Course Preview and Fits: Fortinet Championship

We’re back, baby! After a long two weeks of DFS golf-less existence that had me questioning the very nature of my reality, we have at long last turned those subs back on for the Fortinet (NOT to be confused with Fortnite) Championship at Silverado in Napa Valley. This kicks off a fall swing season that promises to be very dusty indeed, with most of the big dogs kicking their feet up and enjoying fall foliage with their loved ones, while those less fortunate will be grinding it out at weak-field events to retain their tour cards. Bad for them, good for us! Lots of opportunity awaits — let’s get into it.

Before we talk about this week’s event, it’s worth quickly touching on the new fall format on the PGA Tour. In years past, this stretch was the beginning of the wrap-around season, with players able to earn FedEx Cup points for the coming year. This year, however, the fall stretch will operate as its own discrete unit, called FedEx Fall, with seven events that will allow players who didn’t secure a tour card in the playoffs to fight for a top-125 position that will guarantee them a spot on tour in 2024. There is still prize money and exemptions at stake, of course, so we may see some top players tee it up to stay sharp, but this will mostly be a scrub-centric fall season. As you might imagine, this seems like it could be very good for us, as we at ETR pride ourselves on being the scrub whisperers.

The Fortinet Championship, previously known as the Safeway Open, kicks things off this fall with a course we know well in Silverado; it has been on the PGA rotation for many years, so we have plenty of data to work with. At Par 72 and just 7,100 yards, it’s not a particularly long course, and is in fact a pretty average track by most metrics. The notable exception is that it’s one of the narrowest courses on tour, with fairways measuring only 25 yards wide.