This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
Procore Championship
Course: Silverado Resort North Course (7,123 yards, par 72)
Purse: $6,000,000
Winner: $1,080,000 and 500 FedExCup Fall points
Tournament Preview
I hope everyone enjoyed their one week off from PGA Tour golf because we are getting right back at it again with the Procore Championship in Napa as the kickoff to the FedExCup Fall. 2024 saw the PGA Tour return to a calendar-based schedule, instead of the wrap-around season we saw for the majority of the previous decade. In the previous format, this event in Napa was the official first tournament of the FedExCup season. Now this is event if the first of eight this fall to determine who is exempt for the 2025 season. All 70 players who made the FedExCup playoffs have already secured full status to start next season, but No. 71 and on will be fighting to stay inside the top-125 of the FedExCup standings and secure fully exempt status for 2025. After these eight fall events, No. 126-150 in the FedExCup standings will also get conditional status for next year.
There's also another battle going on which is getting a spot in the Signature Events in 2025. The top-50 in the FedExCup last season, or those who qualified for the BMW Championship, all locked up spots in the eight Signature Events next year. There's motivation for players who made the playoffs, but did not advance past Memphis to play in the fall. At the conclusion of these eight fall events, players ranked No. 51-60 in the FedExCup will be locked into the field via the Aon Next 10 for the first two Signature Events after Kapalua, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. A win in any of these eight fall events would also secure a place in the first Signature Event in Kapalua to start the year no matter where they stand in the FedExCup. Players want to be in these Signature Events because of the $20 million purses, but also the increased FedExCup points available, which allow players to have a better chances of making the playoffs in 2025. A win at any of these fall events will also come with a two-year exemption and a spot in the Masters next April.
Now that we've established how much there still is to play for in the fall, let's focus on the Procore Championship this week. The North Course at Silverado Resort will play host to a PGA Tour event for the 11th consecutive year. There's not really any tricks around this course, it's all about being in control of your golf ball and avoiding the trouble. California boys have dominated of late at Silverado winning six of the last eight years. That includes Brendan Steele going back-to-back in 2016-17 and Max Homa doing the same in 2021-22. Last year saw Sahith Theegala get that elusive first PGA Tour victory. It catapulted him into a great 2024 season that saw him finish third in the FedExCup and secure a place on the Presidents Cup team. Speaking of the Presidents Cup, there are six of them in the field in Napa. Along with both Theegala and Homa, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes will hope to stay in rhythm for Royal Montreal Sept. 26-29. Presidents Cup assistant captain's Kevin Kisner, Stewart Cink and Camilo Villegas will also be teeing it up along with International Captain Mike Weir.
It should be a beautiful week in Napa with little to no threat of rain and temperatures expected to reach into the 80s, however it could be a little chilly for the morning starters. The winds should be consistent in that 8-12 mph range for the four tournament rounds, which is just enough to make players think, but not enough to really affect the scoring too much. Theegala shot 21-under-par last year, which tied the 72-hole Silverado record with Cink from 2020. If someone gets hot with the putter I wouldn't be surprised to see that number challenged again in 2024 given the expected forecast.
Recent Champions
2023 - Sahith Theegala (-21)
2022 - Max Homa (-16)
2021 - Max Homa (-19)
2020 - Stewart Cink (-21)
2019 - Cameron Champ (-17)
2018 - Kevin Tway (-14)
2017 - Brendan Steele (-15)
2016 - Brendan Steele (-18)
2015 - Emiliano Grillo (-15)
2014 - Sangmoon Bae (-15)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR percentage
- SG: Around-the-Green/Scrambling
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
Champion's Profile
Looking back at the leaderboard from last year, one thing that really stuck out was how important short game and putting seemed to be at Silverado. Sahith Theegala who won was third in SG: Around-the-Green and second in SG: Putting. S.H. Kim who finished second led the field in scrambling. Cam Davis who was third led the field in SG: Around and was second in scrambling. Eric Cole who finished fourth was fourth in SG: Around and third in putts per GIR. And Brendon Todd who finished sixth led the field in SG: Putting. You also have to consider the fact that Brendan Steele was one of the best total drivers on Tour when he won here twice and Stewart Cink and Max Homa were elite iron and wedge players when they won here. All that to say, there's a lot of different ways to get it done at Silverado. I didn't think this was a great course fit for Kevin Tway (2018), Cameron Champ (2019) and Theegala (2023) with how they tend to spray the ball all over, but when your short game and putter is on, you can certainly make a score here. Those different types of players having success at this course does make it a little challenging from a DFS perspective, but also opens a lot of potential doors as well. Course history and comfort level on poa annua greens will make a difference.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Sahith Theegala ($12,000)
Safe and Theegala usually aren't two things you associate with each other, but this week I believe that to be the case. After disappointing results the first two legs of the playoffs, Theegala played excellent en route to a third place finish at the TOUR Championship, and was a two-stroke penalty away from posting the low 72-hole score. Theegala has three top-15 finishes in four starts at Silverado. He putted fantastic in each of those results and the California native has eaten up poa annua greens throughout his career.
Wyndham Clark ($11,900)
It was a mostly inconsistent season for Clark which led to him taking some criticism over the summer, but he's started to turn that around and find consistent results. Clark has finished top-15 in six of his last seven starts. Throw out a poor showing at the Open, and Clark has been very solid off the tee, on approach and with the putter. Clark has played this event five prior times, and while he has yet to record a top-25, he did rank second in SG: Putting the last time he teed it up in Napa.
Eric Cole ($10,600)
After a tough middle part of the year, Cole closed out the FedExCup season by making his last eight cuts with three top-10s in that stretch. During those eight tournaments he gained strokes on the greens seven times, around the greens seven times and on approach seven times. Cole is a short hitter, but a par-72 at just over 7,100 yards is certainly manageable. I mentioned that he finished solo fourth a year ago in Napa which kicked off his crazy end to the year that included four top-five finishes in his last five starts.
The Middle Tier
Brendon Todd ($10,200)
Todd has finished T26-or-better in four of his five starts at Silverado, including top-10 finishes each of the last two years. He has started to look like himself again making five straight cuts to close the season, three of which were top-25s. Todd gained strokes on the greens in all of those starts and around the greens in all but one start. The narrow fairways at Silverado combined with his accuracy, short game and putting make him a strong pick in the lower $10K range.
J.J. Spaun ($10,100)
If you're looking for an elite iron player with value in this field look no further than Spaun. The California native ranks 13th in SG: Approach, 18th in GIR percentage and eighth in proximity to the hole on the PGA Tour. While he failed to make the playoffs, Spaun was rolling right before closing out the season going T10-T23-T45-T29-T9-T3. He was able to figure out some of his putting woes during that stretch and now heads to a course where he has finished T11-or-better two of the last four years.
Rico Hoey ($9,500)
After doing nothing at all for months, Hoey found his groove and just took off. He closed the FedExCup season with three top-10s and five top-26 finishes over his last six starts. Hoey is an excellent ball-striker ranking eighth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 12th in total driving and 23rd in GIR percentage. He also ranks second in par-5 scoring average, which will come in handy on this course with four of them for the taking.
The Long Shots
John Keefer ($8,700)
Keefer received an exemption this week after winning the Fortinet Cup on the PGA Tour Americas. After wrapping up his senior season with Baylor, Keefer was a threat every week he teed it up. He finished T6-or-better in nine out of his ten starts which included a win and four runner-up finishes. While many of players in this range haven't played in at least a month, Keefer has pegged it the last four weeks and is excellent form.
Zac Blair ($8,100)
Blair has a lot of experience around Silverado with eight prior starts, three of which were top-12 finishes. Blair's short game has been solid all year ranking 36th in SG: Around-the-Green. One of the most accurate drivers on Tour has also found stability with his iron play gaining strokes on approach in six of his last eight starts. Blair is a high upside play this week if that putter is working like it has most of his career.
Henrik Norlander ($7,800)
Rust won't be a factor for Norlander who has played on the DP World Tour the last two weeks and grabbed a T8 in Switzerland. That was his fourth top-25 finish in his last six starts and 10th top-25 of 2024 across all tours. The best part of Norlander's game throughout his career has been the iron play, and that has continued again this year gaining strokes on approach in his last five starts. The Swede would rank ninth on the PGA Tour in SG: Approach if he had enough rounds to qualify.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
Something to watch this week is how players react to time off. The majority of this field will have not played competitively in five weeks due to failing to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. With how many events there are around the calendar all over the globe, even the top players are rarely taking that much time off from competitive golf. Players who were able to advance further in the playoffs or have been playing on other tours will likely have a bit of a leg up in regards to playing sharpness. This is in my mind is always one of the toughest events to hit right due to all the different playing styles that have found success at Silverado and the potential rust element.
Scanning the betting board for the Procore Championship? Check out the FanDuel Promo Code!
