2019 AT&T Byron Nelson PGA DraftKings DFS Picks

DALLAS, TX – MAY 17: Jimmy Walker looks on from the 10th green during the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club on May 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) AT&T Byron Nelson /

Welcome back for another DraftKings breakdown, this time, for the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson.

This is another spot where the new schedule comes into play, making its biggest splash of the 2019 season. The AT&T Byron Nelson is now the week before the PGA Championship, leaving the field very weak towards the bottom. This adjustment is probably for the better.

In the past, the PGA Championship was played in the middle of August, without a whole lot of recognition. It’s right in the midst of Fantasy Football Drafts and most people have already checked out of golf, myself included. With the PGA Tour now making this the second major on their schedule, it is going to shed a lot more light onto it and the viewership should increase tremendously.

It’s hard to say how this might affect the players in the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson who are playing in next week’s PGA Championship. We have never seen the schedule this way, but one can only imagine the top end of this field is just here to get their game right. The field at the AT&T Byron Nelson consists of just two players inside of the world’s top-20 (Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Reed).

Trinity Forest Golf Club is playing host to the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson for just the second year. The course is a Par 71 that is over 7,500 yards. In its debut a season ago, Aaron Wise came away as the champion posting a 261 (-23). Expect very low scores again this week, if the weather remains clear.

Key Stats:

Par 4 Birdie or Better
Ball Striking
Greens in Regulation

DALLAS, TX – MAY 19: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan walks off the the sixth green during the third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club on May 19, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

2019 AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings DFS Picks

The $10,000+ range features five players who we typically don’t always see this high in full fields. Brooks Koepka, the outright favorite and highest ranked player in the field, leads the way at $11,400.

Koepka does set up very well here, as he ranks inside the top-10 in all three stat categories. His price tag still seems to be a bit high with not much value down the board. This will be Koepka’s first time playing at Trinity Forest Golf Club, but this should not cause you to look elsewhere. He makes for the strongest play in this range, but I will be looking elsewhere. At this price point, we would have to expect him to finish inside of the top five.

Next up is Hideki Matsuyama ($11,000). We targeted Matsuyama last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, and while he did make the cut, T31 was just not good enough for where he was priced. This week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Matsuyama is $900 more than he was a week ago. He finished in a tie for 16th a year ago and is tenth in the field in both Ball Striking, and Greens in Regulation.

If you want exposure to this range, find a way to get the extra $400 for Koepka as opposed to starting your team with Matsuyama.

Rounding out this range is Jordan Spieth ($10,800), Henrik Stenson ($10,300), and Marc Leishman ($10,000). While Stenson did not play here in 2018, the other two had some success at Trinity Forest. Leishman, who jumped out to a three shot lead in the first round, stumbled a bit on the weekend finishing solo second, while Spieth strung together four solid days for a T21.

Though it is always a risk to fade the top end, this feels like the tournament to do so.

DALLAS, TX – MAY 19: Aaron Wise plays his tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity Forest Golf Club on May 19, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

2019 AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings DFS Picks

Falling just outside of that $10,000+ range is Patrick Reed ($9,800), and Sungjae Im ($9,600). Both players had nice outings at the Wells Fargo Championship this past week finishing inside of the top-35. Im shows up in all three of the key stat categories while Reed, as always, cannot be found. This is not a great price point for either player in this upper-$9,000 range.

Aaron Wise $9,400

The 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson champ is rounding into form just in time for his title defense. Wish has two straight top-20 finishes, including a T17 at The Masters. Not having much info on the course a year ago, not many people knew what to expect. Since the scores were low and there 11 Par 4s, weighing Par 4 Birdie or Better may come up big.

For the second straight year, Wise ranks inside the top-10 on tour in this stat category. He is one of the few players who ranks inside the top-15 in the field when considering all three stat categories. While the price is not ideal, Wise should feel comfortable here outing the competiteting in its first ever event a season ago. Do not go overweight on him, but consider him if you need to find someone from this mid-$9,000 range.

Alternate Option: Brendan Grace ($9,200) is the optimal player for a links style course. He played well last year at Trinity Forest finishing T3, along with Keith Mitchell ($9,100). I give Grace the slight edge.

Also – I know Rory Sabbatini has been playing well with seven consecutive cuts made, but I just can’t stomach the price of $9,000. Look to spend your money elsewhere.

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA – APRIL 28: Ryan Palmer of the United States walks up the 18th hole during the final round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana on April 28, 2019 in Avondale, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

2019 AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings DFS Picks

A case could truly be made if you wanted to roster 3-4 players from this range. Going through the key stats, players from $8,000-$8,900 come up often. Even in a weaker field, we get some nice values in this range that should be taken advantage of.

Charles Howell III $8,500

After letting his owners down in each of the past two events with a missed cut at both the RBC Heritage, and Wells Fargo, CH3 may not have as much exposure as we are accustomed to. He was very popular last week at just $8,400, and now only costs us $100 more in a much weaker field. I’m hopping right back on board.

When looking at the key stats, Howell ranks eighth in this field in Par 4 Birdie or Better, and first in both Ball Striking, and Greens in Regulation. He had made ten consecutive cuts leading up to his current form, and with his consistency he has shown over the years, I cannot imagine this keeps up.

Ryan Palmer $8,000

The one stat that I am paying most attention to is Par 4 Birdie or Better, where Ryan Palmer leads the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Palmer also finds himself inside the top-20 in the field in both Ball Striking (20th), and Greens in Regulation (3rd). He is also coming off of a win at the Zurich Classic where he was paired with Jon Rahm, so the form is there.

Alternate Option: Rafa Cabrera Bello ($8,600) is very affordable here and comes into this week in good form. He ranks second in the field in Par 4 Birdie or Better, which is also the fifth best on tour this year. He did not play the AT&T Byron Nelson at Trinity last year, but should payoff his price tag.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 28: Abraham Ancer of Mexico lines up a putt on the first green in his match against Cameron Smith of Australia during the second round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club on March 28, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images) /

2019 AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings DFS Picks

Unless you plan on playing lots of Brooks Koepka, this is probably as far down the board as you need to go. I mean things get really ugly once we dip down below $7,000 on DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler $7,900

Scheffler is playing this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson as a Sponsors Exemption. The 22 year old is currently third on the Web.com Tour’s “The 25” with six top-10’s which include two runner-up’s.

He has also made the cut in each of his past two PGA Tour events, with his most recent resulting in a T20 at the Valero Texas Open. This is a much weaker field, and the Longhorn has a real shot to contend this week. Scheffler is currently 50-1 to win this week on MyBookie, which makes him a nice value priced just under $8,000.

Abraham Ancer $7,600

Though we have not seen the form that Ancer flashed at the end of 2018 much this year, he does come in as a nice value on DraftKings. Ancer has been fairly inconsistent when it comes to making the cut, but has made four of his last six, which included a T12 at THE PLAYERS back in March.

He currently ranks fourth in the field in Par 4 Birdie or Better, eighth in Ball Striking, and 26th in Greens in Regulation. Ancer played the AT&T Byron Nelson last year where he finished T42 at -8, playing the weekend at even par. This is a great value in this range for a player who has played the course before, and whose stats line up.

Alternate Options: JJ Spaun ($7,800), Justin Harding ($7,800), Russell Henley ($7,300), Vaughn Taylor ($7,100), and Adam Schenk ($7,000).

PALM HARBOR, FL – MARCH 09: Colt Knost plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 9, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2019 AT&T Byron Nelson DraftKings DFS Picks

As I mentioned in the previous slide, this is not a range that you’re going to want to spend much time searching through. Almost to the point where you can completely cross out everyone priced $6,400 and below. The only logical reason to go down to that range for a player, would be to go top-heavy and reach down for a low-owned tournament option. I would not suggest that approach, but it’s DFS Golf, you really never know.

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Colt Knost $7,500

Like I said, this is probably the cutoff. Colt Knost is not on many people’s radar as injuries have plagued his last three seasons. Knost is still currently playing on the PGA Tour under the Major Medical Extension. He has eight events left to earn just over 330 FedEx Cup points, so why not give it a go at a tournament where he has had success. Knost is coming off of a made cut at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship.

I don’t want to draw much comparison to the AT&T Byron Nelson when it was played at TPC Four Seasons, but Knost did have some high finishes. Knost has finished inside the top-10 in his last two tries in this event, which includes a T4 in 2016, and a T10 in 2015. He needs high finishes to regain his tour card, so why not start here? Knost is a good tournament play if you need to find some salary relief down in this range

Alternate Options: Jonas Blixt ($6,900), Hank Lebioda ($6,700), Dominic Bozzelli ($6,600), and Chase Wright ($6,600).

Next. DraftKings PGA Quick Picks Byron Nelson Championship. dark

Leaker of the Week: Tony Romo $6,000

Since there is a very good chance this is the last time I’ll get to pick on Romo when it comes to golf this year, I’m going to go ahead and name him my leaker of the week. Romo played in Corales back in March, which was a much worse field than this one, and came second to last. He had the same exact score, but this time around he was not dead last. We’ll see how Romo does this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but I don’t think it’ll be pretty.