This article is part of our FantasyDraft PGA series.
AT&T Byron Nelson
Dallas, Texas
Trinity Forest Golf Club - Par 71 - 7,380 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $7.7M
The Preview
A whopping 43 players out of the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking have elected to skip the AT&T Byron Nelson this year as the event makes a move from TPC Four Seasons to the peculiar Trinity Forest Golf Club. This new venue has the sound of a typical country club vibe with skinny tree-lined fairways and small greens, but it's the polar opposite. Trinity Forest doesn't have a single tree on the entire course and the greens are massive. Headlining the field is Jordan Spieth, who (as DallasNews.com reports) actually believes the mysterious layout of Trinity Forest will come as a pleasant surprise. A lack of both trees and water hazards lends this course an American Links feel, but players should still be able to attack pins from an aerial attack rather than be forced to bump and run everything. It'll be hot and humid in Dallas throughout the week, but winds aren't currently slated to reach anything more than about 15mph.
Past Champions (all at TPC Four Seasons)
2017 - Billy Horschel
2016 - Sergio Garcia
2015 - Steven Bowditch
2014 - Brendon Todd
2013 - Sangmoon Bae
2012 - Jason Dufner
2011 - Keegan Bradley
2010 - Jason Day
FantasyDraft Value Picks - based on $100,000 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Jordan Spieth - $18,800
Spieth returns to his birthplace of Dallas as the favorite by a mile, currently at 9/2 on GolfOdds.com compared to 14/1 for the next-closest Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar. The third-ranked player in the OWGR should tear this track up, while he's currently second on Tour in SG: T2G, third in GIR percentage, eighth in birdie average and first in scrambling. Spieth finished T3 during his last start in Texas at the Houston Open.
Jimmy Walker - $16,200
The home-state advantage continues here with Walker, who played his collegiate golf in Waco at Baylor. He's been on fire with finishes of T2-4 since a T20 at Augusta, with one of those top-fives coming at the Valero Texas Open. Walker ranks fourth on Tour in putts per round and was top-30 in every Strokes Gained category last week at the PLAYERS Championship.
Marc Leishman - $15,800
Well-known as a solid wind player thanks to his Australian upbringing, Leishman will have an advantage in this climate on a course with no trees. Despite finishes of T63-MC in two starts since a top-10 at the Masters, sign us up for Leishman at $200 less than someone like Billy Horschel.
Glue Guys
Beau Hossler - $15,200
Here we go again with the Texas talk. This All-American Longhorn averages 299 yards off the tee and ranks 44th on Tour in GIR percentage, but still sits top-35 in terms of SG: Putting as well. Hossler hasn't missed a cut since early March and would have won the Houston Open if it weren't for Ian Poulter's late heroics.
Charles Howell III - $15,000
Howell is trending in the right direction with five top-25s in his last six starts, most recently placing T17-T21 at the PLAYERS and Wells Fargo Championship. The 38-year-old has racked up 10 top-25s this season and remains on the positive side of each Strokes Gained category.
Ryan Palmer - $14,200
Palmer went cold for awhile following his T2 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, missing the cut in four of his next six starts. He bounced back throughout the last three rounds of the PLAYERS, however, carding scores of 67-69-69 from Friday to Sunday. At 41 years old the Texas A&M product still pounds the ball, averaging 308.1 yards off the tee this season. Palmer ranks 20th on Tour in total driving, which will play to his advantage on an unknown track for most of the field.
Bargain Bin
Andrew Putnam - $12,600
Putnam ranks 30th on Tour in GIR percentage and fifth in putting from 10-15 feet, while he's made the cut in each of his past four starts and posted top-10s at the Corales Championship and Valero Texas Open. He averaged 303.6 yards in driving distance on the Web.com Tour in 2017.
Richy Werenski - $12,000
Werenski missed five consecutive cuts earlier this year, but has rebounded with top-25s in two of his last three starts at the PLAYERS and Valero Texas Open. He was top-five among the field in both driving accuracy and GIR percentage at TPC Sawgrass last week.
