Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup

Breaking down Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks for the week at TPC San Antonio with top plays, top fades and building a PGA DFS golf lineup.

After a week hiatus from the PGA DFS lineup and picks — save your money when it comes to the Match Play, at least from me — we’re back for the Valero Texas Open this week as we dive into the DraftKings slate.

Being played the week before The Masters, it’s another week where the field is not terribly strong with none of the Top 10 players in the world teeing it up at TPC San Antonio. However, that gives us a lot of places where we can find value and make some great Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks for the week.

If you want more analysis this week, you can check out my Valero Texas Open picks and best bets  from Monday in addition to my friend Iain MacMillan’s picks over at BetSided for the week. But for the PGA DFS advice, let’s dive into our Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks with plays and fades at each pricing tier before we build a winning lineup.

Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10,000: Rickie Fowler ($10,200) – Rickie Fowler is going to be extremely popular this week because he’s been playing extremely well and needs a win at the Valero to make The Masters. But I love his fit, especially in a $10K range I’m not loving overall. His driving and ball striking have been great and, if he can stay putting well, he could legitimately have a chance to get that needed win this week. Also Consider: Tyrrell Hatton ($10,900)

$9,000: Si Woo Kim ($9,700) – Probably one of my least favorite plays in PGA DFS, I can’t look away from Si Woo Kim. His profile and the way his ball striking and putting are trending suggest one of his patented pop weeks could be coming and he’s been showing a bit of that lately with four Top 30 finishes in six starts since winning the Sony. Also Consider: Davis Riley ($9,500), Chris Kirk ($9,300), Ryan Fox ($9,000)

$8,000: Nicolai Hojgaard ($8,000) – This isn’t an overreaction to the young Danish star finishing second at Corales last week. He’s a dynamic talent who has been performing well in Europe this year as he had a T5, T13 and T10 on the DP World Tour in his previous five starts prior to last week’s first PGA Tour start of the season. His upside is that of a $10K player and I’m all over him at the bottom of this range. Also Consider: J.J. Spaun ($8,900), Matt Wallace ($8,500), Adam Schenk ($8,200)

$7,000: Ben Martin ($7,100) – I’m not sure how you look away from Ben Martin this week. He’s been striking the ball well, his putting has been spiking at the right times, and he has three Top 13 finishes in his last five starts — all of which came in non-elevated events such as the Valero, including finishing T8 last week at Corales. This feels like a misprice and I’m all over Martin this week. Also Consider: Brendon Todd ($7,900), Aaron Rai ($7,900), Nick Taylor ($7,600), Sam Stevens ($7,400), Will Gordon ($7,200), Charley Hoffman ($7,000), Akshay Bhatia ($7,000)

$6,000: Kevin Chappell ($6,700) – The veteran Kevin Chappell started this season awfully but he’s started to find some stuff. His last three starts have resulted in T29 at the Honda, T15 in Puerto Rico and T16 last week at Corales. He’s showing some nice improvement with his game and the results are following. If you have to dip down here, I like where his game is at, especially at the Valero where he’s played well in his career. Also Consider: Pierceson Coody ($6,900), Scott Piercy ($6,800), Augusto Nunez ($6,700), Ryan Gerard ($6,600), Carson Young ($6,300)

Valero Texas Open DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10,000: Corey Conners ($10,100) – After showing some signs in January and then something at the API, it seemed like Conners might be trending. But he has just one finish better than T50 in his last four starts including missing the cut at THE PLAYERS in his last stroke play start. He’s a past winner here, so this is a bit dangerous, but I just don’t see the form for the Canadian right now.

$9,000: Taylor Montgomery ($9,900) – This isn’t necessarily about full fading Montgomery, just that he’s my least favorite play in the $9K range while being the most expensive player in the range. He hasn’t finished better than T39 in his last four stroke play starts and I don’t think his ball striking — particularly on approach — is where it needs to be to pay off this price.

$8,000: Alex Noren ($8,800) – Even if the underlying metrics do have some positive signs, at some point, you have to convert that to finishes and Noren hasn’t done that this year. He has three missed cuts and no finish inside the Top 60 in his last four starts and that’s just not going to get it done for me at the top of the $8K range.

$7,000: Taylor Pendrith ($7,700) – Because of his success over the past year, people might be quick to look at Pendrith. Don’t. His game just isn’t in the same place as he’s no longer gaining a ton of strokes tee-to-green or putting well. That’s reflected in a missed cut and two finishes outside the Top 65 in his last three starts and no finish better than T42 in his last five starts. I just don’t see it, especially in a value-rich $7K range.

Valero Texas Open: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup

• Rickie Fowler ($10,200)
• Si Woo Kim ($9,700)
• Nicolai Hojgaard ($8,000)
• Aaron Rai ($7,900)
• Ben Martin ($7,100)
• Akshay Bhatia ($7,000)

I actually started building this lineup in the $7K range because there seems to be an immense amount of value in it this week. That then allowed me to get my top plays for the $10K and $9K ranges with Fowler and Kim, respectively. We also have other top plays with Hojgaard and Martin.

As for Aaron Rai, his last start was T19 at THE PLAYERS but his game is shaping up perfectly this week to pop after he was just outside a Top 20 at the Valero last week and fits all the right metrics this week. The same is true for Akshay Bhatia, who was T2 at Puerto Rico and T24 last week at Corales with a near-59 to his credit. I love his upside and think his game fits perfectly for this tournament and to round out this lineup.

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