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.
Page 1 is going to look at GolfChannel.com’s fantasy game and also the PGATOUR.com’s Fantasy Game.
Page 2 will have a look at One-and-Done options as well as Daily Fantasy Sports picks (FanDuel and DraftKings).
Page 3 looks at European Tour’s Race to Dubai.
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Golf Channel (PlayFantasyGolf.com)
Josh Culp
“@FutureOfFantasy”
Last Week Points: 423.5
Last Week Rank: 4,975th
Rickie Fowler ($32,700)
Henrik Stenson ($26,000)
Matt Kuchar ($17,200)
Tiger Woods ($6,700)
Zach Johnson ($6,600)
Adam Scott ($5,000)
Analysis: A trio of course horses can all be found in the bargain bin this week (Tiger, Scott, and ZJ). That allow me to load up on Fowler and Stenson with Kuchar providing a bit of consistency in the middle.
Mo Yoshimoto
“@BearsGolf3423”
Last Week Points: 394.5
Last Week Rank: 6507
Rory McIlroy ($33,100)
Rickie Fowler ($32,700)
Tony Finau ($16,600)
Tiger Woods ($6,700)
Thorbjorn Olesen ($5,900)
Adam Scott ($5,000)
Analysis: With a no-cut event, it’s easy to load up a few studs at the top. There is plenty of firepower to be found in the value department with Tiger and Adam Scott below $7k.
PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO
Josh Culp
“@FutureOfFantasy”
Last Week Rank: 6,023
Season Rank: 2,018th *Did not play most of Segment 1*
Starters:
Rickie Fowler
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy
Jon Rahm
Bench:
Justin Rose
Paul Casey
Tiger Woods
Mo Yoshimoto
“@BearsGolf3423”
Last Week Rank: 9914
Season Rank: 1517
Starters:
Bench:
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One-and-Done
Each week I will think out loud about my process in determining my One-and-Done selection. If you are new to the One-and-Done format, it is like an NFL survivor league. You pick one golfer per week, but you can’t use them again all year.
I went with Brandt Snedeker last week and got rewarded with a T8 finish. Not too shabby, especially since I already used the winner, DJ.
Starting with course history this week, let’s see who has played well here over the last 10 years:
Zach Johnson (Eight top 20s in 14 starts)
Rickie Fowler (Five top 10s in 8 starts)
Matt Kuchar (Six top 20s in 9 starts)
Bubba Watson (7 finishes of T27 or better in 8 starts, including solo 2)
Adam Scott (15 starts with five top 10s including a WIN)
Hideki Matsuyama (T21-T12-T37-T42-WIN)
Jason Day (Three top 15s in 8 starts)
Paul Casey (Eight top 20s in 13 starts)
Dustin Johnson (Four top 20s including WIN in 8 starts)
Charl Schwartzel (Five top 25s including two top 10s in 9 starts)
Rory Mcilroy (Five top 10s in 7 starts)
Jordan Spieth (59-T10-T3-T13)
Charley Hoffman (T22-T37-T31-T33-3)
Branden Grace (Four straight top 30s including a T10)
Henrik Stenson (Six top 20s in 10 starts)
*Note: See Tiger note below.
After history, we can look at baseline performance over the last few years. More recent results are weighted more heavily:
Dustin Johnson
Rory Mcilroy
Jordan Spieth
Jason Day
Henrik Stenson
Justin Rose
Jon Rahm
Rickie Fowler
Paul Casey
Hideki Matsuyama
Tommy Fleetwood
Justin Thomas
Patrick Cantlay
Phil Mickelson
Brooks Koepka
Looking for overlap we see a few names pop up: Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Henrik Stenson.
It may be weird to see Tiger Woods missing from the course history section but the numbers I pulled used the last 10 years only and put more weight on recent years. Woods has two wins in that time frame but hasn’t played here since 2014 and also has a WD, a T78 and a T37. I wouldn’t talk anyone out of taking Tiger this week but he won’t crack my OAD target list unless I need to circle back.
I think anyone that cracks that overlap list is worthy of using this week but it will come down to whether or not you’ve already used each golfer.
I really wish I had Fowler left to use but I wasted him at The Open. In fact, I’ve used everyone on that overlap list except for Jason Day.
Looking at Day’s resume here, he’s posted a pair of top 5s in eight tries. He’s an Ohio resident so that should be comfortable. He was the 36- and 54-hole leader here in 2016. I was going to save him for the PGA Championship but my strategy for the season was to pick from the overlap list whenever possible. That means Jason Day will be my pick this week in Akron, Ohio.
Daily Fantasy Sports [DFS]
I will be giving out selections for one team for each DFS site, per 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.
The idea is to provide you a list of names to consider. I would not recommend copying these teams, golfer for golfer. Duplicate teams are no fun and don’t help anyone.
FanDuel Picks:
Rickie Fowler ($11,300): Has five top 10s here at Firestone Country Club.
Jon Rahm ($10,900): Missed the cut in his last two PGA TOUR starts which might leave him under-owned. I like the sound of that.
Charley Hoffman ($9,100): Enters with five straight top 30s worldwide. A notorious fast starter that has been putting himself in contention a lot this season but not finishing. I’ll take my chances at this price.
Byeong Hun An ($9,000): Continues to hover over that winner’s circle but it’s been just out of reach. Has two runner-up finishes since the start of June, one coming in the state of Ohio.
Zach Johnson ($9,800): Has EIGHT finishes of T16 or better here at Firestone.
Xander Schauffele (9,900): A perfect match for Firestone, given his elite driving skills. That played out well in his debut last year, posting a T13 by week’s end.
DraftKings Picks:
Rickie Fowler ($10,000): It’s a Stars & Scrubs type of week so this lineup should stay unique if I go Fowler and then drop down past the $9K range. He’s finished top 10 here in each of his last four trips to Firestone CC.
Paul Casey ($8,600): Underpriced when you consider his statistical profile over the last 12 months. He’s also cracked the top 20 in each of his last three visits here.
Matt Kuchar ($7,700): He’s been alternating good with bad lately. Somewhat telling of his season. Firestone should yield one of those good finishes if we consider he’s posted top 20s in six of his last eight starts here.
Phil Mickelson ($7,400): Hasn’t cracked the top 10 here since 2008 but he makes up for it with birdies and lots of them. He’s posted a better birdie rate compared to the field average in 16 of his last 17 starts.
Adam Scott ($7,500): He’s been inside the top 20 after 20 of his last 32 rounds here at Firestone CC. That includes a wire-to-wire victory in 2011.
Patrick Cantlay ($8,200): Doesn’t have course history but he enters with top 15s in three of his last four starts.
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2018 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: Casey did a decent job as skipper. Small gain.
Pos: 7830
Rory McIlroy: Rose WD so the captain’s armband goes to Rory. T2 at Carnoustie and record here.
Tommy Fleetwood: Looks very at home now when the elite gather and has the game to do well at Firestone CC.
Francesco Molinari: Too steady a guy to have been partying since Carnoustie triumph so plug him in again here. 1-2-1 last three starts and shot 69-65 on weekend for T24 here last year.
Jon Rahm: Still putting too much pressure on himself in the majors but capable of flexing his muscles and going big at Firestone. Shot three good rounds out of four on debut last year.
Alex Noren: Lots of contenders for final spot but I’ll take Noren, who was on the fringes of contention all week at Carnoustie and a winner in France before that. T28 last year with three rounds in the 60s.
Xander Schauffele: Rose pulling out creates an extra space and, given his record in the big events, Schauffele gets promoted from the bench. A worthy replacement.
Matt Cooper is 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. He was the winner of the Ladies European Tour’s Fantasy League in 2011.
Team Cooper (Team name: NormanStanleyFletcher)
Last week: A very minor gain, although it looked much healthier until Captain DeChambeau got his calculations wrong on the back nine Sunday.
Position: 1,385th
Justin Rose (captain): Now made five top tens on the bounce and he’s done enough at Firestone to make me believe he can make it six, perhaps even win.
Rory McIlroy: A past winner on the course and second at Carnoustie without anyone really noticing.
Francesco Molinari: It would be utter folly to leave him out this week. Only inside knowledge of him having the flu would stop me picking him (and I might still do so).
Jon Rahm: If his driving game is decent this would seem to be a challenge the big Spaniard could easily warm to.
Tommy Fleetwood: A flusher who still has something in the tank for this summer and this week could be the one.
Xander Schauffele: Three major championship top sixes in six starts, the Tour Championship win, three top 20s in four WGC starts (and he threatened to win in Mexico too). Like the big ones.
