DraftKings preview: Valero Texas Open

The PGA TOUR stays in Texas for another week for the Valero Texas Open. TPC San Antonio will be the host and measures as a 7,438-yard par 72 with Poa trivialis over-seeded greens.

Despite this being one week before the Masters Tournament, the field for this event is strong. Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Max Homa will all tee it up this week, along with defending champion Corey Conners.

Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]

Corey Conners ($9,400)

With some bigger names in the field this week, some may overlook Conners, even though he’s the defending champion and a two-time winner of this event. The Canadian has had a steady start to the 2024 season without missing a cut but posting zero top-10 finishes on the year.

Things have heated up recently, though, having finished T18 and T13 in his last two starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship, respectively. Only Keith Mitchell ranks higher in Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking than Conners over the past 24 rounds, and only Mitchell and Victor Perez sit higher in SG: Approach in the same timeframe.

Conners’ history around TPC San Antonio is well-documented, as he won this event last year and in 2019 while finishing no worse than T35 in his other three starts. You could make the argument, based on his recent form and course history, that Conners should be about $1,000 more expensive than he is this week, so I will gladly take the discount here.

Billy Horschel ($8,900)

After a difficult 2023 season, Horschel has rediscovered his game to begin this year. He finished T7 last week at the Texas Children's Houston Open, which came on the heels of a T12 at Valspar and T9 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. Over his past 16 rounds, Horschel ranks 11th in this field in SG: Tee-to-Green and third in Total Strokes Gained, trailing only Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Åberg.

It’s been the ball-striking that’s caught fire for Horschel, as he’s gained 3.8 or more strokes in that department in three of his past four starts. In addition to his strong recent form, Horschel has an elite course history at TPC San Antonio, having posted three top-four finishes and a T11 across seven starts this decade.

Horschel is rolling right now and has deservedly got a bit of a price bump because of it, but remains a good play nonetheless.

Lucas Glover ($7,300)

After losing strokes putting in pretty much every event he’s played this season, Glover finally gained on the greens at the Valspar Championship in his last start. Hopefully, he can continue that this week at the Valero, because we know his elite tee-to-green game will be there. Glover ranks seventh in this field in that department over the past 48 rounds, including sitting third in SG: Approach in the same time frame. We caught a glimpse last summer of what happens when Glover putts well: He wins. Twice in a row, in fact. Glover jumped back into the winner's circle last year by notching victories at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.

As for his prospects this week, Glover is quite familiar with TPC San Antonio, having made five career starts here with two top-18s and a T4 in that stretch. Among golfers who have played this course more than once, only Jordan Spieth, Conners and Byeong Hun An have averaged more SG: Tee-to-Green per round than Glover.

Glover has finished T35 or better in four of his past five starts, with a T11 at Innisbrook his last time out. He offers safety here at this $7,300 price tag.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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