Welcome back to another season of Daily Fantasy Golf! I hope you enjoyed that lengthy two-week break because here we go with the fall season on the PGA Tour. While the 2015-16 season was up and down to say the least, I’m here to start fresh with a clean slate.
The Safeway Open used to be known as the Frys.com Open and it is played on beautiful Silverado Country Club in Napa, California. This short 7,203 yard, par 72 is tree lined with tough bunker locations, big greens and a little bit of water as well. Players must stay dry this week.
It is always scary to work with limited data but that’s what we’ve got to work with this week and we’ll make the best of it. Just one year ago, Emiliano Grillo won the Web.com Tour Championship and then proceeded to win this tournament in a playoff over Kevin Na. It is all about ball striking when you talk about taming Silverado. A superb putting stroke it not needed to win this event but it does give players a chance to work out their putting kinks before getting into the meat of the 2017 PGA Tour schedule. Fairways are hit just 54 percent of the time at Silverado which is 10th-lowest on tour. Rain is in the forecast for this weekend which means things will get really slow and we’re expected to have moderate to gusty winds as well.
Last week the golf world got the good news that Tiger Woods would be playing in the Safeway Open. I know I was personally excited to see him tee it up again but then on Monday, Tiger withdrew. He released a statement saying, “After a lot of soul searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour,” but added, “My health is good and I feel strong but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be.” Hopefully we will see him return in 2017.
Fantasy Aces pricing is a joke this weekend, take advantage. I have Justin Thomas as my number one ranked player on my board this week and he is the second cheapest player in my playbook on Aces. I was not planning on playing Paul Casey much, if at all this week but I was basically forced to with this pricing.
Should be a fun first week, good luck!
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
| PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
| Emiliano Grillo | $5,500 | $10,900 | Won last year which springboarded him to a fantastic rookie season. Qualified for the Tour Championship & finished 11th in the FedEx Cup |
| Justin Thomas | $4,350 | $10,400 | MUST PLAY ON ACES (AMAZING PRICE) Finished T3 last year (T2 in GIR that week). Finished T6 at the Tour Championship. EATS UP PAR 5s. |
| Kevin Na | $4,400 | $9,900 | MUST PLAY ON ACES (AMAZING PRICE) Lost in a Playoff last year and finished 2nd in SG:Tee-to-Green. |
| Jhonattan Vegas | $4,500 | $9,100 | T10 last year at Silverado. Great 2015-16 season as he qualified for the Tour Championship. Finished season ranked 10th in GIR |
| Brendan Steele | $5,050 | $8,700 | Led after each of the 1st 3 Rounds at Silverado last year but finished 17th. Placed T21 here in 2014. Finished season ranked 25th in GIR. |
| Jason Kokrak | $4,850 | $8,000 | Wrapped up the 2015-16 season with a T7, T8 & T17 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Finished the season 26th in GIR & 24th in SG:Tee-to-Green |
| Hudson Swafford | $4,950 | $7,800 | Top 20s in 2 appearances at Silverado (Scoring Average 69.3). Cashed 13 times on Tour this season (3 Top 25s). 22nd in GIR |
| Grayson Murray | $4,650 | $7,500 | Hottest player on the Web.com Tour. Money Leader & Lead the tour in Scoring Average, par-5 scoring and All-Around. |
| Patrick Rodgers | $4,600 | $7,400 | Finished T6 last year at Silverado. He had an up & down 2015-16 season but still finished 16th in Greens Hit. |
| Lucas Glober | $4,900 | $7,400 | T17 last year at Silverado. Finished 2015-16 1st in GIR & 2nd in Total Driving. One of the been Tee-to-Green players in the game |
| Robert Garrigus | $4,500 | $7,100 | 6 Top 25s since May, all after a putter change. Finished 2015-16 ranking 14th in GIR & T21 in SG: Tee-to-Green. |
| Scott Stallings | $4,600 | $6,900 | T21 at Silverado in 2014. After a slow start to 2016, rounded into form with a T16 at the John Deere. |
| J.J. Spaun | $4,250 | $6,800 | 2nd on Web.com Tour in Greens Hit & 4th in Ball Striking. 7 Top 10s with a Win, P2, & Solo 2nd. |
| Adam Wise | N/A | $6,400 | NCAA Individual National Champion. Played on the Mackenzie Tour finished no worse than T15. Finished T16 at the John Deere. |
DRAFT KINGS OPTIMALS:
| DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
| Justin Thomas | $10,400 |
| Brendan Steele | $8,700 |
| Jason Kokrak | $8,100 |
| Hudson Swafford | $7,800 |
| Patrick Rodgers | $7,400 |
| Lucas Glover | $7,400 |
| DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
| Emiliano Grillo | $10,900 |
| Justin Thomas | $10,400 |
| Hudson Swafford | $7,800 |
| Grayson Murray | $7,500 |
| J.J. Spaun | $6,800 |
| Aaron Wise | $6,400 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMALS:
| ACES CASH | PRICE |
| Paul Casey | $5,800 |
| Emiliano Grillo | $5,500 |
| Brendan Steele | $5,050 |
| Lucas Glover | $4,900 |
| Kevin Na | $4,400 |
| Justin Thomas | $4,350 |
| ACES GPP | PRICE |
| Paul Casey | $5,800 |
| Emiliano Grillo | $5,500 |
| Brendan Steele | $5,050 |
| Grayson Murray | $4,650 |
| Kevin Na | $4,400 |
| Justin Thomas | $4,350 |