After the shortest offseason in sports, the PGA Tour returns to Napa, Calif., for the first event of the FedEx Cup fall. While many sports fans turn their attention to football season this time of year, there is still plenty to play for this week at the Procore Championship. This will be Procore’s first year as the title sponsor—many might remember this event as the Fortinet Championship, Safeway Open, or Frys.com Open.
Nonetheless, the North Course at Silverado remains the host venue, and the Robert Trent Jones design features narrow, tree-lined fairways and small Poa Annua greens. While the Jones design generally plays as one of the easier golf courses on the schedule, Silverado still features some of the tightest fairways on tour and can certainly provide some pushback under firmer turf conditions.
Courtesy of the resort false Private Silverado Resort: North Napa, CA, United States 3.3 74 Panelists Home to the PGA Tour’s annual Fortinet Championship, the North Course at Silverado Resort features narrow, tree-lined fairways and deep bunkers that force accurate approaches. This championship course is located in the heart of Napa Valley wine country and was designed by PGA Tour Hall-of-Famer Johnny Miller. Explore our full review
Defending champion Sahith Theegala headlines the field, along with his Presidents Cup teammates Max Homa and Wyndham Clark. Homa is also a two-time winner in Napa, and Clark is playing some of the best golf in this field. The Americans are not the only side tuning up their games before Royal Montreal, as International team members Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee and Mackenzie Hughes will also look to round into form. There is still plenty of money to be made during the Fall Swing for those willing to do the legwork. Let’s dive into the DraftKings slate.
$10,000 range Play: Wyndham Clark, $10,400:
With six top-15 finishes in his past seven starts, Wyndham Clark is playing some great golf, and he now travels to a golf course that should emphasize his strong wedge play and putting. Clark stormed up the leaderboard at the Tour Championship, and I expect him to continue his strong form in preparation for the upcoming Presidents Cup.
Fade: Sahith Theegala, $10,600:
Icon Sportswire
There are only three players in the $10,000 range, and Sahith Theegala is my least favorite of the options. While the defending champion put together a strong performance at East Lake, I still have considerable concerns about his overall ball-striking and volatility he brings as the highest-priced player on the slate.
Watch the below video for our favorite bets and players we’re fading for the 2024 Procure Championship:
$9,000 range Play: Corey Conners, $9,800:
Christian Petersen
Corey Conners remains one of the most reliable ball-strikers in this field, and his combination of driving accuracy and short- to middle-iron play should pay dividends at Silverado. While Conners barely failed to qualify for the Tour Championship, he played some great golf to end the season, gaining over two strokes from tee to green in nine out of his past 10 starts.
Fade: Keith Mitchell, $9,200:
Keith Mitchell remains one of the better ball-strikers in the field, but Silverado should stifle his greatest weapon in power off the tee. Silverado is a club down, wedges and putting golf course, and Mitchell still carries significant question marks with the flat-stick. There will be opportunities to deploy Mitchell this fall on wide open, driver-heavy golf courses that emphasize power and long iron play, but Silverado is not the spot.
More from Golf Digest Presidents Cup Presidents Cup roundtable: What are the hits and misses in the captains’ picks, and is there already a Canadian crisis? $8,000 range Play: Eric Cole, $8,700:
NurPhoto
Eric Cole is my official pick to win this week, and I am fairly surprised that he is priced this low. Cole is an excellent wedge player and a great Bent/Poa putter, and he has recorded two top-10 finishes in his past four starts. The 36-year-old finished fourth at Silverado last year, dominating on approach, and I would expect a similar outcome this week.
Fade: Mackenzie Hughes, $8,100:
While Mackenzie Hughes has an elite short game, I still have a difficult time trusting his ball-striking. The Canadian ranks outside of the top-90 in good drive percentage and overall approach play, and he is coming off a very poor showing to end his season where he lost over six strokes ball-striking in back-to-back starts.
$7,000 range Play: Matt Kuchar, $7,900:
Isaiah Vazquez
While Matt Kuchar’s FedEx Cup playoff bid ultimately came up short over the weekend at the Wyndham Championship, the veteran still ended the season on an incredibly positive note. Kuchar now returns to a golf course that fits his skill-set to a tee, and he has recorded back-to-back top-12 finishes in his past two appearances at Silverado.
Fade: Rico Hoey, $7,700:
Like Keith Mitchell, I have far more interest in Rico Hoey on driver-heavy golf courses, and this will be his first appearance at the tight, tree-lined, Silverado Golf Club. While Hoey played good golf to finish the season, this is not the type of golf course that will highlight his best skills of power off the tee and long iron play.
Flier: Nate Lashley, $7,000:
I always have interest in Nate Lashley on easier, West Coast courses that emphasize wedge play. Lashley has already recorded two top-20 finishes at Silverado and succeeded at other similar courses such as Pebble Beach and Detroit Golf Club. At $7,000 flat, the former Rocket Mortgage Classic winner is certainly worth a flier.
$6,000 range Play: Ryan Moore, $6,800:
David Jensen
Ryan Moore certainly provides some upside in the $6K range this week based on his accurate driving and rock-solid wedge play. It should not come as a surprise that Moore has already recorded a runner-up finish at Silverado in 2019, and I expect him to surprise in Napa once again.
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Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. He hosts Inside Golf, a twice weekly podcast focused on the PGA Tour, betting, daily fantasy, golf course architecture, and interviews, as part of the BlueWire podcast network. As well as contributing to Golf Digest, Andy is also a data analyst and writer for Run Pure Sports, where he covers PGA Tour betting and daily fantasy. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com