Dustin Johnson was able to hang on to his first-place starting position at the Tour Championship and win his first-career FedEx Cup title. With the win, Johnson took home the $15 million grand prize and claimed his 23rd career PGA Tour victory. It was a fitting end to an incredible season for D.J., who closed his 2019-2020 campaign with two runner-ups and two wins in his last four starts.
The PGA Tour will waste no time getting the 2020-2021 season underway, as a field of 156 golfers will tee it up for the annual Safeway Open. Silverado Country Club, in Napa, California, will once again play host to the event. This year is being referred to as a “super season,” with 50 events crammed into the schedule, including six Majors.
With the U.S. Open looming next week and the FedEx Cup Playoffs now completed, we will be seeing one of the weakest fields at the Safeway Open. The highest-priced golfers on DraftKings are Si-Woo Kim ($10,800), Phil Mickelson ($10,600), Shane Lowry ($10,200), and Brendan Steele ($10,000). Steele won this event back-to-back in the years 2016 and 2017, while Cam Champ won’t be here to defend his title.
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Here are the past five winners of the Safeway Open:
- 2019 Cam Champ (-17)
- 2018 Kevin Tway (-14)
- 2017 Brendan Steele (-15)
- 2016 Brendan Steele (-18)
- 2015 Emiliano Grillo (-15)
Course Preview
This tournament will be played at the Silverado Resort and Spa, located in Napa Valley, California. The north course is a par 72, 7,203 yard-long track that features a mix of Bentgrass and Poa Annua greens. Though it is a relatively short course, the fairways are tree-lined, and there are plenty of doglegs. Golfers will have to plot their way around the course appropriately to give themselves the best angle into the greens. It is a very scorable course, with four Par 5s that offer up plenty of birdies and eagles.
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Par 5 scoring
- Performance on Bentgrass/Poa Annua
- Opportunities Gained
Recommended Plays
Brendan Steele ($10,000)
The fourth highest priced golfer on the board is a back-to-back winner of the event (2016, 2017) and is coming in with good form. Steele is a very consistent ball-striker who had three top-25 finishes in his last seven starts of 2019/20. It’s no surprise to see that in the last 36 measured rounds at Silverado, Steele ranks second in DraftKings points.
Harold Varner III ($9,100)
In his last five times out at the Safeway Open, Varner III has made all five cuts and has high finishes of T14, T15, and T17. His recent form has been really solid as well, with T7 finish at the Wyndham Championship and a solid T29 at the PGA Championship last month. Over the past 24 rounds, Varner III ranks second in opportunities gained.
Cameron Davis ($8,900)
If we look at the past few winners of this event, they are all elite ball-strikers who are long off the tee. Davis fits the build, ranking 20th in driving distance in the entire PGA. His recent form has been rock solid, with finishes of T12, T15, and T29 in his last three events. It’s no surprise then to see Davis rank first in opportunities gained in the last 24 rounds in this field. I expect plenty of birdie chances for the Aussie, and he will look to improve upon his T17 showing here in 2019.
Tyler Duncan ($8,500)
Duncan is another solid bet to finish high in California this week. He has plenty of experience at this course, including a T5 showing at the event in 2017. Duncan finished 40th in the FedEx cup race thanks to a very solid 2019/20 campaign that saw him win the RSM Open and make 16 cuts in the process. He was the sixth most accurate driver on Tour last season and this should come in handy at Silverado Resort and Spa.
Mark Hubbard ($8,000)
Hubbard is in a good position to improve upon his T13 finish at this event last year. He closed off the 2019/2020 season making five straight cuts, including a T15 at the Wyndham Championship. Hubbard hits plenty of fairways and is a great putter on Bentgrass and Poa Annua. He is a sneaky good Par 5 scorer as well, finishing 28th in that department in 2019/20.
Chasson Hadley ($7,000)
According to Fantasy National, over the last 36 measured rounds at Silverado Resort and Spa, Hadley ranks sixth in DraftKings points. He has always been an excellent ball-striker, but it’s the putting that has let him down. He seems to like the greens at this course, as he ranks sixth in strokes gained: putting, over the last 36 rounds. With a T23 and T3 at this event, the setup here is tailored to Hadley’s eye.
Xinjun Zhang ($7,000)
Zhang has played this event twice and has finishes of T7 and T37. He will come in at pretty low ownership, especially after missing three straight cuts. While August wasn’t too kind to Zhang, he had finishes of T10 and T12 in July. Going back to a course that he has had success at should be an extra motivator to score well this week in California.
Patton Kizzire ($6,600)
Kizzire is a very cheap option that is long off the tee and can get scorching hot with the putter. He had a runner-up finish here in 2016. In his last two events, he has put up at least 78 DraftKings points, and I expect him to have plenty of birdie opportunities once again this week. According to Fantasy National, in the past 36 measured rounds, Kizzire ranks second in strokes gained at Silverado Spa and Resort.
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Nic Turner is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nic, check out his archive and follow him @sportzbandit.
