DraftKings and FanDuel may be seriously negotiating a merger, but that has not stopped the two daily fantasy sports giants from continuing to compete vigorously in the market, and this week FanDuel has gone live with its rival fantasy golf product ahead of the major portion of the pro golf season.
FanDuel announced the new product earlier this year (see previous report) and after a period in beta-testing it has now gone live, with initial contests based on the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational that starts Thursday….and The Masters tournament is but weeks away.
Early reports indicate that the FanDuel product is distinctive in that users must select four players from rounds one and two of a tournament, then four players from rounds three and four.
That contrasts with the DraftKings offering, where players pick one group of golfers for an entire tournament.
FanDuel is offering guarantees of more than half a million dollars on its three initial contests, less than half that offered by DraftKings, which has put up $1.2 million across its top three contests.