PGA Tour Fantasy Golf: 2019 Houston Open Preview

This week, the PGA Tour shifts to the state of Texas for the Houston Open. Fantasy golf players will be presented with a tournament that will be without any of the top thirty players in the OWGR (official world golf ranking).

However, anytime we have a PGA Tour event on the schedule means we have an opportunity to win DFS contests! Before I discuss my fantasy golf and Draftkings player selections, let’s take a quick look at the golf course the field will play, my DFS strategy, and my key statistics to focus on for this event.

This tournament will be played at the Champions Course at the Golf Club of Houston. This track is a par 72 that measures approximately 7,441 yards. The golf course features tight fairways and large green complexes. This track also features Bermuda grass greens.

Based on my review of prior results at this event, in my opinion, course form is far more important for this event than many tournaments on the PGA Tour. That’s not to say that the current form is not important, it certainly will be. However, my focus will be on golfers that have a consistent track record at the Golf Club of Houston’s Champion Course.

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Additionally, I reviewed the statistics of previous winners of the Houston Open to look for any correlations in statistical data. The prior statistics at this tournament clearly indicate that scrambling and putting are of high importance this week.

As I construct my fantasy golf lineups for Draftkings contests, I will be placing more emphasis on players that perform well scrambling and putting than I usually do.

The key statistics I will be focusing on for this event are driving distance, GIR (greens in regulation), scrambling, and putts per GIR (greens in regulation).

Daniel Berger $10,400

This man certainly fits the mold of a golfer that I am looking to back for this event. Why do I say that? Well, he arrives at this event in good form. Additionally, Berger fits the narrative of a course horse, which is an absolute must for me at this event.

Let’s elaborate more on the comments I just made reference to in more detail.

First of all, Berger arrives at the Houston Open on the heels of two quality tournament results. He finished 23rd at the Safeway Open to start his season. He followed up that nice result with an 18th place finish at last week’s Shriners Hospitals For Children Open.

Now let’s shift our focus to Berger’s previous results at the Houston Open. Berger’s results at the Houston Open (all played at the Champions Course) are as follows: 25th in 2015, fifth in 2016, fifth in 2017, and 18th in 2018. Clearly, Berger can perform on the Champions Course!

I was also impressed by a few of Berger’s statistics from last week’s Shriners Hospitals For Children Open. Berger ranked ninth in the Shriners field in putts per GIR (1.642). Additionally, Berger ranked 15th in the field in driving distance (321.4 yards).

Russell Henley $10,100

For my next selection, I am going with another course horse, Russell Henley. His previous results at the Houston Open are absolutely outstanding.

Let’s take a look at some of Henley’s previous results at the Houston Open. Henley finished 4th in 2015, fifth in 2016, won in 2017, and finished eighth in 2018.

As far as the current form goes, Henley has made the cut in his last three events on the PGA Tour. However, his results have not been spectacular. His best finish was a 37th place result in last week’s Shriners event. Having stated that, I am not concerned. Henley is a player that performs well on golf courses that he loves. I expect that trend to continue this week.

If you are looking for additional fantasy golf choices to complete your Draftkings lineups I also like the following to possibly top 25:

Lanto Griffin $8,000

Griffin has four consecutive top 18 finishes on the PGA Tour. He finished in 11th place at the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago.

Kevin Chappell $7,900

After missing most of last season due to injury, Chappell returned to competitive golf at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier in September. He fired an outstanding second round 59 at the Greenbrier. Chappell also checks the box for the previous course form at this event. He finished sixth at the 2014 Houston Open.

Zac Blair $7,200

He finished fourth at the Safeway Open last month. Blair finished eighth at the 2017 Houston Open.

Stewart Cink $6,900

Cink finished 28th at the Sanderson Farms Championship in September. He has made his last five cuts at the Houston Open. Cink finished 23rd at the 2017 Houston Open.

Zack Sucher $6,600

Sucher has two consecutive top 24 finishes on the PGA Tour. He finished second at the Travelers Championship in June.

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If you have any specific fantasy golf player questions, etc. I can be reached on twitter at @geeversgolf. As always, good luck! Enjoy this week’s Houston Open!

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