After the shortest off-season in sports, golf returns for the FedEx Cup Fall. These next few events will determine the top-125 eligibility for the 2025 season. While the players in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup will maintain full eligibility, players ranked 51st and beyond carry over their FedEx Cup points from the regular season and will continue to accumulate points through the Fall toward their status in 2025. Additionally, the top 10 players in the FedEx Cup standings from the Fall are eligible for two Signature Events next year, allowing for the best players over these few weeks to play their way into the biggest tournaments in 2025.
RELATED: Xander Schauffele has a good excuse for why he isn’t with Team USA this week The FedEx Fall opens with the Procore Championship (previously known as the Fortinet Championship) held in Napa, California at Silverado, a Robert Trent Jones design defined by its diabolically narrow fairways, and small, firm, and sloping greens. One benefit to this year’s Procore Championship is that 10 of the 12 American Ryder Cup players are in the field this week, including Scottie Scheffler, who has won five of his last 10 events, including the Open Championship this year in a runaway victory. Scheffler will be difficult to beat as always, but he is finally priced at an incredibly delimitating price for DFS players.
Here are my favorite plays and fades in each price range for the 2025 Procore Championship DraftKings slate.
$9,000 range Play: Sam Burns, $9,700
Sam Burns has been on a great run of golf recently, with a recent seventh-place finish at the Tour Championship and a fourth-place finish at the BMW Championship. Silverado is also an excellent course fit for Burns given his elite wedge play and putting upside.
Fade: Cameron Young, $9,300
While Cameron Young is playing some great golf of late, I do not believe in his course fit at Silverado. The host of the Procore Championship is not a driver-heavy course, nor does it emphasize distance over accuracy, or even long iron play over wedge play, all staples of Young’s game. Unfortunately, I’m expecting a bit of regression from Young’s recent play this week.
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$8,000 range Play: Davis Thompson, $8,800 
Jared C. Tilton
Davis Thompson already has a ninth and a 30th-place finish in both of his appearances at Silverado, and he is coming off an 11th-place finish at the Wyndham Championship where he gained strokes in all four major categories. Thompson is a rare case of a player this week at a manageable price that is checking the course history box, the course fit box and the recent form box.
Fade: Sami Valimaki, $8,400
I was very surprised at this price tag for Sami Valimaki this week, as I do believe that he is a player who should be priced in the $7,000 range in this field. While Valimaki is coming off two very strong finishes on the DP World Tour, this will be his first appearance at Silverado, I worry about his ability to keep the ball in play off the tee, his long term wedge play and his putting history on these types of greens.
$7,000 range Play: Mark Hubbard, $7,700
Mark Hubbard has a number of solid finishes at the Procore Championship already, with four top-25 finishes in eight experiences. Outside of his formidability on this golf course, Hubbard is one of most accurate drivers of the ball in this field, one of the best putters on Bent/Poa greens, and one of the best putters from five-to-15 feet.
Fade: Keith Mitchell, $7,700
Keith Mitchell has performed decently at Silverado in the past, but I still have major concerns about his course fit and recent form. Mitchell is coming off back-to-back missed cuts to end his season, and he did not qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. I also far prefer Mitchell on driver-heavy and long-iron intensive golf courses that take the pressure off a player’s putter.
Flier: Eric Cole, $7,100 
Icon Sportswire
Eric Cole is an excellent long term course fit for Silverado based on his wedge play, long-term putting performance on Bent/Poa greens and the fact that players do not generally need to separate off the tee to find success. While he has not been playing his best golf of late, this is a perfect buy-low spot for Cole.
$6,000 range Play: Adam Svensson, $6,800
Adam Svensson has some nice history on this golf course with two top-15 finishes in four appearances, and he is a great long-term wedge player as well. The Canadian also happens to possess a solid short game and while he did not qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he ended the season on a solid note with a 14th at the 3M Open Championship.
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Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, 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
