This is a quick-hitter column to give you the key stats needed to make informed PGA DFS picks in your DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy golf lineups. In this space, I’ll give you a few recommendations for the third round of The Valero Texas Open. For typical Showdown GPPs, DraftKings offers upwards of $50,000 to first place for second- and third-round tournaments, and sometimes even up to $100,000 for the final round. They also provide weekend-long contests that offer $25,000 to first place on average. FanDuel has even tried to get into the weekend-long and final-round contests, offering $10,000 and $5,000 to first place in their PGA DFS Showdown contests. Let’s take a look at PGA DFS picks for Round 3 of The Valero Texas Open.
Round 3 PGA DFS Picks: The Valero Texas Open
Previous Round Recap
Morning Wave
Faders of Cameron Tringale thought they would finally get it right after he opened with a bogey-bogey. A boring par on 12, followed by five straight birdies, would set him apart from the rest of the field. Matt Wallace popped up on the leaderboard as well with his second straight score in the 60s, and he and Tringale were the only two from the morning wave to reach 6 under or better. Kevin Stadler is by far the biggest surprise of the tournament, making only one cut in the last couple of years, and yet he’s in a tie for fourth heading into the weekend. Also, Kyle Stanley continues his impressive ball-striking performance while the putter also cooperated in Round 2.
Matt Kuchar put together his second straight round gaining strokes in all four facets; he’s in a tie for fourth heading into the weekend. A couple of other notables include Hideki Matsuyama, who failed to keep a hot putter for the second round. Matsuyama passed the putter mojo over to Charley Hoffman, who gained just shy of three strokes putting on the day. Hoffman added another 2.4 with his approaches, coming in with a day-low 66, getting back into the thick of the tournament.
Afternoon Wave
Erik van Rooyen and Brandt Snedeker provided plenty of fireworks in the afternoon wave. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth was a bit off with his irons but gained almost three strokes with the short game and 0.79 with his off-tee game. That’s a great sign for Spieth, who sits just two back of Tringale.
Finally getting back to form, and maybe giving me a chance to play the guy again, is Doc Redman. Things were going well on Thursday before a couple of bogies, but he got them all back on Friday by shooting a four-under 68 and went 4/4 in the strokes gained categories.
Quick Hitter Round 2 Stat Recap
Only Kuchar has been able to gain strokes in all four facets both days, while the following did it in the second round
- Charley Hoffman
- Brandt Snedeker
- Lucas Glover
- Matt Wallace
- Kyle Stanley
- Doc Redman
- Rickie Fowler
- Keith Mitchell
- Scott Stallings
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Slate Preview
Lock Time
6:45 a.m. EST
Fantasy Golf Contest Preview
DraftKings
- DraftKings is offering $25,000 to first and $100,000 guaranteed for the third-round slate.
The Valero Texas Open PGA DFS Picks
For the most part, the same weather pattern we’ve seen for the last few days should play out again tomorrow. It’ll be cooler in the morning with mild wind and getting warmer and a bit windier throughout the day. No real wave advantage.
PGA DFS Picks for Round 2 of The Valero Texas Open
- Jordan Spieth ($10,500)Â I put Spieth here as a reminder that there typically isn’t a slate where I don’t have some ownership. Whether you are new to the article or haven’t seen his name in a bit, he’s clearly the best player in this field. While Tringale has looked good, the heavy ownership will be attached to him. Spieth has been very good with his irons lately, so I’m not too worried about today’s blip on the radar. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an instant bounce-back in the third round.
- Aaron Wise ($7,900)Â Leading the field in greens and regulation, Wise has really struggled with the putter in the first two rounds. To no one’s surprise, he has been ranked as one of the worst putters all year. But hope is on the horizon, at least for the rest of Wise’s game, gaining four strokes tee-to-green in Round 2. Can he get a hot putter for a round and jolt up the leaderboard? That remains to be seen, but I’ll be betting on it tomorrow.
- Doc Redman ($7,100)Â I mentioned above that I think Redman is in play again. We know the form this kid has, and it’s been a rough spell lately. One week it’s the putter, (well, multiple weeks) and maybe another the off the tee game. However, the ball striking has been good throughout Redman’s rough stretch. The short game seems to be working now, and he’s right back in contention. It shows that playing these guys with great ball-striking ability can pay off. Although, nothing can save them when the short game is ice cold. Let’s get on the Redman train before it leaves the station.
Sneaky PGA DFS Pick for Round 2
- Keith Mitchell ($6,600)Â It’s nice to see Mitchell put it together here at The Valero after being out of form for much of this year. His only win on the PGA Tour came at a similar type of Venue and track, where it’s a grind it out even. For some reason, these are the ones that profile best for Mitchell, who has been right around average or better than average in each of the first two days when looking at his strokes gained stats. His best has been his approach game gaining over half a stroke both days.
DraftKings and FanDuel Valero Texas Open Lineup Fill-Ins
- Hideki Matsuyama ($9,100)
- Matt Kuchar ($8,600)
- Cameron Davis ($8,100)
- Will Gordon ($6,900)
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