Fortinet Championship Daily Fantasy Picks and Predictions: Picking a Balanced Lineup Starting With Kevin Na
Fortinet Championship: Daily Fantasy Picks and Predictions: Picking a Balanced Lineup Starting With Kevin Na
11 days. That’s all the break that we needed! The PGA Tour 2021-2022 officially begins this week at the Fortinet Championship. While the name may be new, the location is not. Silverado Country Club plays the familiar host as we get underway in Napa, an annual stop on Tour since 2014.
It is undoubtedly a short layout by PGA Tour standard at just over 7,100 yards, making it the 9th shortest course on Tour. In addition, we’ll see the full complement of par 5’s, making it a standard par 72. Typically, we will see many big names enjoy some much needed vacation time in the Fall. Still, this event features three Major Champions from 2021, with Phil Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama, and Jon Rahm teeing it up in Napa.
It’s important this week to have an asset with the Driver. You either need to be really long or really straight, but having a distinct advantage on the field off the tee has proven to be paramount to success. The only real defense for this course comes with the greens. They feature some tricky run-off areas and substantial slopes if you aren’t positioned on the correct tier with your approach shots. Wedge proximity, BOB rates, Par 5 scoring, and SG: OTT is the three main stats that I am targeting in my lineups this week.
Fortinet Championship Daily Fantasy Picks & Predictions
10k+ Range: Kevin Na $10,000
My plan is to go with a more balanced lineup structure this week. My thought is that the 8k-7k range holds a good bit more win equity in weeks like this vs. the norm. That means I have to take some savings up top, and Na is the move. He has finished top 3 or better in three of his last six starts. His wedge and short iron play to end last season were great, and I always love his putter’s potential to get scorching hot on a “resort” course.
9k Range: Harold Varner III $9,100
I’m really leaning into recent form heavily here by going Na + Varner. HV3 played his best golf of the season in the late summer through the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Things began to “click” with his iron play as he gained at least 2.5 strokes on approach over his last four measured events. Extensive course experience at Silverado should also suit him well this week and is enough to make me eat some ownership chalk in this range.
8k Range: Max Homa $8,700
I believe he holds a fair amount of win equity within the $8,000 range, if nothing else. I expect him to be able to take apart the par 5’s and his iron play was solid for the majority of last season. Homa seems to go through bouts of putting woes, but a refreshed mentality and return to familiar West Coast POA will be just what the doctor ordered.
7k Range: Pat Perez $7,900
Perez rather quietly closed last season with numerous positives. Since May, he gained strokes on approach in 10 of 11 stars. He has always made moves up the leaderboard in events where birdies can come in bunches. He rated out 2nd in Par 5 Scoring and 4th in overall putting over the last 24 rounds played in my model.
6k Range: Brandon Hagy $6,700
Remember what I said about having an elite asset Off the Tee? Well, Hagy hits his Driver as far as anybody. He’s coming off of his best overall season on Tour last year, including a handful of top 10 finishes. This will be his 5th straight year playing this event in Napa, so he should have a fair amount of course knowledge to rely upon. So pound it off the tee Brandon and wedge it well from the rough!
Best of luck, and excited to publish these plays every week for the new season! Thanks for reading!