Fansided

PGA Tour DFS golf: Sony Open FanDuel player selections

By Hans Geevers

JEJU, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 18: Charles Howell III of the United States plays a tee shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the CJ Cup @Nine Bridges at the Club a Nine Bridges on October 18, 2019 in Jeju, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
JEJU, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 18: Charles Howell III of the United States plays a tee shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the CJ Cup @Nine Bridges at the Club a Nine Bridges on October 18, 2019 in Jeju, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Sony Open presents the DFS/FanDuel community with the first full field event of the new year!

Before I discuss my FanDuel player selections for the Sony Open let’s take a look at the golf course the field will contend with this week and the key statistics that I will be focusing on as I compile player pools for FanDuel contests.

The 2020 Sony Open will be played at the Waialae Country Club. This golf course is a par 70 that measures 7,044 yards. Additionally, this track features tree lined fairways and rather small green complexes. Water is in play on only two holes. This track also features bermuda grass fairways and greens.

Key fact: In 2019, the PGA Tour presented a schedule of 51 golf tournaments. All 51 tournaments were contested on different courses. Of the 51 courses played in 2019, the 2019 Sony Open had a difficulty rank of 32nd.

It should be noted that this golf course’s main defense is wind. When the wind is calm professional golfers can produce very low scores. An example of that would be the round of 59 that Justin Thomas fired on this track a few years ago.

The current weather forecast notes that high winds should be a factor for the majority of tournament play this week. Obviously, that can change. However, for me, it will be essential to identify golfers that are exceptional wind players for my FanDuel lineups. I just think that’s the smart and safe play this week.

The key statistics that I am focused on this week are GIR (greens in regulation), putts per GIR, scrambling, and strokes gained approach.

Here are my FanDuel player picks for the 2020 Sony Open!

Charles Howell III $10,700

When I evaluate the field for DFS golf each week I absolutely love to find golfers that fit the narrative of a course horse. This week, the player that fits the course horse label perfectly is none other than Charles Howell III.

Let’s take a look at some of Howell III’s outstanding results at the Sony Open over the last 15 years: third-2005, second-2007, fourth-2009, fifth-2010, second-2012, third-2013, eighth-2014, eighth-2017, eighth-2019.  Clearly, Charles likes competing on this golf course!

I like the fact that Howell III arrives at this event in relatively good form as well. Howell III finished fourth at the Safeway Open in September, eighth at the ZOZO Championship in October, and finally he finished 20th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November.

Abraham Ancer $10,400

He finished 29th at the 2019 Sony Open. Additionally, Ancer finished fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions in October.

Collin Morikawa $10,900

He finished seventh at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Lanto Griffin $9,300

Griffin won the first event of his PGA Tour career at the Houston Open in October 2019.

Shugo Imahira $8,900

Shugo primarily plays on the Japan Golf Tour. However, don’t let that concern you. Imahira is currently the 30th ranked golfer in the world for a reason. Shugo finished 29th at the 2019 Sony Open.

Next. DraftKings PGA picks: 2020 Sony Open. dark

Sebastian Munoz $9,700

The 27 year old Colombian won the Sanderson Farms Championship in September. Additionally, Munoz finished tenth at the 2019 Sony Open.

As always, good luck!