This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Fortinet Championship
Napa, California
Silverado Resort & Spa (North) - Par 72 - 7,123 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $7M
The Preview
Ryder Cup snubs and Player of the Year talk dominated the PGA Tour's week-long offseason headlines, but it's already time for the 2021-22 campaign to commence in Napa as the formerly-known Safeway Open transforms into the Fortinet Championship. Silverado Resort & Spa's North Course has played host to the event since the 2014 fall series, inviting a full 156-man field that is mostly devoid of superstars but stocked with Korn Ferry Tour graduates. So, the eventual 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is likely in attendance this week.
Silverado is definitely on the shorter side of a typical par-72 layout on Tour, but there are still a trio of par-5s that measure between 550-600 yards and driving ability matters throughout the venue. Focusing on the 75-150 yard range, approaches will be less demanding than usual as we expect plenty of wedges into mixed poa greens that can make putting a bit more difficult. As for the weather forecast, winds should be tame for the morning waves each of the first two days, but scattered showers could dampen the course ahead of Sunday's final round.
Recent Champions
2020 - Stewart Cink (Silverado)
2019 - Cameron Champ (Silverado)
2018 - Kevin Tway (Silverado)
2017 - Brendan Steele (Silverado)
2016 - Brendan Steele (Silverado)
2015 - Emiliano Grillo (Silverado)
2014 - Sangmoon Bae (Silverado)
2013 - Jimmy Walker
2012 - Jonas Blixt
2011 - Bryce Molder
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Off-the-Tee
Proximity: 75-150 yards
SG: Putting (Poa)
Par-5: 550-600 efficiency
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Jon Rahm - $50
Not only is Rahm the best player in this field, he's also the best player in the world by a distant margin at this point. Yahoo's $50 maximum salary keeps the Spaniard affordable this week, which contrasts several other sites that have been forced to inflate his price tag in a big way. Rahm has placed T9 or better in six consecutive international starts dating to his win at the U.S. Open.
Webb Simpson - $46
Rahm will be ultra chalky as essentially a 3/1 favorite, and I expect Kevin Na to be the most popular play in the $40s. This lends a chance to pay up for Simpson at potentially much less exposure with Will Zalatoris and California native Max Homa also drawing attention in this range. Simpson has gained a combined 15.9 strokes on approach shots throughout his last three starts dating to a top-10 at the Wyndham Championship. He also picked up 3.1 strokes on the greens in his most recent showing at the BMW Championship.
Glue Guys
Sebastian Munoz - $35
Munoz is top-6 among this week's field in SG: Approach, Opportunities Gained and proximity from 100-125 yards over his last 24 rounds. He hasn't lost strokes tee to green since the Memorial Tournament in early June, and he racked up three straight top-30s from the Wyndham Championship to the BMW Championship on the heels of a T4 in Tokyo at the Olympics.
Brendan Steele - $33
The ultimate horse for the course, Steele notched back-to-back wins at Silverado in 2016 and 2017, adding three more cuts made since the victories here in Napa as well. Steele ranks top-35 in SG: Approach and Opportunities Gained over his last 24 rounds.
Stephan Jaeger - $33
The Korn Ferry Tour star picked up two wins during the 2020-21 super season, but most recently went T4-T4-T2 from the Pinnacle Bank Championship to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship ahead of his promotion to the big stage. Jaeger, who was second in birdie average and the all-around ranking on the KFT, tied for 30th during his Silverado debut back in 2017.
Bargain Bin
Chez Reavie - $27
Reavie has gained 1.7 or more strokes off the tee in four consecutive measured starts dating to a top-20 performance at the John Deere Classic, but he's also eighth in SG: Approach over his past 24 rounds. The 39-year-old has yet to miss a cut through seven Silverado appearances, and he tied for third here last year.
Kyle Stanley - $22
There's probably around a 99 percent chance that Stanley loses strokes with the putter this week, but his ball-striking prowess provides enough intrigue to consider him for lineup selection at just $22. Stanley has not lost strokes off the tee since the PLAYERS Championship in March, and he's gained a collective 17.5 strokes from tee to green throughout his last three trips to Silverado.
Cameron Percy - $20
Maybe it has to do with age, but Percy's minimal $20 salary here is a complete mystery. Not only has he made seven consecutive cuts dating back to the Travelers Championship, but he's also placed T23-T7-T26 in three career voyages to Napa. Percy is second to none in SG: Approach over his last 24 rounds, and he's also top-4 in Opportunities Gained and Proximity: 100-125 yards during this span.
