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.
Here is a quick rundown of what sites and formats we will cover each week:
Page 1 will feature all of our selections for GolfChannel.com and Yahoo! Fantasy Golf.
Page 2 will go over One-and-Done as well as Daily Fantasy Golf picks.
Before we look ahead, Mo Yoshimoto takes a look at last week’s action in his WGC-Bridgestone and Barracuda Championship Recaps.
Now for the picks...
GolfChannel.com Fantasy Golf
Josh Culp
Last Week: 486.5 points
Last Week Rank: 252
Thomas Pieters ($25,800)
Phil Mickelson ($23,700)
Bill Haas ($19,700)
Tony Finau ($13,000)
Jamie Lovemark ($8,600)
Danny Lee ($8,300)
ANALYSIS: Grabbing a course horse with Mickelson and an elite birdie maker with Pieters. Haas has an up-and-down track record here but I like his Carolina ties. Finau and Lee both bring above-average history at Quail Hollow while Lovemark is the current form darling.
Ryan O’Sullivan
@RyanGolfBlogger
Hideki Matsuyama ($33,300)
Thomas Pieters ($25,800)
Bill Haas ($19,700)
Jim Furyk ($7,200)
Lucas Glover ($6,300)
Luke List ($4,600)
ANALYSIS: Pieters and List will provide the fireworks while Haas and Furyk lend a steady hand. Glover has the course history and Clemson connection while Matsuyama is arriving fresh off a monster win.
Mori Yoshimoto
@Bears3423
Last Week: 369.5 points
Last Week Rank: 7,939
Brooks Koepka ($32,900)
Kevin Chappell ($24,500)
Brendan Steele ($15,200)
Tony Finau ($13,000)
Hudson Swafford ($8,400)
Robert Streb ($4,600)
ANALYSIS: A stellar list of drivers. The elite off-the-tee play of the this should ensure a high cut-made probability and the fate of their weeks will ultiimatley lie in their putters.
Yahoo! Fantasy Golf
*Make sure you check our Twitter accounts for any updates before the first tee ball flies on Thursday. Change in weather, tee times, etc. can always lead to last-minute changes and we will let you know through our social media channels.
This week’s Strategy: A lot of rain in the forecast which means a wet course. A wet track will reduce the roll on tee shots which effectively widens the fairways while also stretching out the distance of approach shots. Lots of rain also means potential delays. Keep an eye on the forecast and consider splitting tee times on your Yahoo teams (half your golfers starting Thursday AM and half starting Thursday PM).
Josh Culp
“Future of Fantasy”
Last Week Points: 140
Segment Points: 913
Segment Rank: 13,298
Season Points: 4,150
Season Ranking: 6,505
Group A
Rory McIlroy (6): Looked more like his old self last week. Keep it rolling this week on a track where he’s won twice.
Rickie Fowler (5): Quail Hollow is the site of his maiden win (like Rory), and his form is en fueogo.
=SUPER SUBS =
Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Bill Haas
Group B
Phil Mickelson (3): He’s done everything but win at Quail Hollow, posting 11 top 15s in 14 starts.
Paul Casey (1): Going to start Casey on my bench as this is my final start for him. I don’t like to compleely avoid a golfer due to starts, but if he duds it in round one, I will be perfectly content in keeping him on the bench and saving a start.
Kevin Kisner (7): Not the steadiest record at Quail Hollow but he does have a T6 (2014) so he can get himself into contention here with a good week. He’s established himself as a winner on TOUR, I think contending in majors is the next logical step.
Hideki Matsuyama (5): Has improved in each start at Quail Hollow (T38 to T20 to T11). If he improves again, I will gladly take that top 10 and run with it.
=SUPER SUBS=
Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Justin Thomas
Group C
Brooks Koepka (5): Five straight top 15s in major championships including the win at Erin Hills this year. He brings his best stuff for the big stage.
Sergio Garcia (5): Should have his full attention now that it’s a major championship and more than a week removed from his wedding. The Spaniard likes to skip the start of the Playoffs, so there is no reason to save these starts.
=SUPER SUBS=
Jon Rahm, Daniel Berger, Thomas Pieters
Ryan O’Sullivan (O)
“The Golf Aficionado”
Last Week Points: 164
Summer Segment Points: 1,108
Summer Rank: 7,838
Season Points: 4,491
Season Rank: 1,197
Group A
Rory McIlroy (7) and Rickie Fowler (4)
Group B
Jordan Spieth (4), Hideki Matsuyama (4), Justin Rose (4) and Matt Kuchar (5)
Group C
Brooks Koepka (7) and Thomas Pieters (10)
Mo Yoshimoto
“@BearsGolf3423”
Last Week Points: 186
Segment Points: 1,094
Segment Rank: 9,939
Season Points: 4,576
Season Ranking: 394
Group A
Dustin Johnson (5) and Rickie Fowler (6)
Group B
Hideki Matsuyama (5), Paul Casey (6), Jordan Spieth (2), Kevin Chappell (5)
Group C
Brooks Koepka (6) and Jon Rahm (5)
~
Daily Fantasy Sports [DFS]
I will be giving out selections for one team each week.
These 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.
I would also advise you to change a roster spot or two if you are trying to enter this lineup yourself. Duplicate entries are no fun.
FanDuel Picks:
FanDuel is back and they have a new format. You no longer have to split your lineup into pre-cut and post-cut sections. A very good change, so let’s see what we can put together.
Rickie Fowler ($9,500): Top 10s in five of his last seven starts, yet he’s coming in under the radar, or at least behind some of the big storylines like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
Thomas Pieters ($6,800): Showed up bigtime last week at Firestone CC, another course that favors confident driving and stellar approach shots.
Brooks Koepka ($8,600): His major championship track record is off the charts. A win at Erin Hills proved that he can cross the finish line too, he’s not just a big hitter that rattles off top 20s.
Bill Haas ($6,100): Has a long history with Quail Hollow, playing it semi-often growing up. That doesn’t help him as much after the redesign but he should feel very comfortable and see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd this week.
Phil Mickelson ($7,500):
Has the best track record at Quail Hollow in the field. Has picked up top 15s in 11 of 14 starts at this week’s course.Paul Casey ($7,600): T11 or better in four of his last five starts. Let it ride!
With two spots remaining, we have $13,900 which gives us viable options such as: Branden Grace, Brendan Steele, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed, Kevin Chappell, Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner.
DraftKings Picks:
Thomas Pieters ($7,300): So talented that he often gets bored in weaker events. He’s always boom-or-bust but we usually see more BOOM when when have his full attention in a big event like a major.Brooks Koepka ($9,200): Top 15s in his last five major championship starts. Hard courses really bring out the best in him.
Kevin Chappell ($7,000): Finally a winner on TOUR, Chappell is having a blast right now on the course. Happy husband equals happy results.
Phil Mickelson ($9,000):
Hasn’t finishes outside the top 30 since the Arnold Palmer Invite in March.Bill Haas ($6,800): Missed the cut at The Open but posted a career-best (in a major) T5 at Erin Hills. He’s won at a high clip over his career but is he finally ready to win a major?
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!
Had my picks narrowed down to Thomas Pieters, Justin Thomas, and Rafa Cabrera Bello last week. I missed out on the big score with Pieters but I avoided disaster with RCB. Overall, a ho-hum finish by Thomas. Plenty of room for improvement this week.
Let’s start out with course horses:
Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson
Rickie Fowler
Jim Furyk
Webb Simpson
Lucas Glover
Hideki Matsuyama
Robert Streb
Justin Rose
J.B. Holmes
From there, let’s hit the magnifying glass backwards to look at long-term performance on the PGA TOUR and Euro Tour since 2014:
Rory McIlroy
Jason Day
Jordan Spieth
Dustin Johnson
Henrik Stenson
Sergio Garcia
Adam Scott
Justin Rose
Hideki Matsuyama
Jon Rahm
The golfers that check both boxes (tournament history and long-term performance) include: Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, and Justin Rose.
I have already used all four, so let’s expand the list to the top 20 in each area. That gives us Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Jason Day, and Sergio Garcia.
I’m not interesting in testing Furyk’s lack of form against a strong field like this and I’ve already used the other seven.
If you have any of the golfers still available, I would strongly consider them. For me, I’m going to dive into my personal stat of top-5 probability. Some golfers that stand out include: Thomas Pieters, Kevin Chappell, and Branden Grace.
I like how Chappell plays on bermudagrass greens and he’s been inside the top 15 in seven of his last eight rounds played (RBC Canadian Open + WGC-Bridgestone). At the same time, Thomas Pieters is showing up for the second week in a row for me. Can I really let him slip through the cracks again?
Thomas Pieters is my pick.
Season Tracking
Wins: 2
Top 10s: 14
Top 25s: 18
Missed Cuts: 8
Total Picks: 38
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 doubled. Unlimited team changes can be made each week.
Team Tindall (Team name: YESSIR!)
Last week: Modest jump of 100 spots after consistent back-ups to captain Rory.
Pos: 2617
Rory McIlroy (captain): Two-time winner at the course and wet conditions will only help not hinder. Top fives in last two starts (Open, WGC). No-brainer for captain.
Jon Rahm: A 7,600 yard course looks ideal and the Spaniard surely has to make a mark in a major sooner rather than later.
Thomas Pieters: Building an excellent record in the big events so deserves to jump near the top of the queue this week. Can wield driver all day here.
Tommy Fleetwood: Superb at the U.S. Open on another monster track and his form this year easily wins him a place in the six-man line-up.
Henrik Stenson: Three top sevens in last four PGAs. Horrid course form is a worry but revamp and change in date to summer (when the Swede excels) could make all the difference.
Branden Grace: Five top sixes at this level and a record-breaking 62 at Royal Birkdale…. the South African comes alive in the majors. Put him in again.
