This article is part of our FantasyDraft PGA series.
Houston Open
Humble, Texas
Golf Club of Houston (Tournament Course) - Par 72 - 7,441 yards
Field - 144 entrants
Purse - $7.0M
The Preview
The familiarity of both stroke play and a full-strength field returns this week at the Houston Open after the PGA Tour's inaugural Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play provided gamers with a wonky, yet interesting fantasy golf experience last week. The Golf Club of Houston has hosted the event at their Tournament Course since 2006, serving as the very last opportunity for someone not yet qualified to enter their name in the upcoming Masters field with a win in Humble, TX. Although a majority of notable names are taking the week off to prepare for Augusta, the field still includes 13 of the Official World Golf Rankings' top-50 and several stars including Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson to name a few. As for the course itself, slightly above-average green size will provide the field's best putters with an advantage, but there's been a mixed approach overall in ways to win here as ball striking remains paramount.
Past Champions
2017 - Russell Henley
2016 - Jim Herman
2015 - J.B. Holmes
2014 - Matt Jones
2013 - D.A. Points
2012 - Hunter Mahan
2011 - Phil Mickelson
FantasyDraft Value Picks - based on $100,000 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Justin Rose - $17,400
Rose, coming off a pair of top-5s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valspar Championship, is the most trustworthy pick in the range of luxury options this week. Others priced in the $17K range on FantasyDraft include Jordan Spieth -- whose putting woes have kept him from contention in 2018 -- and Rickie Fowler -- who hasn't posted a top-10 result since the first week of January in a small field at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Not only is Rose top-20 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, but he's also fifth in SG: Putting and sixth in birdie average.
Luke List - $15,700
Jumping down to List allows for the ability to comfortably make a selection like Rose at the top of the board. List had been on fire before the WGC-Dell Match Play with finishes of T7-T16-2 in his previous three starts. He's third on Tour in driving distance, 21st in birdie average and tied for third at the Golf Club of Houston in 2017.
Rafael Cabrera-Bello - $15,600
The 22nd-ranked player in the OWGR finished no worse than tied for 29th in five consecutive starts before last week's Match Play, so he'll head to an event where he placed solo fourth in 2016 with more than just sufficient recent form. Cabrera-Bello's putter has been a strong suit all season, but he also ranks second in SG: Approach and sixth in GIR percentage.
Glue Guys
Charles Howell - $14,800
The 38-year-old vet has finished T7 or better in two of the last three Houston Opens, adding to his total of nine cuts made in 13 career appearances at the event. Howell would have advanced to the Quarterfinals of last week's Match Play if it weren't for a last-minute comeback effort from Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the Round of 16, while Howell also place top-15 the week prior at the API.
James Hahn - $13,400
Hahn still hasn't missed a single cut all season, posting a quartet of top-30s in his past eight starts as well. He's made it through to the weekend in 75 percent of his appearances at the Golf Club of Houston's Tournament Course, while he currently ranks 14th in SG: Approach, 36th in birdie average and 38th in proximity.
Bargain Bin
Grayson Murray - $12,600
Murray remains a bit of a wild card on a weekly basis, which should further reduce his potential ownership even though he finished top-15 at both the API and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in two of his last four starts. He can pound it off the tee as he currently sits top-30 in driving distance, while he's also ascended to 36th in birdie average and 43rd in proximity.
Corey Conners - $12,500
Despite this being his Houston Open debut, it's tough not to consider someone at this price who has made the cut in 11 of 12 starts throughout his rookie campaign to this point in the schedule. Conners was lights out during the first three rounds of his last to starts at the Corales and Valspar Championships, but final-round meltdowns exposed his inexperience and lack of the coveted clutch gene. The Canadian is still capable of bouncing back for what would be his third consecutive top-20, while potential fantasy owners should be inspired by his ranking of 23rd in terms of GIR percentage on Tour.
