Welcome to Playing the Tips!
Each week this will be the one-stop resource to soak in all the picks from our fantasy staffers at Rotoworld.com.
While Yahoo! and Golf Channel tune-up their fantasy games for the 2017 calendar year, we will have a condensed version of this feature. Here is how it will be laid out:
Page 1 will go over One-and-Done as well as Daily Fantasy Golf picks.
Page 2 will take a look across the pond with Fantasy Race to Dubai selections.
Before you get into the picks, Dave Tindall has you covered with a Nedbank Golf Challenge Preview.
Mo Yoshimoto also does an in-depth breakdown of last week’s action. Check out his Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Recap.
Now for the picks...
One-and-Done
Each week I think aloud to provide you with my One-and-Done selection as well as a few alternatives. Fade or Follow? You decide!
Last week I went with Jon Rahm who secured a T15 by week’s end. I definitely won’t complain about that, but I’m starting to get a bit worried that this year’s results are starting to look a lot like last year when I found a whole lot of top 20s but struggled to back many winners.
Here is my thought process on week 5 of the 2016-17 campaign:
First I want to look at course history. Looking at the last seven years of history at TPC Summerlin, here are the standouts:
Jason Bohn (T2-T7-T3-T19)
Russell Knox (T2-T37-T31-T30)
Shawn Stefani (T25-2)
Johnson Wagner (T8-T16-MC-T30-WIN)
J.J. Henry (T44-T23-T9-T19-T48-2)
Brian Gay (T45-T55-T5-T20-WIN-T41)
Charles Howell III (T17-MC-T6-T16-T13-T20-T38)
Chris Stroud (MC-T23-T3-T5-4-T40-T60-T12-MC)
John Huh (MC-T29-T23-WIN)
Harris English (MC-T37-WIN)
After looking at course history, let’s have a glance at pure class. Here is the top 10 in the field in terms of adjusted strokes gained per round during the 2016 calendar year: Jon Rahm, Gary Woodland, Russell Knox, Emiliano Grillo, Jim Furyk, Harris English, Chris Kirk, Webb Simpson, Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley.
Combining the two lists, we get the following overlap: Russell Knox, Charles Howell III, and Harris English. All three are great options, but it’s not a bad week to choose anyone from the course history list, as history often repeats itself here at El Camaleón Golf Club.
Personally, I want to back someone who is accurate off the tee this week, so I will pluck Russell Knox from the list above and use him as my One-and-Done pick this week.
Season Tracking
Wins: 0
Top 10s: 2
Top 25s: 4
Missed Cuts: 1
Daily Fantasy Sports [DFS]
I will be giving out selections for one team each week.
This week I will enter the following lineup into the $4 Fore contest. As the name suggests, it’s just fore dollars to enter.
This contest has a large number of entries, with guaranteed prize payouts, which means we can’t play it safe if we want to see our name at the top!
DraftKings Picks:
Russell Knox ($11,800): The highest priced golfer in the field this week. It’s a lot to pay for the Scot, but like I just laid out in the One-and-Done section, he checks both boxes in terms of pure class and course history.
Webb Simpson ($8,000): With last year being his lowest finish in the FedExCup (84th) since 2010, it’s clear Simpson wants to pick up some early-season FEC points. Even if that means making his debut at this week’s event. He’s accurate off the tee and can pelt greens with the best of them. He should be a quick study.
Wesley Bryan ($7,100): Won in México on the Web.com Tour last year. His game relies on approach play and great putting. That should be a great fit for El Camaleón Golf Club.
Cheng Tsung Pan ($6,000): Sticking to the Web.com Tour grads, this Washington Husky is extremely accurate off the tee. Like I’ve mentioned a hundred times already, that’s what I prefer to target at this week’s short track. Should have a bit of momentum after finally earning his first paycheck of the 2016-17 season.
Johnson Wagner ($8,400): We break into the course history bank for this pick. He’s finished top 30 in four of his five trips to El Camaleón Golf Club, including a win in his 2011 debut.
Kevin Streelman ($8,200): While someone like Gary Woodland may be the obvious pick here, we want to go a bit off the radar to ensure this lineup is unique. Streelman is a good candidate for that, as he can rack up birdies in bunches and he possesses sneaky-good course history. In three trips he’s finished top 35 in all three including a T3 in 2009.
Other Picks to Consider
Jim Furyk ($10,200): Considering his long-term cachet, you are getting quite the bargain for Furyk on this course that sets up beautifully for his fairways-and-greens style of play.
Michael Kim ($6,800): He remains steady, but he also keeps himself out of the top 25 most weeks. I like him as a salary saver with upside. Upside that really hasn’t poked its head up often enough based on his talent.
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2016 Fantasy Race to Dubai
Dave Tindall is our main man in Europe. In addition to his weekly previews of European Tour events on Mondays, he’ll share his selections and analysis for the Fantasy Race to Dubai at EuropeanTour.com.
Format: Pick 6 golfers. Players accumulate points based on Race to Dubai (R2D) points earned. Captain’s points are trebled and vice-captain’s doubled. Unlimited team changes can be made each week.
Team Tindall (Team name: YESSIR!)
Last week: Leap of 500 spots is good – less so when it only takes you to 7,300th. Anyway, thanks Bernd Wiesberger.
Position: 7,300.
This week:
Henrik Stenson (captain): The Race to Dubai leader once won here by eight shots. You get the impression he could do that again after finishing runner-up and topping All-Around stats in WGC-HSBC. Course form of 2-4-2-1-4-2.
Ross Fisher (vice-captain): Has second strongest converging trends behind Stenson. Boasts a second, third and fifth in last four starts here while he was on track for third runners-up finish in four starts before bogeying the 72nd hole at the WGC-HSBC (finished T6).
Charl Schwartzel: Better course form here than Louis Oosthuizen with 9-14-6-2-6 in last five years. After strong finish to the FedExCup, hopefully T30 in WGC-HSBC Champions was a case of shaking off the rust.
Thomas Pieters
T14 in the WGC-HSBC Champions suggests he’s ready to produce fireworks in the European Tour’s final two events. The Ryder Cup’s top points scorer can kick on again here.
David Horsey: Pushed Thorbjorn Olesen on final day in Turkey, eventually finishing second after closing 65. That was third top five and sixth top 25 in seven starts. Has some good form in South Africa and short-game stats impressive.
Alex Noren: Some tough competition this week but the Swede has to be on the team after his three recent victories. Branden Grace once had a four-win season on the European Tour so it can be done.
Matt Cooper joins Dave Tindall as a part of our European team. He contributes to player news, and he’ll share his selections and analysis for the Fantasy Race to Dubai at EuropeanTour.com.
Team Cooper (Team name: NormanStanleyFletcher)
Last week: Captain and VC made it into the top ten so made some progress. Glad I was largely sceptical of the designer’s notion that the course was like a Surrey heathland (it wasn’t).
Position: 2,653rd
Henrik Stenson (captain): Six visits to the course and never outside the top four, plenty of previous in the final events of both this Series and the FedEx Cup, and second last time out. No brainer.
Alex Noren (VC): A course debutant, but easily persuaded by the form of his life: three wins in his last ten starts and would be no surprise if he added another before the season is out.
Charl Schwartzel: Probably has more course knowledge than anyone else in the field, nine times T14 or better. Never won, but he’s a monster on the European Tour in South Africa and a strong week would be no surprise.
Ross Fisher: Three top five finishes on the course and three top six finishes in his last four starts. Full of confidence.
Tyrrell Hatton: Keen to follow a golfer whose hot form sees him flying high at fourth in the Race to Dubai. Nice top ten last week after sluggish start.
Alex Levy: Made a strong start 12 months ago to be T3 at halfway before stumbling through the weekend. Last week, by contrast, he started slowly and ended in fine fettle. Fancy he can combine the good stuff this week.
