Fantasy Golf: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

 

Good old Jim Furyk pulled it out of the fire in the last round of the RBC Heritage, posting the lowest round to force a playoff, then winning said playoff to gain maximum bonus points. Green arrows abounded in Yahoo Fantasy Golf as we move into the fourth week of the spring segment.

Teams will be all change this week as a number of prominent golfers from last weekend are missing in New Orleans this Thursday. All this does make it more difficult to pick a good group of players.

 

Yahoo Group A only has 4 golfers to choose from; English, Noh, Stricker and Warren. Last years winner Noh will make his way onto many Fantasy teams. But no Top-10s in 11 and five missed cuts makes me wary of his chances this week. Of the list of Group B players, only two have yet to miss a cut this year; Jason Day and Rickie Fowler (they both have played seven tournaments). Fowler has yet to crack the Top-10 though, whereas Day has done so three times, winning once. Day is not the most selected player this week though, that honour goes to Dustin Johnson with 43% of teams using him. Like Day, Johnson has one win this season, but in Johnson's favour, every time he has made the cut (5 times) he has finished inside the Top-10.

 

Group C is a bit of a crap shoot. You will have to pick two players from the list of 116 on offer. But who to pick? Well look no further as we have the ones to look out for covered. The last four tournament winners have been pencilled in in the notebook. Let's see if that run can continue this week.

 

As per usual, Yahoo Fantasy Golf splits the players into three groups, where you select two, four and two from each, half of your selections earn you points everyday. Official PGA Fantasy Golf only gives out points on final finishing positions, but you can select any four golfers you like. Good Luck.

 

Group A

Harris English

Steve Stricker

 

Group B

Jason Day

Dustin Johnson

Charles Howell III

Daniel Berger

Alex Prugh

Justin Rose

 

Group C

Jason Bohn

Keegan Bradley

Lucas Glover

Sean O'Hair

Will Wilcox

Justin Thomas

Kyle Reifers

Blake Adams

Brenden Steele

Morgan Hoffmann

Brice Garnett

Andrew Loupe

John Peterson

Scott Piercy

Fantasy Golf: RBC Heritage

After the excitement of the Masters, things settle down somewhat at the Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. That is for most players who were competing last weekend, but the list of absentees does not include the new Masters champion Jordan Spieth. He is, rightly so, installed as favourite to back up his dominant Masters performance with a win. He is the most selected player in Yahoo Fantasy Golf at 55%.

But one player rarely a fantasy team makes, as my grandfather used to say. So who will also be challenging for the winners purse at Hilton Head this week? After Spieth, the next most selected golfer on Yahoo is Patrick Reed at 45%. That is a very high number for me, as the C Group has a lot of golfers to choose from. People obviously feel his putting could be the difference on the small tough greens of Harbour Town. But his record isn't great here, so he just misses out in my team.

Who has been picked? Well read on! A few golfers in form and a few former winners here. Some old, some young. Hopefully a good mix come the shake-up on Sunday.

As always, Yahoo Fantasy Golf allows you to select eight golfers from three groups, where four score points for you each day; whereas Official PGA Fantasy Golf lets you pick any four golfers and you only score points on their finishing positions.

Group A
Jim Furyk
Webb Simpson
Ben Martin

Group B
Zack Johnson
Jordan Speith
Ian Poulter
Kevin Streelman
Graeme McDowell
Chris Kirk

Group C
Ernie Els
Jason Bohn
Patrick Reed
Charlie Hoffman
Zac Blair
John Huh
Russell Knox
Russell Henley
Sean O'Hair

Fantasy Golf: U.S. Masters

The U.S. Masters is the first Major on the golfing calendar and is our Fantasy Golf interest this weekend. Augusta National is a course that rewards players who can keep the bogeys to a minimum while taking advantage of the par 5s. The last two years saw scores of -8 take the green jacket, so getting players who can eke out a few birdies each day could be the key to success.

Bubba Watson has won twice in the last three years here and will have to be in everyones thoughts. Phil Mickelson won three of his five majors here and should also come into contention. Outside of the Americans, Adam Scott, winner in 2013 using the belly putter, said this week he will be using that putter again for the rest of the season starting at The Masters, could also do well. He had previously been using a short putter in preparation for the upcoming long putter ban coming into effect for the 2016 season.

While I think a number of Europeans could make a good run this year. McIlroy? They haven't had much joy here since the days of Faldo and Olazabal in the 90s. I am going to avoid them for this weekends action. Another person I'm avoiding is Tiger Woods. The 14 time Major winner is back this week. He last won here in 2005 and  while I hope he stays fit for the duration, I'm not going to take a gamble on him contending.

So who will contend? Jordan Spieth is on the back of two second place finishes in a row and would hope to go that extra bit this week. Jimmy Walker has been racking up the wins since his 8th place debut finish at Augusta last year. Australian Jason Day is another player with good recent form (one win, three top 5s, in last seven tournaments) and should be fancied to do well.

Here are the picks for this weekend. Remember, Yahoo Fantasy Golf scores points every round and you have to pick eight players from three groups. The three groups have lots of golfers to choose from this week. In PGA Fantasy Golf you simply pick any four players and score points on their finishing positions.

Group A
Bubba Watson
Adam Scott
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy
Ryan Palmer

Group B
Jason Day
Jimmy Walker
Phil Mickelson
Rickie Fowler
Jordan Spieth
Vijay Singh
Billy Horshel
Danny Willett

Group C
Ernie Els
Patrick Reed
Russell Henley
Geoff Ogilvy
Robert Streb
Camilo Villegas


No preview the last two weeks. But stats were still poured over and teams still entered. Green arrows abounded as Holmes, Spieth and Casey brought in the points last week at the Shell Houston Open, while Spieth and Palmer added some much needed points at the Valero Texas Open. Things could have went much better at the Valero as I did contemplate putting eventual winner Jimmy Walker in the side but instead went with Zach Johnson. You live and learn! Good luck this week everyone and enjoy the golf. Being in a time zone 12 hours ahead of US Eastern Time is going to make it difficult for me as usual, but I'll try my best!