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 Zurich Open Recap.
Now for the picks...
GolfChannel.com Fantasy Golf
Josh Culp
Last Week: 219 points
Last Week Rank: 11,547
Webb Simpson ($25,200)
Martin Laird ($18,800)
Jason Kokrak ($17,600)
Harold Varner III ($16,800)
Kyle Reifers ($13,000)
Carl Pettersson ($6,300)
ANALYSIS: Trying to keep it local this week, with “Carolina Connections” being the theme of the team. Pettersson and Simpson are both members at this week’s new venue, Eagle Point Golf Club.
Ryan O’Sullivan
@RyanGolfBlogger
Last Week: 240.5 points
Last Week Rank: 9,706
Kevin Kisner ($30,900)
Webb Simpson ($25,200)
Patton Kizzire ($15,500)
Nick Watney ($9,800)
Seamus Power ($9,500)
John Peterson ($7,100)
ANALYSIS: Sticking with stellar ball-striking here. With everyone seeing these greens for the first time, ball-striking should rise to the top.
Mori Yoshimoto
@Bears3423
Last Week: 305.5 points
Last Week Rank: 3,430
Webb Simpson ($25,200)
Hudson Swafford ($23,300)
Brian Harman ($20,200)
J.T. Poston ($13,200)
Nick Taylor ($10,300)
Chesson Hadley ($7,100)
ANALYSIS: A lot of regional knowledge here. Hadley could prove to be the wildcard.
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: It looks to be a windy week ahead of us. Whenever wind is in the forecast it is good to split tee-time waves when possible to provide the most flexibility.
Josh Culp
“Future of Fantasy”
Last Week Points: 124
Segment Points: 551
Segment Rank: 14,161
Season Points: 2,153
Season Rank: 15,823
Group A
Dustin Johnson (7): All he does is win. Returning from injury but he was close to teeing off at the Masters, so his back should be just fine now.
Adam Scott (7): The Aussie posted a T9 at the Masters and should see a similar test this week at Eagle Point GC.
=SUPER SUBS =
Graeme McDowell, Patrick Reed, Bill Haas
Group B
Webb Simpson (10): Hasn’t been the most consistent golfer for quite a while now, but we should see a steady performance this week as he tees it up at a very familiar venue.Francesco Molinari (7): Steady as it comes, especially in a field without much depth this week.
Phil Mickelson (7): He continues to spray it all over the park but still manages to rack up birdies in bunches.
Paul Casey (5): I’ve been riding him early in the season through his ups and down. Going to stick with him now that he’s rounding into form.
=SUPER SUBS=
William McGirt, Hudson Swafford, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner
Group C
Byeong Hun An (10): The early wave on Thursday looks to have a slight wind advantage if the current forecast holds. For that reason, I’m choosing An to lead things off. His ball-striking keeps propelling him to paychecks. It’s just a matter of time before he finds his putting strokes in the States.Jon Rahm (7): Not showing any signs of slowing down, so I will show no signs of removing him from my lineup.
=SUPER SUBS=
Daniel Berger, J.B. Holmes, Emiliano Grillo
Ryan O’Sullivan (O)
“The Golf Aficionado”
Last Week Points: 152
Segment Points: 593
Segment Rank: 5,851
Season Points: 2,429
Season Rank: 499
Group A
Bill Haas (9) and Dustin Johnson (7)
Group B
Webb Simpson (10), William McGirt (10), Kevin Kisner (10) and Paul Casey (8)
Group C
Jon Rahm (6) and Brian Harman (10)
Mo Yoshimoto
“@BearsGolf3423”
Last Week Points: 186
Spring Points: 605
Spring Rank: 4,159
Full Season Points: 2,483
Full Season Ranking: 98
Group A
Adam Scott (7) and Dustin Johnson (7)
Group B
Phil Mickelson (10), Paul Casey (9), William McGirt (8) and Francesco Molinari (8)
Group C
Wesley Bryan (10) and Jon Rahm (7)
~
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:
Dustin Johnson ($11,500): The star attraction this week as he returns from a month layoff. The majority of gamers will “play it safe” and load him up in the R3-4 slot, but a quick way to separate our team is to slot him right up front. He has led/co-led in five of his last nine starts, so quick starts are right up his alley.
Luke List ($6,500): A perfect birdie maker to pair with DJ. He arrives on the heels of back-to-back missed cuts so let’s keep him in the R1-2 spot.
Harold Varner III ($6,000): Has positioned himself inside the top 40 at the midpoint in four of his last five individual starts. Spending his college years in North Carolina certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
Martin Laird ($7,300): The Charlotte resident has been T20 or better after two rounds in 6-of-12 starts this season. When his game is on, he generally fires right out of the gates.
Webb Simpson ($7,300):
Being a member at Eagle Point Golf Club certainly isn’t factored into this price. He had a close call at the Heritage and should jump right back into contention this week.Stewart Cink ($6,700): Not the flashiest golfer, but his reliability is nice and he saves us a good chunk of change at sub-$7K.
This leaves the team with $14,700 left for the final two spots. Golfers I like in this range include: Byeong Hun An, Graeme McDowell, Shane Lowry, Hudson Swafford, Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Emiliano Grillo, and William McGirt.
DraftKings Picks:
Francesco Molinari ($9,200): Rarely finds himself in true contention on the PGA TOUR, but rarely finds himself outside the top 40, either. Paul Casey ($9,900): Finally rounding back into form after some early-season equipment changes.
Adam Scott ($10,000): DJ is quite spendy at the time so many gamers will drift to Jon Rahm instead. Scott gives us a nice pivot, and provides a much larger sample size of success, as well.
Kyle Reifers ($6,200):
Attended Wake Forest and still lives in North Carolina, so his comfort level should be a bit higher than most weeks.Stewart Cink($6,400): Playing some inspired golf as he remembers that golf is very small in the grand scheme of life.
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!
There aren’t any course horses to look at this week so instead let’s try to find a good mix of current form AND long-term form.
First let’s have a look at the top performers over the last 10 weeks of stroke-play, from a strokes gained point-of-view:
Dustin Johnson
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey
Wesley Bryan
Kevin Kisner
Francesco Molinari
Adam Scott
J.T. Poston
Lucas Glover
Daniel Berger
From there, let’s hit the magnifying glass backwards to look at long-term performance on the PGA TOUR and Euro Tour since 2014:
Dustin Johnson
Adam Scott
Jon Rahm
Jim Furyk
Paul Casey
Phil Mickelson
Francesco Molinari
Bill Haas
Patrick Reed
Zach Johnson
A few golfers check the box in both recent form AND long-term form: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Adam Scott, Paul Casey, and Francesco Molinari. If we expand the list top 15s then we also bring in Phil Mickelson and Daniel Berger.
I think all seven golfers are serviceable plays this week. Personally I’ve used everyone on the list except for Molinari and Berger. The deciding factor for me is the current forecast (windy). Berger has a proven track record in the wind and it makes sense given his pedigree growing up in Florida. Daniel Berger is my pick.
Season Tracking
Wins: 2
Top 10s: 10
Top 25s: 14
Missed Cuts: 5
Total Picks: 24