FanDuel PGA DFS Lineup Picks: 2023 Valspar Championship

Byron Lindeque breaks down the FanDuel DFS lineup picks for 2023 Valspar Championship. Daily fantasy golf advice on under-owned golfers and who to avoid for your lineups.

After getting spoilt with back-to-back elevated events and all the superstars that come with them, we now head to the Valspar where Sam Burns will look to 3-peat. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth will headline the week as they are the only two "big names" that will be teeing it up this week.

In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High," "Mid," and "Low" price options that are worth considering.

Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

FanDuel Strategy Nuances (PGA DFS)

Before we dive into the FanDuel plays for this week, we are going to be comparing the prices of golfers on the FD slate to that of the DraftKings slate in order to figure out some value for the respective golfers. We get an extra $10,000 ($60,000 salary limit in FanDuel) to spend on the same six guys, so there is an opportunity to build some really optimal lineups if we find the right guys. The average increase per player should be $1,666.67 ($10,000/6).

We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools, and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event, including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice, DFS prop picks, and course previews.

High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays

Below is the difference in salary between the two DFS platforms using the downloadable research station that is part of our affordable Premium Package. It has event history, recent form, DFS scoring upside, and a whole lot more nerdy stuff.

Jordan Spieth ($11,900, $1,300 difference)

Jordan Spieth has some solid course history if you go back further than 2018, notching four top-20s in his four starts from 2013 to 2016. He may have been a better golfer then, but three top-20 finishes in his last four starts seem to be signaling a return to form. His putter has been a major liability for the last while, but since flying to the east coast, Spieth has actually gained +0.25 strokes per round putting at the API and Players. He has an incredible short game and his irons are also gaining strokes a lot more consistently.

Tommy Fleetwood ($11,000, $1,200 difference)

Tommy Fleetwood has a T16 in his only Valspar start, which makes sense as his incredible touch around the greens should make him a front runner for this kind of event. With the rough increased in length and wind blowing intensely for the majority of the week, Fleetwood will feel like he is right at home in these conditions. He has been playing well in his last few elevated events and now gets a crack at a field without Rahm or Scheffler.

Denny McCarthy ($10,800, $1,500 difference)

With three made cuts in his three Valspar appearances including a 9th, Denny McCarthy will be looking to capitalize on his recent T20s at The Players and Genesis Invitational. Innisbrook requires exceptional short game, with wind and thick rough promoting a decline in average green in regulation percentages. McCarthy will look to lean on his exceptional putter and with another impressive performance hopefully on the horizon.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays

Mid-priced salary differences. Notice how much more red we see in that difference column in this range versus the high-priced range. Bear that in mind when deciding which players to play on either platform.

Maverick McNealy ($9,900, $1,200 increase)

Maverick McNealy is undoubtedly the best putter on tour, gaining +1.25 strokes putting per round over the last 50 rounds. Only Jon Rahm (+1.18) and Taylor Montgomery (+1.08) have exceeded an average of 1 stroke per round over that period. At a venue that will see a lot of scrambling for par, sinking 10-foot par putts will need to be made more regularly than usual, which plays in McNealy's favor. He is looking to be single digits owned, as he has not played much golf lately and has no course history here. He could win this event with 90%+ of the field not rostering him.

Byeong Hun An ($9,600, 1,700)

Byeong Hun An has been playing some impressive golf in Florida this year. If An can continue to excel on these Florida tracks for one more time before they head to Texas, he may be able to sneak in his first top-10 of the year for the Korean. He stands a fantastic chance of success largely due to his incredible around the green touch. He also makes a lot of birdies, which will help pad the DFS box score, with a top-10 finish ultimately being a result that would be very useful to have in your lineups.

Robby Shelton ($9,200, $1,700 increase)

Robby Shelton grades out as the top value play for the week. His $9,200 price tag as the 13th ranked golfer in my model screams value. His scoring average on medium courses ranks as the second-best in the field, which is validated by his consistent finishes of MC (PLAYERS), T21, T20, T10, T23 in his last five starts on medium courses.

His accuracy off the tee and stellar approach play, is usually enough to overcome a putter that is 111th in the field over the last 24 rounds. A spike putting week for the 10th best around the green player would go a long way to securing another T20 for Shelton, doing it 23% of the time already.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

The below golfers are all candidates to round out your player pool based on their track record at Pebble Beach.

Stewart Cink ($7,900, $900 increase)

Stewart Cink has a rather steady set of results at this venue. A T7, T71, T31, and T27 are his last finishes at the Valspar. In this price range we are looking to target golfers who may have poor form entering the week, but who have shown consistent results at this golf course. Stewart Cink offers just that.

Zach Johnson ($7,400, $600 increase)

The U.S. Ryder Cup captain is almost min price, yet has three top-30 finishes in his last four trips to Innisbrook. His track record here makes a lot of sense, as Johnson has accuracy off the tee and a very tidy short game. He is one of two Ryder Cup captains in the field this week. Luke Donald provides a similar story and could also be added to the player pool thanks to his results at this golf course.

Rory Sabbatini ($7,000, $900 increase)

A salary saving Slovakian at min-price with two top-20s in his last three starts seems like a golfer worth targeting at this price point. He offers very little form heading into the week, but his short game is stellar and the veteran PGA Tour member will be looking to snag another top end result at a course he quite fancies.

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