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.
Page 3 will take a look across the pond with Fantasy Race to Dubai selections.
Before you get into the picks, Dave Tindall also has you covered on the European Tour with a KLM Open Preview.
Mo Yoshimoto looks at everything you might have missed at TPC Boston last week in his Deutsche Bank Championship Recap.
Now for the picks...
GolfChannel.com Fantasy Golf
Ryan O’Sullivan
2016 Earnings: $16,669,724
2016 Rank: 8,818 of 41,814
Group 1: Rory McIlroy
Group 2: Patrick Reed
Group 3: Justin Thomas
Group 4: Tony Finau
ANALYSIS: If Crooked Stick plays like a bomber’s paradise (like it should), Ryan is well-equipped to handle that with three bombers and Reed who scrambles the lights out to make up for his lack of extreme distance.
Josh Culp
2016 Earnings: $16,743,285
2016 Rank: 8,585 of 41,814
Group 1: Rory McIlroy
Group 2: Louis Oosthuizen
Group 3: Paul Casey
Group 4: Ryan Palmer
ANALYSIS: With the field shrinking, the groups are also shrinking. That means we get golfers like Paul Casey in Group 3, so it’s really hard to pick a squad you don’t like this week.
Mo Yoshimoto
2016 Earnings: $16,386,310
2016 Rank: 9,723 of 41,814
Group 1: Dustin Johnson
Group 2: Sergio Garcia
Group 3: Russell Knox
Group 4: Jhonattan Vegas
ANALYSIS: A lot of firepower on Mo’s squad. DJ finished T6 last time Crooked Stick hosted the BMW.
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.
Josh Culp
“Future of Fantasy”
Full Season Points: 5,066
Full Season Rank: 8,129
Summer Points: 1,462
Summer Rank: 10,681
Group A
Jordan Spieth (1): Crooked Stick has a lot of yardage and Spieth is one of the best course managers when he has a lot of real estate to work with.
Adam Scott (5): The Aussie often shows his hand before peaking and with back-to-back top 5s to open the Playoffs, he may be gearing up for a third win of the season.
SUPER SUBS
Jason Day, Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson
Group B
Justin Rose (2): A dreadful Sunday, but TPC Boston was never a course that’s suited him. Now he’ll have one last chance to punch his ticket to East Lake, I think he bounces back.
Rory McIlroy (1): Found his putting stroke last week, and he’s won at Crooked Stick without putting well at all. If he maintains last week’s putting performance, we could see back-to-back wins.
Hideki Matsuyama (3): With four par 5s on the docket this week, Matsuyama should score in bunches and get back inside the top 20.
Patrick Reed (1): Fatigue is the only concern, but otherwise we have to keep riding the hot sticks.
SUPER SUBS
Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker, Jimmy Walker, J.B. Holmes
Group C
Louis Oosthuizen (7): The South African is one of the best at pelting greens when he’s hitting from the fairway (4th on TOUR). Crooked Stick has generous landing areas, which means Ooshtuizen should be hitting from the fairway quite often this week.
Paul Casey (4): The Englishman finished runner-up at last week’s Deutsche Bank so let’s ride the hot hand.
SUPER SUBS
Matt Kuchar, Daniel Berger, Emiliano Grillo
Ryan O’Sullivan (O)
“The Golf Aficionado”
Full Season Points: 5,126
Full Season Ranking: 5,706
Summer Points: 1,422
Summer Rank: 16,373
Group A
Jason Day and Adam Scott
Group B
Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, and Hideki Matsuyama
Group C
Daniel Berger and Louis Oosthuizen
Mo Yoshimoto
“@BearsGolf3423”
Full Season Points: 4,950
Full Season Ranking: 13,695
Summer Points: 1,327
Summer Rank: 27,849
Group A
Dustin Johnson (4) and Adam Scott (5)
Group B
Rory McIlroy (4), Jimmy Walker (5), Ryan Palmer (6), and Russell Knox (7)
Group C
Louis Oosthuizen (9) and Emiliano Grillo (9)
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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 $3 Birdie contest. As the name suggests, it’s just three 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:
Rory McIlroy ($11,900): He anchored our team to success last week and I think Crooked Stick sets up just as well for the bomber.
Ryan Palmer ($6,800): Sometimes a price is just too good to pass up. That’s the case with Palmer this week who arrives with back-to-back top 25s. Ranked 13th on TOUR in driving distance, he should have no issues taming Crooked Stick.
Louis Oosthuizen ($9,300): Crooked Stick Golf Club is LONG, but it also features generous landing areas off the tee. That means plenty of fairways hits for the golfers that are fairly accurate with the big stick. Oosthuizen fits that bill and also ranks fourth on TOUR in GIR from the Fairway, allowing him to take advantage of his prime position.
Daniel Berger ($7,800): Using that same stat from Oosthuizen, we can also identify Berger who ranks sixth in GIR from the Fairway. With three top 15s in last year’s FedExCup Playoffs, he’s clearly not phased by the big stage.
Smylie Kaufman ($6,800): He was right in striking distance after three rounds last week at TPC Boston. He was a part of the final group that shot 13-over on Monday, so the conditions were clearly less-than-ideal. I’m willing to bank on a quick rebound at this bargain-bin price.
Justin Thomas ($7,300): With $7,400 remaining, I narrowed it down to elite scorers and that left me with Kevin Kisner or Justin Thomas. Thomas has the distance and par-5 scoring that I think fits best with Crooked Stick, so he is the man for the job.
Other Picks to Consider
Brooks Koepka ($8,000): One of the best scoring machines on TOUR, this price is way too low.
Charley Hoffman ($6,400): Was a popular pick last week but disappointed. Now he’s just $6,400 and makes for a great bounce-back candidate.
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!
From here on out I will give my recommendations based on where you lie in the standings.
Leading or wanting to play it safe: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott
Still in contention: Jason Day, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler
Need to make up a lot of ground: Gary Woodland, Louis Oosthuizen, Emiliano Grillo, Tony Finau, Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker
It’s starting to be slim pickings as the season comes to an end. I’ve used everyone from the lists above except for Brandt Snedeker, so that’s my pick. He’s great around the greens which allows him to contend on longer courses even when his irons are a bit off.
Past Results:
Wins:
1Top 10s: 7
Top 20s: 17
Missed Cuts: 7
Total Events: 38
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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: Inexplicably left out Noren last week in a bid to not run with the pack (a familiar strategy for managers who seek a late move by being contrary). What do you know, it came back to slap me in the face. A palindromic drop of 484 spots.
Position: 7,182
This week:
Thomas Pieters (captain): The Belgian won, had a week off, then won this event this time last year and that exact scenario could easily play out again. He’ll have to do it on a different course this time but you’d back him anywhere at the moment and his confidence is through the roof after being picked for the Ryder Cup on the back of his Made in Denmark win.
Fabrizio Zanotti (vice-captain): Already has a second and a fourth (last year) in this event and the tournament’s new course, The Dutch, looks a perfect fit for his straight driving (1st DA last week, 2nd on DA season stats). The Paraguayan has six top 25s in his last 10 starts.
Alex Noren: No-brainer pick. The guy has two wins and a second from his last five starts. Absurd 20-for-21 scrambling stats in Switzerland last week. Likes this event too with three top 12s in his four starts although those all came on a different course.
Joost Luiten: Playing in front of home fans is daunting for some but not Luiten. The Dutchman has a win (2013), a second (2007) and another couple of top 6s in this event. An impressive 11 top 20s this season and, despite a mini dip, this looks the ideal spot for him to shine again.
Thongchai Jaidee: Looks to have the perfect game for The Dutch where finding fairways looks important with the rough up. Has eight wins on the European Tour after landing the prestigious Open de France in July and is 4-for-4 in this event.
Marcus Fraser: We’re guessing but the signs are that short and steady will do well this week and that plays into Fraser’s hands. A winner already on tour this year, he was fifth at The Olympics and 11th after 54 holes in Switzerland last week before dropping back on Sunday.
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: A second week of progress (another improvement of 750-odd places) thanks to skipper Alex Noren’s victory. This week going for the course designer angle. Paul Casey has finished well on three separate Montgomerie designs (T12 at Maxx Royal, a winner at Royal, a winner and runner-up at Carton House) and I’ll keep an eye on chief designer Ross McMurray’s tracks too.
Position: 1,766th
Joost Luiten (captain): Often wary of locals on a course new to the field: knowledge is a two way beast; being local might mean he just knows he hates it rather than he’s waiting to find out if he does. But in this case think there are good vibes coming from him, a tournament winner and good seasonal form.
Alex Noren (vice captain): Keeping my chips on the hottest golfer in the field. Fit as a fiddle, good attitude, playing great, hungry to ride the wave, no-brainer.
Thomas Pieters: On second thoughts, I suppose Pieters might tie Noren for hottest golfer in the field. That’s nit picking – they’re both playing superb golf and Pieters has support (family and friends crossing the border from Belgium) plus the huge boost of confirmed Ryder Cup inclusion. He must feel like he can hit the ball miles at the moment. Hang on ...
Thongchai Jaidee: Plenty of visual similarity to Le Golf National, which would be no bad thing for the current Open de France champion. Winner on McMurray’s Celtic Manor 2010 layout. Solid veteran.
Fabrizio Zanotti: Currently 7-for-7, T2 at Woburn on a McMurray track (also boasts superb form on another European Golf Design course, PGA Catalunya, albeit different designer) and a former runner-up in the event.
Pablo Larrazabal: T7 last week, solid at McMurray’s Celtic Manor 2010 (including a T4), T4 at Monty’s Carton House and a winner on an inland pretend links (a sub-section all its own) at Le Golf National.
