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Joe Nicely digs into his PGA DFS Value Plays for the Farmers Insurance Open, an article that provides DraftKings daily fantasy golf lineup selections.
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Hello RotoBallers and thanks for joining me for the Farmers Insurance Open! In this article you will find my favorite DraftKings DFS value plays for this week's PGA tournament.
It can be tough to define "value" and that task is made tough because the makeup of each PGA slate is different, which makes it difficult to put a concrete DFS price on what exactly "value" is. So, this article will regularly include plays that are obviously great salary savers, but may also include plays that are "underpriced" or stick out as a great value when compared to their form, course history, or other players in the field.
Farmers Insurance Open: Value Play Notes
This is the strongest field we've seen in 2020, which gives us lots of reason to search for value at the Farmers. If we want to squeeze a couple of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm-caliber players in our DraftKings lineups this week, we'll need to get creative at the bottom of the salary scale.
You can find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
Gary Woodland - DraftKings: $9,500
It might sound weird to call a guy that's priced $9,500 a "value play", but I think the term is fair when it comes to Gary Woodland this week. Woodland has finished inside the top-seven in his last four starts worldwide and heads to a Torrey Pines course where he's recorded four-straight finishes of T20 or better. Being able to roster the defending U.S. Open champion (who, by the way, won that U.S. Open on a similar-type California course) that's in hot form at anything under $10k qualifies as "value" in my book.
Keegan Bradley - DraftKings: $7,300
When we start shopping for traditional value plays down the salary scale, we must be willing to embrace some volatility. Keegan Bradley is pretty much the definition of the term volatile, but he's an intriguing play this week if you've got the stomach for it. Bradley logged a T12 at the Sony Open the last time he teed it up and he has a suprisingly-strong track record at Torrey Pines, with top-five finishes at the Farmers in two of the last three years. Believe it or not, Bradley actually gained strokes putting at the Sony, but that is definitely the exception and not the rule...and not something we should expect again this week.
Talor Gooch - DraftKings: $7,200
We can do a little "heat check" here with Talor Gooch, who is coming off a solid T17 at last week's AmEx. Gooch also popped for some nice finishes back in the fall, with a top-25 at the RSM and a top-five in Houston. In addition to the glimpses of form, the Oklahoma State product scored a T3 in last year's Farmers and made the 36-hole cut here in 2018. Gooch is a tremendous ball striker that has the ability to get hot and post birdies in bunches. He finished the 2018-19 ranked 15th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach.
Maverick McNealy - DraftKings: $6,600
A three-time All-American at Stanford, many had pegged Maverick McNealy as golf's "next big thing". After failing to get his Tour Card via sponsor's exemptions, McNealy did it the old-fashioned way with his play on the Korn Ferry Tour last season. He's beginning to show some signs of his huge potential by making seven of nine cuts since September and he's averaged gaining four-strokes total over his last five tournaments. He's a California kid and is familiar with both Torrey Pines and Poa putting surfaces. McNealy logged a T29 in his lone Farmers start in 2018.
Brandon Wu - DraftKings: $6,300
Another Stanford kid that's trying to find his way on to the PGA Tour. Brandon Wu is part of the famous Wolff-Hovland-Morikawa class, but he elected to stay in school a bit longer in order to compete for the U.S. Walker Cup team. He logged a T35 at the U.S. Open last year and notched a T17 at the Houston Open in October while playing on a sponsor's exemption. Wu will once again get a sponsor's exemption into this week's Farmers, but he's the type of player that has a legitimate chance to take advantage of the opportunity. He's very solid from tee to green, is a strong iron player, and a good putter that knows how to handle Poa.
