The swing season is upon us. The 2021-2022 PGA TOUR season kicks off with the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa.
Silverado is a par 72, measuring at 7,166 yards. The course features difficult poa annua greens that can be tough to putt on late in the day. Historically, fairways can be difficult to hit, making it crucial for golfers to have their off the tee game working for the week.
There have been some surprise additions to the 156 player field this week, with three of last year’s major champions: Phil Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama, and Jon Rahm teeing it up in Napa.
This week, we’ll focus on building teams for GPP contests on DraftKings. I will be breaking down the key stats (past 24 rounds) and selecting golfers from different price tiers to provide flexibility for a DFS lineup. You can utilize our Lineup Builder to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups.
Don’t forget about the other tools that FantasyLabs has to offer such as the Trends tool and PGA Correlation Dashboard.
This analysis may reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots on average it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation. Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
Strokes Gained: Approach
We have seen tightly tucked pin placements as one of the North Course’s main defenses in past renditions of the event. In order to find success, players need to hit the correct level of the sloping Poa annua greens.
- High-end target: Webb Simpson – $11,300 (11th SG:Approach)
- Mid-range target: Emiliano Grillo – $8,900 (2nd SG: Approach)
- Value Target: Cameron Percy – $6,800 (1st SG:Approach)
Good Drives Gained
Hitting fairways in regulation at Silverado is more difficult than the TOUR average, as players have done so in the past at a rate of only 52.7%, which is almost 10% lower than the average TOUR event. Last year’s winner, Stewart Cink, excelled in this category: gaining an impressive 8.1 strokes.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $12,100 (15th Good Drives: Gained)
- Mid-range target: Brian Stuard – $7,600 (2nd Good Drives: Gained)
- Value Target: Kramer Hickok – $6,700 (5th Good Drives: Gained)
Strokes Gained: Putting Poa Annua
Poa annua greens on the West Coast can be quite difficult for golfers to adjust to if they don’t have much experience on the surface. Targeting golfers who putt well on Poa could be a difference-maker in GPP’s this week.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $12,100 (6th SG: Putting Poa Annua)
- Mid-range target: Maverick McNealy – $8,600 (3rd SG: Putting Poa Annua)
- Value Target: Mark Hubbard – $6,500 (4th SG: Putting Poa Annua)
Birdies or Better: Gained
With scores at Silverado potentially approaching the 20 under par range, making plenty of birdies will be a requirement in order to contend this week.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $12,100 (1st Birdies or Better: Gained)
- Mid-range target: Pat Perez – $7,900 (6th Birdies or Better: Gained)
- Value Target: Sam Ryder – $6,800 (9th Birdies or Better: Gained)
Course History
One strategy that may pay off for DFS players is targeting golfers who have previously played the course well.
- High-end target: Kevin Na – $10,000 (1st Strokes Gained: Total at Silverado)
- Mid-range target: Brendan Steele – $7,400 (2nd Strokes Gained: Total at Silverado)
- Value Target: Cameron Percy – $6,800 (5th Strokes Gained: Total at Silverado)
