Daily Fantasy Golf: Northern Trust Open expert picks

— -- As part of ESPN Fantasy's efforts to give daily gamers intel on whom to target in DFS, our fantasy golf experts are here to share the players they view as building blocks for this weekend's event. The panel for the Northern Trust Open features ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, Kevin Maguire, Bob Harig, Jonathan Coachman and Michael Collins, and FantasyGolfInsider's Roger Casey, Jeff Bergerson and Zach Turcotte.

Note: Golfer salaries listed are for DraftKings.

Jason Sobel -- Jordan Spieth ($13,200)

Here's the beauty of not doing one-and-done picks this year: I took the world No. 1 last week at Pebble Beach and now I'm sticking with him for Riviera. Apologies for the chalk selection, but I spoke with Spieth after his second round and he intimated that his game was on the verge of clicking again. With a final-round 66, he started to prove that. I'm sticking with him on a course he genuinely loves.

Kevin Maguire -- Freddie Jacobson ($7,900)

The PGA Tour heads to L.A., the place where touching stories get turned into movie scripts. Jacobson fits the bill perfectly this week, given that he's playing great in 2016 now that his son is recovering from open-heart surgery that he had in August. Back-to-back top-4 finishes in his past two starts bode well for the Swede, and he even owns a top-5 finish at Riviera (2013) to give him a little extra boost of confidence.

Bob Harig -- Bill Haas ($9,200)

The 2012 champion at Riviera, Haas is coming off a good showing at Pebble Beach, where he tied for eighth. He also tied for third at Riviera in 2013.

Jonathan Coachman -- Dustin Johnson ($11,300)

This is such a difficult pick this week. A part of me would like to take someone who might be off the radar, like last week's entertaining win by Vaughn Taylor. But because of the star power and the level of players (five of the top 10 in the world are in the field at Riviera), I have to go with a golfer who is comfortable in that stratosphere.

Matt Barrie -- J.B. Holmes ($9,800)

Welcome back Rory McIlroy. It's the first PGA Tour event we've seen him play this year, and with Jordan Spieth in the field, this feels big. But among the world's best, no player comes to Riviera CC playing better than J.B. Holmes. Holmes has finished with three consecutive top-12s including a pair of T-6s. Add to that, he's posted six top-25s at Riviera, a clear indication his game likes this course. With his short game intact, and always among the longest hitters on tour, Holmes will steal the show from Rory v Jordan.

Michael Collins -- Dustin Johnson ($11,300)

Since 2009, DJ has missed two cuts at this event. He was the runner-up the past two years, and you can throw in a third- and fourth-place finish to boot.

Jeff Bergerson -- J.B. Holmes ($9,800)

Five of the top 10 players in the world will be appearing this week at Riviera Country Club, but I am going to look outside the world's top 20 for my selection. Holmes has had three straight really solid appearances in 2016 with a T-11 last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and T-6 finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open. In nine career appearances at the Northern Trust Open, Holmes has four top-10 finishes. He is a bomber and ranks fifth in driving distance on Tour, but he also ranks 17th in strokes gained tee to green, and is a respectable putter as well, ranking 63rd. I expect to see another top 10 from Holmes on a course that he is familiar with and has had success on.

Zach Turcotte -- Sergio Garcia ($10,100)

Garcia is making his first appearance on the PGA Tour in 2016, which means that most fantasy owners will not be looking at him as closely as they would in other weeks, which serves our purpose perfectly. Garcia has played only in events with solid fields since the end of last season and has finished in the top 25 in all four starts. In his past three starts at Riviera, he has finished fourth twice and 13th once. Historically, Garcia has been a top ball striker with one of the best tee-to-green games on the tour. In recent years, his putting has been a bit of an adventure, but he still managed to rank 24th in birdie or better percentage last season. Garcia would have won at Riviera last year were it not for bogeying the last two holes in typical "Sunday Sergio" fashion. He needs to get off on the right foot this season if he hopes to have a shot at capturing that elusive first major tournament win.

Roger Casey -- Hideki Matsuyama ($11,100)

After his big win at Phoenix, there's a lot of reason to believe that there are really big things in store for Matsuyama, and a big finish at Riviera this week could very well be one of them. This course places a high premium on a strong combination of tee-to-green play and scrambling proficiency with undulating greens, deep bunkers and tight lie fairway run-offs that make par saves just as important as birdies. Matsuyama put on a clinic at TPC Scottsdale, which boasts similarly difficult green complexes. This should be no surprise given that he ranks second in strokes gained tee to green, 25th in scrambling. He's a safe bet and easily one of the best plays not named Spieth this week.