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Fantasy Lookahead: Kyle Stanley a bargain in thin field

Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Kyle Stanley will make his first career appearance at the Dean and Deluca Invitational, in only its second year under the name. It's a relatively weak field, with just 10 of the top-20 players in the FedExCup standings and 11 of the top-30 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Stanley split the 2015 season between the PGA and Web.com Tours, but he's stuck on the big circuit in 2016, appearing in 18 events thus far, with a total of 61 rounds played. He's made 12 of those 18 cuts, including four of his past six tournaments. He placed 41st at last week's AT&T Byron Nelson.

He has made 12 of 16 cuts since missing the weekend in two of his first three events to open the season. He has just top-20 finishes, with his best of the year coming at the Sony Open in Hawaii, in January. The elite results haven't been there this year, but he's been able to show some consistency. He's played in two of the past three tour events, so fatigue won't be an issue.

Course History

Previously known as the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Stanley most recently appeared at the Colonial Country Club in 2014. He made the cut and placed 68th, with a final score of 4 over. He missed the cut in 2013 and 2012, but he came 52nd in 2011 and 27th in 2010 - his first appearance at the event.

It's a par-70 course, with a modest length of 7,204 yards. Stanley has broken par in just five of his 16 rounds at the event. He finished at 10-under in 2010, showing an ability to go low which he hasn't been able to reproduce.

Statistical Breakdown

Per FantasyInsiders, the following stats have been strengths of previous winners at Colonial Country Club:

Driving Accuracy (DA)
Par 4 Scoring Average (P4S)
Strokes Gained: Approach (SGA)

Here's how Stanley has fared in the selected statistics thus far in 2016:

DA P4S SGA
67 103 95

Additionally, Stanley ranks 117th with an average driving distance of 286.9 yards. He ranks 109th in greens in regulation percentage, tying in with his somewhat poor ranking in SGA. Putting has been his best trait, averaging 1.760 putts per hole, which ranks 69th on tour.

Daily Fantasy

Stanley is priced in the bottom tier this week, joined by golfers who've played 10-20 events and who've made approximately 66 percent of cuts. He's made 220 birdies to 169 bogeys this year, with four eagles and 23 double bogeys or worse. A lack of upside shown this year will temper his ownership, making him an excellent contrarian play.

He can be used in both cash games and tournaments, with his low GPP ownership offering tremendous upside.

Season-Long Fantasy

Stanley is part of a crowded C-List this week with plenty of top names included. Due to the weakness of the A- and B-Lists, it's more likely than usual the winner will come from this tier. With owners able to hope for a top-20 result as the best-case scenario for Stanley, they should opt for two of the bigger names this week, leaving Stanley for a more marquee event.

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