This article is part of our FantasyDraft PGA series.
Valero Texas Open
San Antonio, TX
TPC San Antonio – Par 72, 7,435 yards
Field – 156 Entrants
Winner's Share – $1.116 million
The Preview
The Tour heads to Texas for the third time in five weeks, and more specifically TPC San Antonio in the city that the course draws its name from. Eight former winners of this event will be on hand, a group that includes defending champion Charley Hoffman, who has played well of late and is primed for a repeat. Patrick Reed is the highest ranked player, and fellow Americans Matt Kuchar and Jimmy Walker are the most notable among the rest of the field. The stats that are key to victory this week vary depending on who you ask, but greens in regulation – as is the case most weeks – will be key to the picks below, and course history will be leaned on as well.
Past Five Champions
2016 – Charley Hoffman
2015 – Jimmy Walker
2014 – Steven Bowditch
2013 – Martin Laird
2012 – Ben Curtis
Last Year's Top 10 Finishers
1 Charley Hoffman -12
2 Patrick Reed -11
3 Chad Collins -10
T4 Kevin Chappell -9
T4 Ryan Palmer -9
T4 Martin Piller -9
T4 Billy Horschel -9
T4 Ricky Barnes -9
T9 Branden Grace -8
T9 Harold Varner, III -8
T9 Tom Hoge -8
T9 Jon Curran -8
FantasyDraft Value Picks – based on $100,000 salary cap
The Names
Matt Kuchar – $20,400
Brooks Koepka – $19,600
Charley Hoffman – $19,400
Patrick Reed – $19,000
The Pick: It's tough to go with Hoffman when everyone else seems to be too, but his course history and recent form suggests he should be the highest-priced player in the field, so using him to anchor your lineup this week will allow you to save more money for players in the categories below.
The Next Tier
Brendan Steele – $19,300
Kevin Chappell – $19,200
Billy Horschel – $18,900
Luke List – $18,100
The Pick: Most players in this group do a good job getting the ball on the green in regulation, so give a look at List this week. He missed the cut in his last event, but he finished third the week before and was on fringe of contending last year before a final-round 73 led to a 29th-place finish.
The Bargains
Harold Varner III – $17,000
Bud Cauley – $15,900
Billy Hurley III – $14,200
Martin Flores – $14,100
The Pick: Most lineups are going to need a cheap player or two this week, so take a flyer on Flores, who has finished in the Top 25 at this event three times since 2012 and is second on Tour in greens in regulation percentage heading into this week's tournament.
Author's Fantasy Team
Branden Grace – $19,500
Tony Finau – $18,900
Ryan Palmer – $17,900
Byeong-Hun An – $17,700
The Pick: Surely none of you has any interest in my fantasy squad, but a fourth group failed to emerge for this edition, and the four players above at least have two things in common: They are all players I like this week, and as indicated, all part of my fantasy lineup. The nod in this group will go to Palmer, who did a good job hitting greens last week and finished in the Top 10 three of the seven times the Texas Open has been played at TPC San Antonio.
