Daily Fantasy PGA Picks for DraftKings  - Farmers Insurance Open

DFSR is proud to bring you our newest contributor Chris Durell. He'll be bringing weekly PGA picks, analysis and breakdowns to help you cash on DraftKings. If you are new to DraftKings PGA DFS be sure to click on the banner below.

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the Farmers Insurance Open? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings, FantasyFeud & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Farmers Insurance Open

Torrey Pines Golf Club - La Jolla, California

South Course
Par 72 - 7,698 Yards

North Course
Par 72 - 7,052 Yards
 

The CareerBuilder Challenge closed out on Sunday afternoon with Jason Dufner beating David Lingmerth on the second playoff hole. Both golfers finished the regulation 72 holes at -25, four shots clear of the next group of golfers. It was a very impressive performance by both golfers as they combined for only eight Bogeys(Dufner-5, Lingmerth-3) throughout the entire tournament. The other big story of the weekend was the return of Phil Mickelson. His off season work on his game has already paid off in his first start as he finished in a tie for 3rd at the CareerBuilder Challenge. He played his final two rounds on the extremely tough TPC Stadium Course and went -10 going Bogey Free Saturday/Sunday. A great sign for golf to see Phil back on the Sunday leaderboard. He will be back at it this week at Torrey Pines.

The PGA Tour stays in California this week and heads to Torrey Pines Golf Club for the Farmers Insurance Open. Like last week this will be another multi course rotation with both Torrey Pines South and Torrey Pines North courses being used. The cut will take place on Friday with the top 70 players and ties moving on to the weekend. Only the South Course will be used on Saturday and Sunday. One thing to note about the two courses is that the North Course plays as one of the easiest on tour while the South Course plays as one of the hardest. If you are playing on Yahoo be sure to set your lineups accordingly.

At a behemoth 7,698 yards and being used in three of the four rounds, the #1 stat this week is going to be Driving Distance. The long hitters can more than make up for being in the rough when they are 20-50 yards farther down the fairway. Two of the other really important featured stats this week are going to be Proximity and Strokes Gained : Putting. The greens here at Torrey Pines are Poa Annua and can be very tough to putt on. The way in which the grass strains grow at different rates can make uneven surfaces and frustrate the best of putters. Other courses using Poa Annua grass on the greens are Pebble Beach, Silverado CC(most recent FRYS.com),  & Riviera CC. Looking back on a few leaderboards from tournaments hosted at those courses can help point out some golfers in the field who are comfortable with the greens. For a better description of Poa Annua grass check out a short article by clicking this link.

For those of you purchasing the cheatsheet, there has been an upgrade this week. I have added weights to the stat categories to properly weight the rankings in specific categories. As of now I have set the weights and they cannot be adjusted. This will change in the near future so you can adjust the weights to your own preferences. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated as the cheatsheet continues to evolve and grow.

Below is a list of all the featured statistics being used for this week. I have now transitioned the stat rankings to 2016 rankings as most golfers have now played 10 or more rounds.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
• Driving Distance
• Greens in Regulation
• Proximity
• Birdie or Better %
• Scrambling
• Par 5 Scoring Average
• Strokes Gained: Putting

 High End Targets ($10,000+)

Jason Day
Vegas Odds - 9/1
Draftkings - $12,000
Fantasy Feud - $195,000
Fantasy Aces - $6,550

There are four great choices at the top this week with Fowler and DJ right behind Day in salary. I will definitely have shares of all three in tournaments but Day is the man when it comes to Torrey Pines. He has played here in each of the past three and comes back as the defending champion from 2015. He finished runner up in 2014 and 9th in 2013. His form is also great picking up a T10 at the season opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions and coming off an amazing run at the end of 2015 carding four wins in his final six tournaments. He hits long, hits a ton of greens and putts well when it counts the most. His stats below are 2015 ranks as he does not have enough rounds in 2016 to rank.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 5
• Driving Distance - 3
• Greens in Regulation - 7
• Proximity - 136
• Birdie or Better % - 1
• Scrambling - 2
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 7
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 6

Brandt Snedeker
Vegas Odds - 18/1
Draftkings - $10,700
Fantasy Feud - $172,000
Fantasy Aces - $5,600

He is a terrific pick if you are looking to fade the top three golfers in a lineup. He knows to putt on Poa Annua and has enjoyed success on courses with this type of grass. Most recently winning the Pebble Beach Pro Am last season. So far in 2016 he has enjoyed success as well, coming off a 2nd at the Sony Open. T3 at the Tournament of Champions and was partnered with last weeks winner Jason Dufner in taking down the Franklin Templeton Shootout. When looking at his course history over the past five years he has made the cut in four of five trips including a 9th in 2011, Win in 2012, runner up in 2013, and 19th last season. He is a great GPP play and if you want to go a little higher in cash games he is a safe choice to anchor your team.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 59
• Driving Distance - 53
• Greens in Regulation - 76
• Proximity - 174
• Birdie or Better % - 55
• Scrambling - 23
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 113
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 12

Jimmy Walker 
Vegas Odds - 25/1
Draftkings - $10,100
Fantasy Feud - $144,000
Fantasy Aces - $5,400

He has a great track record at the four courses that have Poa Annua greens. In the past two years he has made seven of eight cuts at the FRYS, Pebble, Farmers and Pebble Beach including wins at Pebble Beach and the FRYS in 2014. While he is only ranked 83rd so far in 2016 in SG:P he was ranked 2nd in 2015. He always seems to start the year off strong making it a great time to jump on board. The price seems a bit high for a player of his overall caliber but this could also drive his percentage down. I am not worried about his price this week as he has finished Top 10 here in three of his last four trips.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 68
• Driving Distance - 27
• Greens in Regulation - 72
• Proximity - 189
• Birdie or Better % - 37
• Scrambling - 128
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 50
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 83

Mid Tier Targets ($7,000 - $9,800)

Graham DeLaet
Vegas Odds - 40/1
Draftkings - $9,100
Fantasy Feud - $130,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,500

As fellow Saskatchewanian I cannot leave him out of the article this week. There is too much to like about Canada's top golfer this week. He has made four of five cuts so far in the new season highlighted by a T7 at the Sony Open two weeks  ago. He is a terrific Ball Striker despite being inaccurate off the tee. That just emphasizes just how good he is in Distance and GIR. While he struggled putting in 2015(110th rank -.014 Strokes Gained:Putting) he is surprisingly good on Poa Annua greens. He didn't play the Farmers last season but had a T8 at the Northern Trust, T32 at the FRYS.com Open, and T57 at Pebble Beach. After missing the cut in 2011 at the Farmers he followed it up with a 9th in 2013 and 2nd in 2014. He can be vulnerable and inconsistent making him a GPP only play.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 63
• Driving Distance - 34
• Greens in Regulation - 14
• Proximity - 77
• Birdie or Better % - 41
• Scrambling - 188
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 210
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 73

Daniel Berger
Vegas Odds - 66/1
Draftkings - $8,200
Fantasy Feud - $116,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,000

The 2015 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is back for another round at the Farmers Insurance Open. Last year in his first trip he finished 24th. He is currently ranked 6th in Driving Distance, 28th in Proximity, and 36th in Strokes Gained Putting. So far in the new season he has made all four cuts highlighted by a T11 at the WGC-HSBC Champions.  Looking at other Poa Annua courses besides Torrey Pines that Berger played last season, he finished T10 at Pebble Beach and T17 at the FRYS.com Open. The future is bright for this young star and he should end up in the winners circle very soon. Hopefully this week!

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 44
• Driving Distance - 6
• Greens in Regulation - 107
• Proximity - 28
• Birdie or Better % - 40
• Scrambling - 52
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 186
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 36

Smylie Kaufman
Vegas Odds - 66/1
Draftkings - $7,300
Fantasy Feud - $95,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,550

He was a feature pick in the article last week and didn't disappoint with a T14. It could have been a whole lot better if not for the double bogey on the Par 5, 16th hole on Sunday. Either way he has had a terrific start to his PGA Tour career making all seven cuts with four Top 20's, two Top 10's including his first career win at the Shriners Open. His game fits what is needed here at Torrey Pines as he drives the ball far, hits greens, scores on Par 5's and is a great putter. He is set to pay off his salary (dropped $400 from last week on DK) yet again in his first trip to Torrey Pines.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 32
• Driving Distance - 47
• Greens in Regulation - 72
• Proximity - 142
• Birdie or Better % - 28
• Scrambling - 128
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 13
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 48

Low End Target (Min Price - $6,900)

Hudson Swafford
Vegas Odds - 150/1
Draftkings - $6,800
Fantasy Feud - $67,000
Fantasy Aces - $3,700

He will be strictly a GPP play as are most of the players listed below $7K on DraftKings. He has missed the cut here in both of his previous trips but there is some signs he is ready to make the cut here and possibly do even more. He checks off a ton of featured stats we are looking for(8th Driving Distance, 42nd in Prox, 45th in Par 5 Scoring, and 25th in putting. He has made the cut in five of his seven starts in the new season highlighted by a T9 at the Sony Open and a T17 at the FRYS.com Open(also has Poa Annua Grass greens). There is not a lot of value below $7K this week but Swafford makes a terrific low end value if you are looking to roster Jason Day.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 105
• Driving Distance - 8
• Greens in Regulation - 135
• Proximity - 42
• Birdie or Better % - 115
• Scrambling - 75
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 45
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 25

Greg Owen
Vegas Odds - 300/1
Draftkings - $6,600
Fantasy Feud - $37,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,000

Definitely have to be careful with your picks below $7K this week. You have to try and find something you like about each guy as you aren't going to find a guy who checks every category. Owen presents some value as he is inside the Top 10 to start the year in Strokes Gained and 28th in Driving Distance. he has played here four straight years and has not missed a cut. While he has missed three of his last four cuts in the new season, I like the course history to trump current form this week.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 9
• Driving Distance - 28
• Greens in Regulation - 64
• Proximity - 28
• Birdie or Better % - 100
• Scrambling - 211
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 72
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 212

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the Farmers Insurance Open? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings, FantasyFeud & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.