2023 Wells Fargo Championship: Fantasy Golf Dark Horses
By Derek Helm
Each week I will provide my favorite chalk and Dark Horse plays for the upcoming DraftKings DFS slate.
This week I will highlight my favorite DraftKings plays for the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship.
A value play is determined by a golfer being underpriced or coming in at lower ownership. I’ll also establish who will be the most rostered on the slate; also known as the “chalk”.
We always want to play the best plays but need leverage as well. Determining the difference between good “chalk” (highly owned) and bad “chalk” is essential.
I’ll list which of the high-owned golfers I like the most this week. Pairing those plays with lower-owned and lower-priced golfers (Dark Horses) is the optimal way to build and gives us the best route to winning a DraftKings contest.
*Ownership projections are estimates and will vary from contest to contest. The percentage provided is in regard to guaranteed prize pools on DraftKings.
2023 Wells Fargo Championship: Favorite Chalk Plays
Patrick Cantlay ($10,500)
DK Ownership 15-17% – Cantlay has been very consistent this year. He’s missed one cut and otherwise has finished no worse than 26th. He also has four top-five finishes in 2023.
Cantlay is 4th off the tee, 10th in strokes gained approach, 1st on approaches over 200 yards, 2nd in par 5 scoring, and 1st on par 4s from 450-500 yards over the last 50 rounds.
Tony Finau ($10,200)
DK Ownership: 13-15% – Finau is coming off an incredible performance at the Mexico Open gaining an insane 14.8 strokes tee to green.
Finau looks incredible statistically. He’s 1st in strokes gained approach, 2nd on approaches from 175-200 yards, 6th on approaches over 200 yards, and 6th in par 5 scoring over the last 24 rounds.
2023 Wells Fargo Championship: Dark Horse Plays
Brian Harman ($8,000)
DK Ownership: 5-7% – Harman has been up and down in 2023 but finished in 7th place most recently at the RBC Heritage where he gained 7.7 strokes tee to green.
Harman has only missed one cut at the Wells Fargo in ten appearances and he won the event back in 2017, although it was not played at Quail Hollow that year.
He’s 12th in strokes gained off the tee, 19th in fairways gained, and 18th in scrambling over the last 24 rounds.
Keith Mitchell ($7,800)
DK Ownership: 14-16% – Mitchell looks to be a fit for Quail Hollow and has played well at the Wells Fargo coming 3rd in 2021 and 8th in 2019.
Off the tee is an essential skill at Quail Hollow which could explain Mitchell’s success here. He’s 1st in strokes gained off the tee and 11th in driving distance over the last 50 rounds.
Gary Woodland ($7,500)
DK Ownership: 13-15% – Woodland came 5th at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2021 and came 4th back in 2015. He’s only missed one cut at Quail Hollow in seven Wells Fargo appearances.
Woodland has been striking the ball very well recently. He’s 6th in strokes gained off the tee, 12th in strokes gained approach, 10th in driving distance, and 2nd on approaches over 200 yards over the last 50 rounds.
He’s made five straight cuts and has gained strokes off the tee in every tournament since October of last year.
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Ben Martin ($7,100)
DK Ownership: 7-9% – Martin has made eight straight cuts and has finished in the top 13 four times over that span.
Over the last 24 rounds, Martin is 17th in strokes gained approach and 6th in fairways gained.
He has a couple of good finishes at Quail Hollow coming 11th in 2021 and 18th in 2017. He’s only lost strokes on approach in one of his seven appearances at Quail Hollow.