Shawn Stefani Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

I rarely list a value play as a core target because in general, the cheaper the golfer, the more volatile they are on a week-to-week basis. I typically look to fade any and all cheap chalk, but I will be loading up on Stefani regardless of his ownership. This is a long par 70, but the course is 2,000 feet above sea level, which allows the ball to travel farther. This helps the shorter hitters out quite a bit. The wide fairways should also help Stefani, as the biggest weak link in his game is off the tee. As long as he keeps the ball in play, he has top 20 upside here. He’s ranked fifth in this field in strokes gained approach and he’s ranked in the top 25 in greens in regulation, birdie or better percentage, and bogey avoidance. He has posted four straight top 35s on the PGA Tour and has made the cut at this event in four of five attempts.

If you want to build stars and scrubs lineups this week, I have three picks for you. It makes sense to target some of these golfers, as I don’t think they are that much worse than golfers who are priced $1,000 to $1,500 above them on FD/DK and $2,000 above them on FDRAFT. Let’s start with Stefani. He didn’t have the greatest 2018-2019 season with just 14 cuts made in 24 starts, but he closed out the year with six consecutive paydays. He has been a staple at this event, making the cut in four of the last five editions. He quietly jumped up the ranks in ball striking (39th) and approach play (30th) in the latter stages of last year, and the current form and course history make him a great value proposition here.

My dark horse this week is Mr. Stefani. His off the tee game has really held him back over the last month of play, but that shouldn’t be a huge issue at this course. Half of the holes feature dog legs, the fairways are narrow, and the course measures less than 7,000 yards. He will be able to club down off the tee and basically put himself in the same spots as the rest of the field. His iron game has been on fire recently, gaining 6.1, 5.8, and 1.8 strokes on approach in his last three tournaments. Don’t be surprised to see Stefani finish inside the top 10 this week.

This Texan has a good record here at TPC Southwind. It’s spotty but good. In five trips he’s posted T7 and T9 in 2013 and 2016 but also finished outside the top 60 in his three other trips. “You know, in this game you want to go to courses that you have played well on. So, being here in the heat, the bermuda grass the zoysia fairways and the town is very nice. I feel like I have a lot of support. I feel like I’m kind of a home town kid over here. I do like it here and you know, it really is one of my favorite places on Tour to come.” His current form doesn’t look great at a quick glance but he’s flashed some low rounds lately. Three starts ago he was T13 at the midpoint (Wells Fargo). He was T14 thru 36 holes at the Byron Nelson. Stefani then flew out of the gate at Colonial, T8 after the opening round. With course confidence and recent surges of form, Stefani is a very sneaky value play.