3 months agoChesson Hadley is back in action after missing the Waste Management Phoenix Open cut two weeks ago. Before his missed cut at TPC Scottsdale, Hadley finished T56 at The American Express and T25 at the Farmers Insurance Open. Hadley may find the Vidanta Vallarta course to be challenging for his skillset. At last year's tournament, over 63% of approach shots were over 200 yards, and over the previous 12 months, Hadley ranked in the 63rd percentile in proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 200 yards in the fairway. Hadley is a player worth considering for DFS lineups, but including him comes with some risk.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 months agoAustin Eckroat did not participate in the Genesis Invitational last week but played at the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago, where he missed the cut. However, in the first three events of the 2024 season, Eckroat made the cut each time, with his best finish being T25 at the American Express. This weekend, he will play at the Mexico Open, his second appearance at the tournament. Although he finished T49 last year, this tournament was crucial in launching his successful 2023 season, where he made six consecutive cuts, including two top-10 and two top-25 finishes. Despite missing the cut in the previous event, Eckroat could be a valuable pick for DFS lineups.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 months agoCharley Hoffman had a great start in the first round of last week's Genesis Invitational, firing a 69. This came after he finished second at the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks earlier. However, his performance declined in the following three rounds, where he carded over 70 each time. This week, Hoffman will be participating in the Mexico Open for the second time, having finished T55 last year. He has been in top form lately and could potentially beat his previous finish. In the last 12 months, Hoffman has ranked in the 97th percentile in proximity to the hole on approach shots in the fairway from over 200 yards, and over 63% at the previous year's tournament approach shots came from over 200 yards. Hoffman could be an interesting pick for DFS lineups this week.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 months agoDoug Ghim did not participate in last week's Genesis Invitational. However, he had previously secured a T12 and T13 finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and Farmers Insurance Open. Although, Ghim missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii and The American Express before these two top-15 finishes. This week, he competes at the Mexico Open in Puerto Vallarta, where he finished T33 in 2021 and missed the cut last year. Ghim has the necessary skills to perform well at this event, and in the previous 12 months, he ranked in the 59th percentile in proximity on approach shots from over 200 yards in the fairway. This is noteworthy because over 63% of approach shots came from over 200 yards at last year's edition. Ghim has been playing well and could be a valuable addition to DFS lineups this week.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 months agoRyo Hisatsune is set to debut at the Mexico Open this week, following his missed cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago. Although he failed to make the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Hisatsune has performed well in his other three PGA Tour appearances in 2024, securing a top-11 and two top-35 finishes. In all of his four PGA Appearances this year, Hisatsune has gained strokes around the green, but he has lost strokes with his putter in his last two appearances, including the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Hisatsune may be overlooked this week, but including him in DFS lineups may be risky.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 months agoIt was a frustrating start to the season for Andrew Novak, as he missed the first three cuts of the season. However, the 28-year-old found a spark at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing T8. His iron play continues to be a strength, as he is ranked 10th in strokes gained on approach (0.844) and 32nd in strokes gained from tee-to-green (0.677). His course history at Vidanta Vallarta (T15 in 2022 and T45 in 2023) is good enough to signal he knows his way around this track. With an average driving distance just short of 300 yards, he'll need some help from a solid showing off the tee, but he should do enough good everywhere else to keep him relevant.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
3 months agoNicolai Hojgaard's game should fit Vidanta Vallarta's design well. Hojgaard has elite distance off the tee, solid approach skills, and the putter to low scores at a resort course. However, since his second-place finish at Farmers, Hojgaard hasn't been able to put four solid rounds together. The talent is clear to see and in a weaker field, Hojgaard should have a high ownership number.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoRobert MacIntyre has created a name for himself with a few high finishes in some of golf's biggest events over the past few years. However, that history has not aided him much in this new season. He has missed three straight cuts since his T52 finish at the Sony Open, and everything it takes to be successful at Vidanta Vallarta is everything the Scotsman is currently struggling with. The McNees State product is ranked 110th in strokes gained off the tee (minus-0.191), 146th in driving accuracy (50%), and 162nd in strokes gained in putting (minus-1.081). With a middle-of-the-road price point of $8400 on FanDuel, it would be wise to look elsewhere until MacIntyre rights the ship some.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
3 months agoLast season, Emiliano Grillo made significant strides with his putting, but it hasn't stopped there. Through the first few events of the season, Grillo currently ranks No. 23 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting. That's an impressive feat for a player who lost strokes in the first six events of the last season. In both starts at this course, Grillo has gained strokes on the greens so he should be able to follow up last year's T5 with another high finish.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoTyler Duncan hasn't been a name on most fantasy radars this season, and for good reason. After a strong showing in the fall, where he racked up three solid finishes that topped off with a T3 at the RSM Classic, the journey to begin the new year has been very ho-hum. With a T34 at the Farmers Insurance Open as his best finish up to this point, this week's event at Vidanta Vallarta is the perfect place to get things going in the right direction. The Purdue Boilermaker is a beast with the driver, as he is currently ranked 38th in strokes gained off the tee (0.359). With the layout in Mexico being a little over 7,400 yards, having success off the tee is paramount.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
3 months agoIt has only been two years but it's hard to have better course history than Tony Finau does at Vidanta Vallarta. Finau followed up his T2 finish with a win last year and earned a massive $12,000 price tag on DraftKings this week. Finau is the best player in this weaker field but it comes with a huge cost. In addition to the high price tag, Finau's putting has been bad. He's so talented and hitting the ball so well there's a chance he could still win despite the putter struggles.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoThere are a lot of question marks for K.H. Lee as tee times draw closer on Thursday. The 32-year-old South Korean has undoubtedly shown moments of brilliance throughout his seven-year PGA Tour career, but you wouldn't know it by looking at his recent scorecards. He enters the Mexico open on the heels of two consecutive missed cuts, and he's lost strokes off-the-tee and on approach in four of his last five starts. Over the last 36 rounds, Lee ranks 79th in the field in driving distance and 53rd from approach play from 200 yards and beyond. With no course history to rely on, fantasy managers would be taking a significant risk by rostering Lee this week based solely on recent form and statistical course fit.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoFantasy managers leaning heavily on driving distance this week will likely overlook Carson Young, and that could be a costly mistake. Long iron play will be equally important, and that is an area where the second-year pro excels. Over the last 36 rounds, Young finds himself outside of the top-100 golfers in driving distance, but he ranks 33rd in overall approach, 20th on approach from 175-200 yards, and 15th on approach from 200-225 yards. He's also gained strokes ball-striking in all but one of his eight measured starts so far this season. The 29-year-old Clemson alum impressively racked up six top-25 finishes in his rookie season, one of which was a T15 at this even last year in which he gained 7.2 strokes ball-striking. In the year of the longshots, there's no reason to doubt Young's ability to find himself toward the top of the leaderboard coming down the stretch on Sunday.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoMatt Wallace found himself in incredible form on the DP World Tour in the second half of the 2023 calendar year. The 33-year-old Brit racked up four top-10 finishes in his final eight starts, culminating with a T2 finish at the DP World Tour Championship in November. Unfortunately those results haven't been replicated on the PGA Tour, as he's failed to post a top-25 finish in nineteen straight stars since his victory at the Corales Puntacana Championship in March of 2023. Wallace has also lost strokes ball-striking in four of his five PGA Tour starts this calendar year, which is a recipe for disaster at Vidanta Vallarta. This may help explain his course history here, which is a T67 in 2022 and a missed cut in 2023. Fantasy managers should look elsewhere for value in the $7,000 price range on DraftKings this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoScott Stallings seemingly came out of nowhere to finish T2 at the Sanderson Farms Championship back in October. Aside from that event, it has been ugly for the OWGR No. 119. He hasn't finished inside of the top-25 since the WM Phoenix Open in February of 2023, and he's missed the cut in over 50 percent of his 25 starts during that span. Statistically, Stallings doesn't quite the fit the mold for success this week either, as he ranks 77th in driving distance 68th in approach from 200 yards and beyond over the last 36 rounds. He also missed the cut in his only start here back in 2022. Fantasy managers have a bevvy of course horses around Stallings' DraftKings price tag and would be wise to limit their exposure to him this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
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