Each week, Dave Tindall and Matt Cooper will give their picks for the two main European Tour options – DraftKings and the official season-long 2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai game run by europeantour.com.
The latter is no-salary. Simply select a team of six golfers and nominate a captain whose points are doubled. Points are based on official Race to Dubai points earned by your players.
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The DraftKings lineups will be entered into a large-entry Guaranteed Prize Pool. That means we need to take a risk or two, in order to separate ourselves from the field.
The idea is to provide you a list of names to consider. We would not recommend copying these teams, golfer for golfer. Duplicate teams are no fun and don’t help anyone.
Dave Tindall
@DaveTindallGolf
DraftKings
Matthew Fitzpatrick ($10,900) – It’s his first trip to Valderrama but the Englishman’s game looks perfect. A chance to go one better after last week’s playoff loss in Germany.
Adrian Otaegui ($9,000) – Has played numerous rounds at the course despite official record showing just two starts here. T12 on last Valderrama appearance and game in good shape.
Andrew Johnston ($7,800) – Won the Open de Espana at Valderrama in 2016 and not outside the top 25 in three starts there. 3-for-3 since return from three-month absence.
Aaron Rai ($7,700) – Straight-hitting game secured victory in Hong Kong and this is a similar test. Rai was T8 on debut in 2017 and comes in off T18 in Denmark.
Richie Ramsay ($7,800) – Third on debut and secured card here in October when T11. Plenty of encouraging recent form.
Paul Peterson ($6,700) – T46 and T16 on two Valderrama starts, the laser-hitting American can plot his way to another good finish. Looks a bargain.
Total salary: $49,900
On the cusp: Sergio Garcia ($11,400), Julian Suri ($9,700), Jorge Campillo ($9,500), David Lipsky ($8,600), Mikko Korhonen ($8,400), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano ($7,500)
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: MC for skipper Sergio = bad week.
Position: 1513th
Matthew Fitzpatrick (captain): Hard to not give Sergio the captain’s armband but Fitzpatrick looks a worthy replacement. Has Billy Foster to guide him around for Valderrama debut and they could be a killer combo.
Sergio Garcia: It’s a classic course form v current form dilemma this week. The former is so strong (three wins and three seconds) that he has to be picked in this format.
Jon Rahm: A negative take is that he’s too loose off the tee and the course will frustrate him. In this non-salary format, it’s much easier to focus on the positives. Won the Spanish Open on last trip home.
Joost Luiten: Course form carries extra weighting at Valderrama so Luiten goes in. This course horse has form reading 5-MC-2-2-11 from 2010 to 2018.
Adrian Otaegui: I’ll add in a third Spaniard. Loves the course, was T12 on last visit and is the straightest hitter of the home contingent.
Julian Suri: Lots of contenders for the final spot but Suri’s low ownership seems strange given his form here (top ten on only appearance) and results on similar tests (runner-up Hong Kong GC and Le Golf National).
Matt Cooper
@MattCooperGolf
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: Yet another week stuck in the mud although Matt Fitzpatrick came close to helping me out.
Position: 3,226th
Matthew Fitzpatrick (captain): Never seen the course before in competition, but defeated in a play-off last week and loves Hong Kong GC which is often a good pointer for this week (third-19th-second).
Sergio Garcia: Not a great effort last week, but his course record cannot be overlooked (three wins in his last four starts) and he’ll be popular this week so the game format demands a pick.
Joost Luiten: Another with a poor missed cut last week, another with a superb course record (twice second, also fifth and 11th).
Andrew Johnston: He’s 3-for-3 on the course and was a winner in 2016. Made his last three cuts and shown promise in all three.
Ross Fisher: He’s 5-for-5 on the course and never outside the top 25. Moreover he was T6 last time he played in 2016.
Andy Sullivan: A promising T26 last week in Germany and logged a pair of top 20s when he has taken on the course (16th-18th in 2016 and 2017).
