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 Daily Fantasy Sports picks (FanDuel, Yahoo, and DraftKings).
Page 2 will have a look at One-and-Done options as well as PGATOUR.com’s fantasy game.
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Dave Tindall
@DaveTindallGolf
DraftKings
Justin Thomas ($10,700) – Extremely worthwhile trip to the United Kingston (easy slip to make Ivana) with T9 in Scottish and T11 in Open so should have a spring in his step. Looks ready to unleash a huge performance soon and great stats for this course.
Patrick Cantlay ($9,800) – 4th in SG: Tee to Green, 10th Off the Tee, 12th Approach. These are all stats I like for TPC Southwind and Memorial champ Cantlay is riding high in all three.
Webb Simpson ($8,200) – Top 30 in all the majors this year and relatively light schedule suggests he has plenty in the tank still. Has a third at TPC Southwind.
Billy Horschel ($7,500) – Course horse. Connected four top tens at this week’s venue from 2013-2017 and has recent form too with T9 at Memorial and T17 at Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Cameron Smith ($7,100) – Tends to hold form well when he finds it so am playing him on the back of T20 at Royal Portrush and T29 at Rocket Mortgage.
Keith Mitchell ($6,500) – Put him back on Bermuda and he’s a different animal. 6th in SG: Off the Tee, the Honda Classic winner shot three 69s at this week’s course in only appearance. Looks a bargain.
Total salary: $49,800
On the cusp: Jon Rahm ($10,400), Xander Schauffele ($9,300), Louis Oosthuizen ($8,100), Patrick Reed ($8,000), Andrew Putnam ($7,800), Lucas Bjerregaard ($6,900)
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: Took the decision to captain Rahm instead of McIlroy which sort of worked. Left out Lowry, which sort of didn’t. A drop but I feared a bigger one.
Position: 1,723rd
Jon Rahm (captain): I’ll try the Rahm over Rory skipper thing again. Rory could go one of two ways; Rahm had best Open finish by a distance (T11) and 1-2-3 prior to that.
Rory McIlroy: All the physical stuff is perfect - he’s 1st in SG: Off the Tee and SG: Tee to Green - but his mindset and how that manifests is wildly open to debate.
Bryson DeChambeau: Still hasn’t worked it out in the majors, especially the Open, but went 2-8 before a truncated week at Royal Portrush.
Xander Schauffele: Blown off course on Sunday in Northern Ireland but shot 65-69 in middle two Open rounds. Third at U.S. Open before that.
Patrick Reed: One of the leading Americans at The Open when T10 and that came soon after T5 at Rocket Mortgage Classic. Has a fifth and three MCs here but I’ll focus on the former.
Henrik Stenson: A slightly frustrating week at Royal Portrush but still managed a top 20 and that followed a run of 4-9-9. T26 and T13 on last two starts at TPC Southwind.
Matt Cooper
@MattCooperGolf
DraftKings
Rory McIlroy ($11,100) – Hasn’t played the course since 2012 but was seventh that time having led at halfway. Winners here have good SG: Tee to Green stats and none better than the Northern Irishman at that.
Justin Thomas ($9,900) – Second to McIlroy in SG: Tee to Green and he was talking a great game last week: “I feel like I’m really, really playing well. I’m close to reeling off something good. Trying to keep my head down and keep plugging.”
Rafa Cabrera Bello ($7,900) – Played the course just the once, but got a T4 on that occasion and I like him as a fit for it based on good efforts on similar tests in Asia.
Brandt Snedeker ($7,400) – Two top fives in his last five starts and T6 with a second round 62 on this course last year. Owns another four top 30s at the track.
Keith Mitchell ($6,500) – A Tennessee native, he ranks well enough in SG: Tee to Green and I like his win at PGA National as a guide for this week.
Corey Conners ($6,300) – Ranks tenth for SG: Tee to Green and the course clue I like of his was the pair of weekend 64 for second at Waialae.
Total salary: $49,900
On the cusp: Dustin Johnson ($11,400), Tommy Fleetwood ($10,200), Matt Kuchar ($9,000), Tony Finau ($8,400), Webb Simpson ($8,200), Patrick Reed ($8,000)
2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai – European Tour
Last week: Ole, ole, ole, ole. Ole, ole. Thank you very much Shane Lowry who completed a hat-trick of July winners which has seen me leap from nearly 5,000th in the rankings to inside the top 500. High summer indeed.
Position: 489th
Rory McIlroy (captain): Above and beyond the reasons mentioned above I just sense that last week’s drama at Royal Portrush will be no bad thing and quite possibly very redemptive and ultimately positive.
Jon Rahm: Ranks 15th in SG: Tee to Green which hints that the course debutant should like the test. Not outside the top 11 in his last four starts.
Paul Casey: Within the confines of the game I’m happy to play him. So-so effort on his only course start, but chipper enough with his effort last week in just making the cut and T5 before that.
Xander Schauffele: Might have something to prove after the non-complying driver controversy, has such a strong record in majors and WGC (13 top 25s in 19 starts).
Rafa Cabrera Bello: The stats are explained above, but I also like playing a guy the week after a disappointment. In his case he really loves Portrush and got tripped up by heightened expectations, going for the rebound.
Bryson DeChambeau: T8 and T2 running into the Open and happy to overlook that effort. Science struggles to compute gusting wind, linksland undulations and pumped up Irishmen.
Josh Culp
@futureoffantasy
FanDuel
Rory McIlroy (11,700): A letdown at Portrush last week but it was really just a few bad holes that killed his chances. Still playing great golf overall.
Dustin Johnson (12,000): Plenty of good options in the value bin this week so let’s load up at the top with the course horse, DJ. A two-time winner at the course.
Chez Reavie (8,700): It’s been boom or bust lately for the ASU product. Reavie enters with four top 20s including a WIN over his last seven starts, but three MCs in the other starts. Owner of top 15s in each of his last three trips to Memphis.
Rafa Cabrera Bello (8,600): Finished T4 in his only previous visit to TPC Southwind (2017). He can FanDuel score with the best of them which makes him quite a bargain here.
Louis Oosthuizen (9,400): Getting his first look at TPC Southwind. His back should be happy to leave the Irish weather and get to Memphis where the temps will be in the upper-80s all week.
Webb Simpson (9,500): A return to bermudaland should mean that Simpson stays comfortable this week. He’s had a mixed bag here at Southwind but a T3 in 2014 proved the upside.
Yahoo DFS
Dustin Johnson (49): Going through a bit of a slump by his lofty standards but he’s a two-time champ at TPC Southwind so it’s a good week for him to snap out of it.
Rafa Cabrera Bello (27): The Spaniard missed the cut last week but he had three straight top 10s before that.
Henrik Stenson (26): The Swede is trending with four straight top 20s, worldwide. One of the best iron players in the world which should help him navigate this water-heavy layout.
Jason Day (37): Playing the long-term game as he tries to get back to World No. 1 with Stevie Williams on his bag. This would be a good week to start his climb with the warm weather of Memphis. He finished T23 in his only previous start at Southwind (2009)..
Jordan Spieth (28): Not someone I trust on DK or FD this week but he’s very affordable on Yahoo so I’ll take my chances here. I’m fully expecting a few water balls but a lot of birdies to make up for that.
Louis Oosthuizen (31): Always a top-10 threat when the back holds up. The back should be happy to be back in warm weather.
