This article is part of our DFS Golf series.
LIV ANDALUCIA
Purse: $20M Individual, $5M Team
Winner's Share: $4M Individual, $3M Team
Location: Cadiz, Spain
Course: Real Club Valderrama
Yardage: 7,010
Par: 71
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Tournament Preview
LIV Golf returns to action after a month-long hiatus and heads to Europe for two events, the first which will be held in Spain.
We last saw 15 LIV golfers tee it up at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, and 10 of them made the cut, with notable finishes coming from Cameron Smith (4), Dustin Johnson (T10), Brooks Koepka (T17) and Bryson DeChambeau (T20). The most recent LIV event -- held in Washington, D.C. -- was won by Harold Varner III. Branden Grace finished one back and Mito Pereira claimed third place.
Unlike most venues LIV has visited, Valderrama has hosted numerous professional events, most recently the Andalucia Masters on the DP World Tour from 2017-2022. As a result, we have some Strokes Gained data to draw from, and over the last five years, the winner ranked top-5 in SG: Around-the-green and Putting three times. In addition to the short game playing a key role, accuracy off the tee has also been much more important than distance, which shouldn't be all that surprising considering seven of the 11 par-4s play under 420 yards.
The only field change to note is the return of Paul Casey, who has recovered from a knee injury that cost him the D.C. event and the PGA Championship and who will replace Andy Ogletree.
DraftKings Value Picks
Based on Standard $50k Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Brooks Koepka - $10,900 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +800)
Koepka likes courses that make it tough to go low, and he will get a tougher venue this week. He's been on quite the roll since April, with two victories and four top-5s over eight starts. Koepka has plenty of experience in Europe having started his professional career on the Challenge Tour.
Cameron Smith - $10,700 (+700)
Smith has turned things around since the Masters with top-10s at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open and no finish worse than 11th in four LIV starts. The short game needs to be sharp this week, and not many players are better than Smith in that regard. He will be a popular pick in GPPs and a must-have in cash games.
Talor Gooch - $9,400 (+1600)
Which Gooch is going to show up this week -- the one who won consecutive starts in April or the one who hasn't recorded a top-10 since? I'm betting we see Gooch play well, as the month-long layoff was probably much needed. His all-around game should suit him well at Valderrama.
Tier 2 Values
Patrick Reed - $9,200 (+2000)
Reed is tied for the eighth choice on the betting board and with good reason -- over 13 tournaments this year he's posted four top-5 finishes. He's always one of the first names that comes to mind when needing a player with a world-class short game.
Abraham Ancer - $8,500 (+5000)
Keeping the ball in the fairway at Valderrama will be an important task, and Ancer was one of the best at that when he was on the PGA Tour, ranking fourth in driving accuracy last season. His results this year have left something to be desired, but he did win the Saudi International and made the cut at LACC.
Sebastian Munoz - $8,400 (+4000)
Munoz has quietly put together a solid LIV season, as he sits 10th in the individual standings thanks to three top-10 finishes. He was dialed in with his irons at the U.S. Open, ranking second for the tournament in SG: Approach.
Tier 3 Values
Anirban Lahiri - $7,900 (+4500)
It's surprising to see Lahiri under $8,000 considering the ceiling he provides with a pair of runner-up finishes over 10 LIV appearances. In his last season on the PGA Tour, he was a solid 56th in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Kevin Na - $7,700 (+4500)
Na rebounded from a poor showing in Tulsa with his second eighth-place finish of the year in D.C. He has always been one of the best players in the world around the greens, which will be key with it being tough to hit greens in regulation.
Pat Perez - $7,000 (+6500)
Perez has managed a pair of top-10s and has finished 21st or better in five of seven starts this year, which is respectable when you get down to this range and need to fill out your lineups. He fits the profile I'm looking for as an accurate driver with a good short game.
Tier 4 Values
Danny Lee - $6,800 (+10000)
Lee should only be considered in GPPs due to his upside potential -- in seven LIV starts he has only one top-20 finish, but it was a victory in Tucson. Lee has always been held back by his lack of distance off the tee, but that shouldn't be a huge detriment on a 7,000-yard course.
Scott Vincent - $6,700 (+8000)
Vincent is one of the few players in the field who has played a professional event recently at Valderrama, and he has recorded three straight top-20 LIV finishes, including a fourth-place result in Singapore.
David Puig - $6,200 (+20000)
The 21-year-old has started to show some form, making the cut in his major championship debut at the U.S. Open and recording his best LIV finish his last time out -- a 12th-place result in D.C. I expect him to keep the momentum going in his home country.
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