The PGA Tour descends onto TPC San Antonio this week for the 2017 Valero Texas Open, where Charley Hoffman will look to defend his title, but before we get to that, let's take a quick look back at last week's RBC Heritage.
No longer a mere trick shot master, Wesley Bryan is now a PGA Tour champion after emerging from a crowded Sunday leaderboard to earn the first win of his career. As far as DFS goes, my optimal DraftKings lineup had real potential but ultimately fizzled out. Jim Furyk's four bogies on his last six holes on Friday kept the lineup from having all six players making the cut, while Pat Perez's brutal 81-71 on the weekend moved him from contention to a T70. The rest of the picks--Russell Knox (T11), Cameron Smith (T29), Tyrrell Hatton (T29), Martin Kaymer (T32)--all had decent finishes despite mostly poor play on Saturday and Sunday. At one point, five of the six picks were sitting inside the Top 15, but things quickly fell apart. Oh well. That's golf, and it's time to move on.
TPC San Antonio is a 7,435 Par 72. Being long off the tee will help players more than it did last week, but accuracy will still be important, as both the fairways and greens are difficult to hit (56 percent and 57 percent, respectively). In Hoffman's victory here last year, he did it with his short game, as he hit 68 percent of greens in regulation, ranked fourth in strokes gained putting and was eighth in scrambling from the sand.
With all of that in mind, you can click through the gallery for my ideal DraftKings lineup picks. (Getty)
Brendan Steele
Price: $9,900
With six players priced at $10,000 or greater, there are a number of different ways you can start your lineup. And really, a strong argument can made for any of those six players, but Steele checks off all the right boxes. He's consistent, as he hasn't missed a cut since July of 2016. He's in great form, having finished 27th at the Masters in his last start. He has strong course history, as he won here in 2011 and his piled up four Top-15's in six appearances. And his game fits this course, as he ranks 30th in driving distance, 29th in strokes gained around the green and, most importantly, first in scrambling.
Steele has as good of a chance to win as any of the top guys, but you're getting him at a slight discount. (Getty)
Adam Hadwin
Price: $9,100
Wesley Bryan proved last week the importance of scrambling on a course with small greens, as he ranked just 66th in GIR percentage, but was 10th in strokes gained around the green and got up-and-down a whopping 27 times.
The greens are small again this week, so we're looking for players who can get out of trouble. We already have Steele, who is first on Tour in scrambling, and now we have Hadwin, who ranks third in the same stat. It also doesn't hurt that he is playing extremely well right now, finishing first, sixth, 36th and 22nd in his last four starts. (Getty)
Tony Finau
Price: $8,400
Charley Hoffman's win here last year saw him finish fourth in the field in driving distance, so being a bomber is a good route to success. Enter Finau, who ranks a beautiful 13th on Tour in driving distance, sixth in strokes gained off the tee and 12th in strokes gained tee to green.
The putter can often be the 27-year-old's downfall, but the upside (28th on Tour in birdie-or-better percentage) makes him well worth the gamble at a reasonable price. (Getty)
Soren Kjeldsen
Price: $7,500
Kjeldsen will be making his debut here, but he's playing well enough to trust. After an ugly start to the season, he has reeled off five consecutive Top-40 finishes, which doesn't sound all that great, but one of those was a T5 at the WGC-Match Play and another was a T36 at the Masters, which would have looked a lot better if not for a 78 on Sunday.
Though he can be inconsistent off the tee, he has the putter to keep him in contention. He ranks 30th on Tour in strokes gained with the flatstick, which is already great, but that number jumps up to 14th on Bermuda greens. (Getty)
Jhonattan Vegas
Price: $8,100
This may be foolish considering Vegas' last three starts here have produced two missed cuts and a 68th-place finish, but if you're looking for a contrarian pick, this might be your guy. While he missed the cut in his last start, that can be forgiven considering it was the Masters and considering how well he was playing before that with 11 consecutive made cuts and three Top-15's in his previous five events.
Moreover, his statistical makeup suggests he should perform better at this course. He ranks 41st in driving distance, 47th in approaching the green and 37th in Par 4 scoring, which is good enough to contend inside a fairly watered-down field. (Getty)
Daniel Summerhays
Price: $7,000
Summerhays has played pretty poorly this season, but he has shown signs of turning things around with made cuts at the Masters and the RBC Heritage the last two weeks, and now he enters his most comfortable course. After a missed cut in his debut in 2011, Summerhays has finished 29th, seventh, second, fourth and 13th at this tournament. Though he may turn into a popular pick, he shouldn't have much trouble providing big-time value at this price. (Getty)
DraftKings PGA Lineup: Valero Texas Open 2017 Optimal Picks