Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS) - Zurich Classic

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate for the 2021 Zurich Classic, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller!

In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2021 Zurich Classic, the only team event on the PGA Tour schedule. 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!

Zurich Classic - PGA DFS Overview

TPC Louisiana

7,425 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bermuda - Designer: Pete Dye

Another week, another Pete Dye track. Mr. Dye is a frequent flyer on the PGA Tour schedule, and due to our familiarity with his designs, we know what to target almost by default...approach play. TPC Louisiana comes in around 300 yards longer than last week's Harbour Town layout, so we want to bump distance off the tee a bit, but in true Dye fashion it's all about the second shot on this golf course.

With this week's unique team format, I'm actually more focused on the golfers' "team dynamic" than the golf course. That said, we do have three years worth of course history for this event, as well as the years prior when Zurich was an individual stroke-play tournament.

For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!

Let's Look At The Stats

Key Stats

• Proximity
• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Par 4 Scoring
• Birdies or Better Gained
• Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda)
• Team Dynamics/Event History

Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)

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 and DFS prop picks.

High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays 

Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay ($12,000)

This squad certainly sticks out as a beast on paper, with both Schauffele and Cantlay elite individual players in their own right. In addition to their individual abilities, these two do have some team experience under their belt, as the duo played four matches together in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. The Schauffele/Cantlay pairing produced a 2-2 record in that event, a result that doesn't really blow us away at first glance. However, there's a lot to be said for familiarity and experience in these type of team formats, and I love that these two have been through the fire together. With the Ryder Cup looming, we also have to feel like this is a chance for the U.S. teammates to warm up for another possible pairing at Whistling Straits.

Jon Rahm & Ryan Palmer ($11,900)

This is something of an odd pairing on the surface, but the young Spaniard and veteran Texan obviously made it work in the 2019 edition of this event. Rahm/Palmer won that version of the Zurich at a massive 26-under par total for the week. Perhaps most impressively, the posted a second-round 65 in the alternate shot format (a format they'll play for two rounds this week), a score that was the lowest alternate-shot round of the tournament. This win truly kickstarted a career resurgence for Ryan Palmer and he's basically played really well since. Rahm, of course, is one of the preeminent talents in the game and brings consistent excellence from week to week. I look for "the odd couple" to once again be in the thick of things this year.

Cameron Smith & Marc Leishman ($11,600)

A dangerous pair of Aussies here. Smith has been on a tear over the last eight or so months and has been a top-10 machine this year. He's also been successful in the event, winning the inagural team edition of the Zurich with Jonas Blixt in 2017. Leishman has had some struggles since the COVID-19 layoff, but flashed some form in January and recently at the Masters. These countrymen surprisingly didn't team up in the 2019 President's Cup, though you have to imagine there's a strong rapport between these two fellow countrymen. We also don't won't to underestimate putting this week...Smith is consistently one of the best on the PGA Tour and Leishman can get streaky hot with the flatstick.

Collin Morikawa & Matthew Wolff ($11,500)

This squad rivals the Schauffele/Cantlay pairing for sheer overall talent, though Wolff's current form is a huge question mark, as he's failed to log a top-25 finish since October of last year! Morikawa has a recent win at WGC-Workday under his belt and put together a tremendous performance last week at Heritage before somewhat unraveling with the putter in the final round. These guys aren't too far removed from the team competitions of their college days, so there's a lot to like about the potential cohesiveness and explosiveness of this team.

Tony Finau & Cameron Champ ($11,200)

You wanna talk about explosiveness? This team is one I'm certainly excited to watch, as Finau and Champ are two of the longest players in the game off the tee. There are some legitimate questions as to whether this Pete Dye layout can be overpowered, but these two unquestionably have the firepower needed to try it. I view this as a true "boom or bust" pairing, as I can envision this team winning the event or completely failing to get off the ground...either way, it's gonna be a fun team to follow.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays

Billy Horschel & Sam Burns ($10,500)

Billy Horschel deserves instant consideration on this golf course. The Florida Gator has amassed an impressive resume at TPC Louisiana, winning here both as an individual back in 2013 and as a member of a team with Scott Piercy in 2018. Horschel has (somewhat surprisingly) split from Piercy in favor of young bomber, Sam Burns. Burns is a Louisiana native and LSU alum that's extremely familiar with this layout, as well as being an elite pro prospect that has found some success on the PGA Tour over the past 12 months. Any time you have a new team, the dynamics are a concern, but this pairing profiles as a serious threat.

Viktor Hovland & Kristoffer Ventura ($9,400)

Lots of intriguing synergy with this squad, as Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura have known each since their teenage years. The pair both hail from Norway and both recently played for the legendary Oklahoma State golf program, with Ventura basically recruiting young Viktor to Stillwater. Individually, Hovland has had much more success at the professional level, but Ventura's ability shouldn't be overlooked, as he was a tremendous collegiate player and highly-touted pro prospect. Love the talent level here and all the other ingredients needed for great team chemistry seems to be in place.

Cameron Tringale & Roberto Castro ($9,000)

Maybe not a team with the highest name recognition, but this Tringale/Castro squad is tried and true in this format. The duo posted a T5 in the 2019 edition of the Zurich Classic. In addition to the experience, we must also take into account the fact that Tringale is playing the best golf of his career at the moment and Castro has looked solid in various starts on the KFT and in alternate-field PGA Tour events this year. This is a sneaky-good team.

Charley Hoffman & Nick Watney ($9,000)

We're always interesting in iron play on Pete Dye layouts and Charley Hoffman is striping the blades as well as any player in the world right now. Hoffman trails just Collin Morikawa in this week's field in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds. He comes to New Orleans in the midst of a string of impressive results, including a runner-up at Valero and a T18 last week at Heritage. Watney comes in with nowhere near the form, but with loads of veteran experience as part of this successful team. The duo have played together in every edition of this event, posting a T5 in 2017 and a T9 in 2019.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Kevin Kisner & Scott Brown ($8,900)

This team is an example of "the sum is greater than the individual parts". Two fairly unassuming vets that have thrived in this team format, Kiz/Brown fell in a playoff in the inaugural edition of this event in 2017 and have been strong contenders in each subsequent year, posting a T15 in 2018 and a T5 in '19. This will be a popular option this week, but it's tough to argue with the experience and past results these two bring to the table.

Doug Ghim & Justin Suh ($8,900)

We've talked a lot about veterans with team experience this week, but we shouldn't underestimate the potential of a young duo like Doug Ghim & Justin Suh. While lots of this week's teams are probably viewing this as a "fun" event, a squad like Ghim and Suh have to view the Zurich as a huge career opportunity. This event offers the standard two-year PGA Tour exemption status to both members of the winning team and these are a couple of talented young guys that are trying to fight their way on to the PGA Tour. You can never go wrong with a hungry squad like this one.

David Hearn & Seamus Power ($8,000)

This is a team that feels like it was randomly drawn out of hat, but Hearn and Power have proven to be pretty darn dynamic in this event. In two Zurich starts together they've went T5 in 2019 and T10 in '18...results that are tough to ignore. Neither have really shined individually this year, but Power is fresh off a top-10 on the Korn Ferry Tour, and their results as a team don't lie.

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