DFS Alerts
Elite GPP Option
When he first attempted to make it full-time on the PGA Tour, it became a struggle for Dylan Frittelli. A lot of golfers simply can’t handle the step up in competition. Slowly, though, Frittelli has found his footing at this level. Since the start of this fall season, he has taken off like a bottle rocket. Frittelli has posted back-to-back top seven finishes at the Sanderson Farms and the Safeway Open, with elite rankings statistically in those events. He ranks second on the fall swing in ball striking (to Adam Hadwin) and first in birdie or better percentage at 5.63 birdies or better per round. That’s good stuff. Even though this is his first trip here, I’m willing to buy in based on the current form. The Yahoo price tag is absurd, and he’s a 100% must play if you are making teams on that site, but I’ll have plenty of exposure everywhere. He is one of my favorite plays of the week.
Last Chance To Get The Discount
I am now fully buying the fact that Berger is healthy. I talked about him on our “Drive For Show” video last week as one of my favorite contrarian plays, and that thought process will continue this week. The price tag has not increased over where it was a week ago, and Berger is saying all the right things in the media. He fired a Saturday 66 to get in the mix in Napa last week before settling to a 23rd place finish. With the rust gone and the confidence rising, he should be able to revert to 2017-2018 form. Put aside last year’s statistics and buy low while you still can.
Still Far Too Cheap
Simply put, these price tags are borderline criminal at this point. Yahoo is the only site where Shelton doesn’t feel like an absolute bargain. He has blitzed his way onto the PGA Tour after a fantastic season on the Korn Ferry Tour, as Shelton has made the cut in all three fall swing events so far. He has finished 7th, 28th, and 52nd in those events. While he faded over the weekend in Napa a week ago, that doesn’t change my overall opinion on him, especially since the DK/FD/FDRAFT prices have stayed at a dirt cheap level. Shelton ranks 27th during the fall swing in ball striking, which is encouraging despite the small sample size. Buy low while you still can. He is a better golfer than the price tags would indicate.
Fifteen minutes to roster lock and no major news to report
There is no major news to report ahead of the first round. There is a chance that we have a weather bais draw that favors early Thursday and then late Friday. From a showdown slate perspective, you could take advantage of this potential draw by stacking some early wave golfers for both morning rounds. The combination of lower expected winds and better putting surfaces could lead to a stronger morning draw each day. Good luck this week. ResultsDB will be up and running within 15 minutes of roster lock. Make sure to check out how your lineups stack up against the field.
Marc Leishman set to return from injury
With a few injury withdrawals in the last 8 months or so, Marc Leishman is starting to build a reputation in the DFS community of someone you can’t trust. A nagging back injury has forced Leishman to pull out of a few events this year after lineup lock. The most recent came at Greenbriar a few weeks ago as Leishman withdrew after the first round. Searching through his social media post it appears that Leishman is ready to go this week and if healthy could end up being a steal in terms of ownership. Currently projected under 2% ownership it appears that the injury narrative is very much at play with Leishman. If you are doing MME build for this week, then Leishman on a few rosters would be a very easy way to gain leverage on the field. Back injuries are fickle, but it’s not completely out of the range of possibilities to see Leishman have a good week. With the Presidents Cup only a few months away, Leishman will have extra incentive to get his game ready.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Weather update for The Safeway Open
Kevin Roth’s weather report for The Safeway Open is up in the main forum. With the wind in play the first two days there could be an advantage to tee time stacking for the week. Wind speeds pick up throughout the day on Thursday with chances of gusts reaching the 25 mph range. Friday we have the same pattern in terms of the wind picking up as the day progresses, but overall the wind gusts are not expected to be as strong. Another thing to consider is that golfers who play early each day typically play in cooler weather and better greens, and the afternoon golfers get warmer weather and bumpier greens. Typically these factors cancel each other out in terms of a draw basis. If you are playing showdown slate you can look to stack the early waves each day as they should have a slight weather advantage over the afternoon golfers.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Weather Report Field update for The Safeway Open
Both DraftKings and Fanduel have updated their pricing pools to reflect changes made to the field after salaries were released. The four Monday qualifiers plus Cameron Davis have been added to LineupHq and are available to add to builds. Unlike last week our Monday qualifiers are pretty much an inexperienced group. Taking the place for the injured Matt Jones, Cameron Davis is worth a dart throw in Gpp’s for the week. In two starts this season Davis has a top 30 finish at last week’s Sanderson Farms. Having finished outside the top 160 in last year’s FedEx Cup race, Davis should have plenty of extra incentive to play well early in the season.
As reported by: LineupHQ Other tagged players: John Oda, Andres Gonzales, Jin Ho Chung, Byron Meth, Matt Jones Martin Laird looks to build on a solid course history
The new top 65 cut rule has really made it hard to nail down value plays in terms of getting all six golfers through to the weekend. This is really the first week of the season we have a few top players at the top end of the salary pool that we want to force in stars and scrubs lineup builds. When you are looking for value it’s extremely important to narrow down why a certain player stands out in terms of performing over his salary point. Typically we look into how a player is performing in terms of recent form or we look to see if the player has the right course fit( course history). Martin Laird is a player that stands out in just one of those areas this week. Looking to bounce back from a missed cut Laird tee it up at the familiar grounds of Silverado C.C with hopes of a bounce-back week. In addition to making five straight cuts at this event, Larid has posted 16 under par or better rounds in his last 20 rounds at Silverado C.C. Trending towards a low ownership number Larid makes for a great play in terms of both value and leverage for the week.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Daniel Berger set to make his season debut
Playing through injury the ups and downs associated with a hand injury, Daniel Berger enters this week looking to put a less than stellar 2019 season behind him. Priced-down due to his poor form for the last 12 months, Berger is a golfer you can comfortable target as a value play with a high ceiling. When healthy this two time PGA Tour winner has proven to be a top-level talent on tour, and with over a year removed from his hand injury, Berger should be in a spot to play the type of golf that we have come to expect. With four straight made cuts including at top 15 at the 3M challenge, Berger was able to finish his 2019 season on a positive note. With what finally appears to be a healthy hand, Berger will play in his 3rd Safeway Open this week and if he can perform anywhere near to his pre-injury style of golf this former PGA Tour rookie of the year should end up being one of the better value options for the week.
As reported by: Pga Value Breakdown Emiliano Grillo still in search of his second PGA Tour win
Fresh off a very successful Web.com Tour season, Emiliano Grillo took the golf world by storm when won his first PGA Tour event as a member at the 2016 Frys.com Open. Grillo returns to the site of his maiden tour win at this weeks Safeway Open( formerly Frys.com Open) and much to the surprise of many this very talented young golfer is still searching for his second win. With a win in his first event as a tour member, Grillo set the expectations bar extremely high. While Grillo has not quite lived up to what many expected to see in terms of wins, he has been a very solid golfer that you can count on for a top 25 or better finish. In his 76 starts since the 2016 Frys.com Open Grillo has posted a top 25 or better 34 times. A poor putting week kept Grillo away from the top of the leaderboard at last week’s Sanderson Farms. Returning to a course where Grillo typically putts better than normal, Grillo is solid roster choice for core builds this week. Priced-down a bit lower than other golfers who many would consider to have similar skill sets, Grillo could end up being a steal in his price range. While Grillo is not exactly a POA specialist( you could argue he is not a specialist on any type of greens), his putting weakness is masked by the fact that these greens can be tricky for everyone in the field. Still one of the better iron players in the field, Grillo will have plenty of birdie chances this week and should post 4 solid rounds below par.
As reported by: PGA DFS Core Plays Brendan Steele looks to build on a good week
Two years ago for this tournament, Brendan Steele was the highest priced golfer in the field. After winning this event for two years in a row Steele has really struggled to find any consistent form. Coming off a season in which he failed to crack the top 170 in the season-long FedEx Cup race Steele will look to build on a positive showing at last week’s Sanderson Farms. Although his form over the last 12 months has been less than desirable, Steele should have some good vibes heading into this week. In addition to his two wins at Silverado C.C. Steele has gained almost 40 shots tee to green in his last five starts at this event. Flying under the radar in our early-week ownership projections Steele has the positive course history worthy of a strong GPP option for the week. In his last 20 rounds at Silverado C.C. Steele has posted 67 or better 8 times.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Bo VanPelt set to return to The PGA Tour after an extended absence
After missing the better part of two years, Bo Van Pelt is set to return to PGA Tour action at this week’s Safeway Open. Issues with his labrum kept Van Pelt away from golf for much of the last two seasons, now healthy and able to practice pain-free this PGA Tour veteran has his sites on getting back to the world of professional golf. Prior to his injury Van Pelt was a golfer you could target in the right spot as a solid cut maker with a great shot of getting a top 25 or better. With such a long layoff from competitive golf, it’s really hard to say how Van Pelt will perform this week, and it will be even harder to make much more than a dart throw type of investment in him in large field GPP’s. Van Pelt’s return to golf is a story worth paying attention to over the next few months as his status in the Carrer Money Exemption category should allow entry into as many starts as he can handle.
As reported by: GolfOklahoma Matt Jones is no longer in the field
After pulling out of last week’s tournament due to a bad back, Matt Jones is still not healthy enough to compete this week. Jones withdrew this morning and will be replaced in the field by Cameron Davis.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Cameron Davis Form, Course History, and Stats all Line Up
Tringale is currently ranked 25th in my model for the week, yet he’s around the 45th most expensive on most of the DFS sites (even cheaper on Yahoo). He’s quietly been very solid over the last four months, making eight of his last nine cuts with five top 25 finishes during that stretch. He shot at least two under par in every round last week and finished in a tie for 16th. He finished the week in the top 15 in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained approach, and strokes gained around the green. A better putting week and he would have been in the mix on Sunday. He has played here each of the last five years, making four of those cuts. He doesn’t have any overwhelming finishes here, but this is the best that he’s played on tour in many years.
Excellent Ball Striker that is Finding Form with the Putter
At one point on Friday, Streelman was fighting to make the cut. He finished the round with a 67 and then followed it up with rounds of 69 and 64 on the weekend. I don’t have any statistical data to back up this take, but I always like golfers that finish with a really strong Sunday the week before. Much like the players recommended above him, Streelman is an elite ball striker that is very hit or miss on the greens. He gained over seven strokes putting last week and while that’s not sustainable moving forward, it certainly won’t hurt his confidence heading into this week. He has made three of his last five cuts at this event, highlighted by back-to-back top 25 finishes in 2017 and 2018. He’s in good form, he’s underpriced, and he has good course history. What more can we ask for?