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 second 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 2 of The Valero Texas Open.
Round 2 PGA DFS Picks: The Valero Texas Open
Previous Round Recap
Morning Wave
The featured groups in the morning wave didn’t disappoint. At least Jordan Spieth’s group didn’t, considering all of them got to 4 under at one point. Only Spieth was able to hold it together, while Corey Conners and Ryan Palmer both dropped a few shots and ended the day at 1 under and even par, respectively. Even with the rough cut lower in recent years, like we’ll see next week, the course played to about 1.3 strokes over par. An over-par cut is firmly in play tomorrow, possibly a +2 cut line with the strong field.
Another Texan making noise in the morning wave was Scottie Scheffler, who continued his good form with a 4-under while gaining strokes in all four facets of his game. Tom Hoge is the only other golfer from the morning wave to end up in the top 10 after Round 1.
Afternoon Wave
It is nice to see Hideki Matsuyama look comfortable again. It was apparent from the onset that he is not feeling well. Like Scheffler, he elevated in all four facets of strokes gained today while having his best day on the greens in a long time. Matsuyama, like Spieth, got to 6 under but ultimately squeezed out and finished at the same score; he then got leap-frogged by three golfers: Cameron Tringale, Sung Kang and Camilo Villegas. The latter gained almost five strokes putting on the day and another 3.21 around the green for an impressive eight strokes gained in Round 1. Sebastian Munoz and Vincent Whaley also had all parts of their game working in Round 1, both shooting 4-under 68s while gaining strokes in all four categories.
Quick Hitter Round 1 Stat Recap
A handful of golfers mentioned above were able to gain strokes in all four categories in Round 1. Spieth, who isn’t part of this list, gained two strokes in three of four categories, making him the only golfer to do so. Here are the others to gain in all four in Round 1:
- Camilo Villegas
- Cameron Tringale
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Scottie Scheffler
- Tom Hoge
- Sebastian Munoz
- Vincent Whaley
- Kevin Stadler
- Matt Kuchar
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 second-round slate.
The Valero Texas Open PGA DFS Picks
The wind could pick up mid-day again like it did today, but it shouldn’t be as noticeable on Friday. With Matsuyama, Spieth and Scheffler all playing well, there should be a lot of combos with two of them, and maybe all three in aggressive builds. Matsuyama’s price is way down from his week-long salary, making it easier to do at this point.
PGA DFS Picks for Round 2 of The Valero Texas Open
- Matt Kuchar ($8,700) Projected 32.9 Points: It was a long period of regression for Kuchar, who went through different changes. But it seems like he’s found his putting stroke once again, and his ball striking looks decent enough. Gaining in all four categories, albeit mildly with his approaches, Kuchar seems to be in control of his game heading into Augusta next week.
- Cameron Davis ($8,400) Projected 35.93 Points: His approach game and ball striking have been the biggest reasons for success this year. However, it was actually Davis’ putting in Round 1 that has been intriguing. In lineups that fade the top chalk and go for a balanced build, Davis and Kuchar make great fits.
- Erik van Rooyen ($7,000) Projected 33.35 Points: It’s hard to get van Rooyen right. It feels like a reach here, but given the guys around van Rooyen, he is the most trustworthy.
Sneaky PGA DFS Pick for Round 2
- K.H. Lee ($6,700) Projected 31.68 Points: The first drive of Lee’s day was the worst one, and that prevented him from getting inside the top 10. Although the rest of Lee’s game looks to be intact, he’s quietly been on a decent run to begin with. I think Lee will be lower-owned than Sung Kang or Villegas, so this should be a good pivot in the sleeper category.
DraftKings and FanDuel Valero Texas Open Lineup Fill-Ins
- Corey Conners ($10,000)
- Ryan Palmer ($9,600)
- Brendan Steele ($8,800)
- Seung Yul Noh ($6,100)
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