar. Sigg is by no means a household name yet, but hardcore golf fans are familiar with his resume. He's a UGA product like many other successful pros and was razor-sharp on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, finishing in the KFT top-10. In fact, Sigg would already be on the PGA Tour if it weren't for COVID. Accurate off the tee, a terrific iron player, and a great putter...he has all the tools to compete this week, with inexperience being the only real drawback.

Doug Ghim ($9,100)

Doug Ghim could realistically be heading into this week with top-five finishes at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS on his 2021 resume. Unfortunately, epically-bad final rounds in sent him tumbling down the leaderboards in both events. I view those setbacks as valuable learning experiences for Ghim, a player that was an absolute star during his time at the University of Texas (Yes, he's a "Texas guy" like Scheffler). Some will look at his missed cut at the Honda as a sign that his "run" is over, but he actually gained strokes T2G at PGA National only to be betrayed by an ice-cold putter. An interesting bounce-back spot for Ghim this week.

Sam Ryder ($8,900)

Sam Ryder always seems to bust as the "cheap chalk", so I'm gonna keep an eye on ownership as the week progresses and adjust accordingly. That note aside, I'm interested in Ryder. He's made the cut in both of his previous Valero starts and is coming in hot. Ryder heads to San Antonio off a runner-up finish at Corales last week and that performance came on the heels of an impressive T8 at the Honda Classic. He's a classic "boom or bust" player that brings some serious upside to the table at just $8.9k.

Harry Higgs ($8,800)

Big Top! Who doesn't love Harry Higgs? The fan favorite has been letting his clubs do the talking as of late. Higgs comes in off a T29 at THE PLAYERS and a T19 at Honda. Those results are due to his red-hot iron play. He led the Honda field in SG: Approach, gaining an eye-popping 8.1 strokes with his irons. The Easy Rider has now gained strokes on Approach in every one of his 2021 starts.

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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:

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