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
DraftKings
Jeff Winther ($9,400) – A bit of a price hike from last week but hard to argue with the Dane’s current results which now read 8-12-14. A dash of course form adds to his appeal.
Shubhankar Sharma ($8,900) – Won’t give you comforting consistency but capable of landing big finishes if the course is right. This one should be.
Renato Paratore ($7,500) – Putter went cold in Oman and Qatar after a top 20 in the Saudi International. A very fair price in this level of field.
Louis De Jager ($7,900) – Two wins in his last five South African Sunshine Tour events, cashed in Oman (T23) and Qatar (T43) and owns a pair of top 20s at the course.
Jacques Kruyswijk ($7,300) – Not afraid to load my teams this week with a few South Africans given their familiarity with the conditions. Kruyswijk T8 on home soil three starts ago and T7 in this event in 2017 although at a different track.
Oliver Wilson ($8,600) – Part of the nine-way tie for second spot in Qatar and had a pair of top fives in South Africa in December. T17 at this course too so lots to like.
Total salary: $49,600
On the cusp: Justin Harding ($11,700), Adri Arnaus ($10,000), Sean Crocker ($8,400), Adrien Saddier ($7,900), Hugo Leon ($7,300), Bernd Ritthammer ($7,200).
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: Feared the worst when captain Victor did a Victor and withdrew in R1 but my faith in Justin Harding was finally rewarded as he grabbed the win. A gain of over 1,100 spots.
Position: 2,507th
Justin Harding (captain): A cleaner lifestyle suggests he might not overdo the celebrations after last week’s breakthrough victory. His record shows a history of swift follow-up wins so I’ll promote him to captain this week.
Erik van Rooyen: Like his fellow South African Harding, Van Rooyen had a great week in Qatar (T2) and has a top 20 from his one previous start at this week’s venue.
Gaganjeet Bhullar: Not worse than T38 in five starts on the Desert Swing and short game has been impressive. Time to kick on in this weak field.
Adri Arnaus: Exciting prospect as shown by some promising form in the Middle East, including T14 in Qatar last week. T9 in the Alfred Dunhill on his last visit to the African continent.
Jeff Winther: The Dane helped us to some DraftKings profit last week and has now connected three top 15 finishes. T13 at this week’s track on latest visit.
George Coetzee: Bounced back to form in Qatar when tied second and his four European Tour wins have either come in South Africa, at altitude or just off the African coastline.
Matt Cooper
@MattCooperGolf
DraftKings
Romain Langasque ($10,300) – A persuasive case this week: Second on the course in 2016 and second in similar conditions at the South African Open at the start of the season.
Shubhankar Sharma ($8,900) – Another for whom a strong argument can be made: Winner at the Joburg Open (similar grass, course type, at altitude) and also thrived at altitude in the WGC Mexico Championship.
Michael Hoey ($7,300) – Admittedly it was 15 years ago but he does have T3 on the course. More importantly he played the Australian events nicely, hinting at a big result soon.
Sebastian Soderberg ($8,800) – T21-T20 in the last two weeks and a timely return to form after six missed cuts because he’s a course winner (in 2016).
Emilio Cuartero Blanco ($7,100) – The Spaniard finished T9 on the course in 2015 and arrives here having recently won on the third tier Nordic Golf League.
Bernd Ritthammer ($7,200) – Lacking a top 20 this season, however the closest he came was T24 in the South African Open in conditions like this week and he owns three course top tens.
Total salary: $49,600
On the cusp: Justin Harding ($11,700), Erik van Rooyen ($10,700), Gregory Havret ($6,800), Jose-filipe Lima ($7,400), Jacques Kruyswijk ($7,300), Oliver Farr ($7,300).
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: A very poor weekend for the selections; their promise snuffed out easily.
Position: 2,667th
Shubhankar Sharma (captain): I’ve already pointed out his fondness for hitting balls at heights so what of his form? He was second in a recent Indian Tour event, T6 in the Hong Kong Open and even a top 30 in the Dubai Desert Classic works against this field.
Justin Harding: Laced four wins in just six starts last summer so no great fears about his reaction to the victory, even if it was much bigger than any of them. T18 on the course during that spell.
Erik van Rooyen: Lives in the Johannesburg region so no fears on courses like these at this height. T2 last week and T19 on the course in 2016.
Romain Langasque: To expand on the nice case made above, he also has T7 at altitude in the European Masters and is 6-for-7 this season.
John Catlin: Picking the American no-one knows is eligible for the game has proved a fruitful strategy this year. T6 last week on the Asian Tour.
Oliver Wilson: Another who was T2 last week in Qatar and he has reasons to be excited about a return to the course. He was T3 after 36 holes in 2014 and T8 after 54 in the event last year.
