To dig in to the slate deeper, below we will analyze the strongest cash game and tournament options for the Hero World Challenge.

Top Cash Game Option: Brian Harman ($6,400 DK, $9,000 FD)

The Hero World Challenge presents a unique puzzle for daily fantasy golf players used to building lineups in large field golf contests where there are innumerable options for roster construction and a straightforward approach to building high median projected lineups for cash games includes a dual consideration of maximizing both golfer’s odds to finish highly in a tournament as well as odds to make the cut and accrue four rounds of points (as opposed to just two).

This contest will not feature a cut and only includes a small field of golfers who are all among the best in the game. This results in a much narrower gap between the top finish position odds between high salary and low salary golfers. Those opting to roster Harman benefit from this dynamic as his odds-implied value indicate he has a strong chance to compete this week while his pricing on both sites (and specifically on DraftKings) places him among the bottom tier of competitors.

Harman is an excellent option for cash games if players opt for an approach of playing low-salary options alongside higher-salary golfers with favorable win odds this week. For example, rostering Harman should allow daily fantasy players the flexibility to roster golfers like Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler, who are among the betting market favorites to win the tournament.

Top Tournament Options: Justin Thomas ($8,400 DK, $10,400 FD)

As I mentioned in the above write-up for cash games, construction will look a bit different this week. One way this is likely to impact GPPs is by making it much more likely that daily fantasy players will need to roster a core group of all the top finishers in order to win a DFS tournament. As such, I think it will be vital to roster multiple top-salary, high odds value options. Beyond that, the strategic value will be in considering ways to fill out the remainder of your roster with golfers that have reasonable odds to finish within the top 1-8 spots in the tournament and have favorable odds to do so — specifically relative to their salaries on the fantasy sites.

After a disappointing 2023 campaign, Justin Thomas is likely to be relatively less popular among options in the field this week despite the fact that his odds-adjusted value at his salary is favorable, especially on DraftKings where his salary places him squarely in the mid-range. If Thomas continues regaining his form (as we have seen a trend toward in his latest tournaments), he could be an excellent value option to offset salary and maintain high tournament finish upside.