Fantasy Golf: The Sony Open in Hawaii

The first PGA Tour event of the season with a full field of competitors begins this week in Hawaii at one of my favourite courses, Waialae Country Club. Last week saw Jordan Speith kick off the New Year by winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions by a whopping eight strokes. He won’t be teeing up this week, so we will have to look elsewhere for our fantasy points. But perhaps we won’t have to look too far? Last year’s winner Jimmy Walker won this event by nine and will be fancied to post another low scoring round. He won the year before that too, but no-one has managed to win this tournament three years in a row before. Could Walker be the first?

Before we take our usual look at the fancied golfers for this event, let’s cover what fantasy games we will be participating in and how the picks will be laid out. Selections will be divided into three groups according to Yahoo Fantasy Golf; A, B, and C. PGA Fantasy has done away with the simple ‘pick any four golfers’ game and is now solely represented by the AVIS Fantasy Golf game, where you select four starting golfers who gain points for you each round, and two golfers who you can sub in if need be before the start of each days play. You may pick any golfer from the field for this game, but you can only use a golfer three times during each segment of the AVIS game (of which there are four, this one finishes at the end of January). To replace the original PGA Fantasy, we will be now playing the Golf Channel’s Fantasy Golf game. In this game you select four players, one from each group. These groups are divided up by world ranking.

As I’ve said, selections will be shown according to Yahoo groups, which picks for each section underlined. Picks for the Golf Channel Fantasy game will have a (G1),2,3, or 4 after their name, corresponding to which group they were selected from. AVIS PGA Fantasy picks will have an (AVIS) or (AVISsub) after their name to indicate where they were picked in that game. Phew! I hope that isn’t too complicated.

So on with the picks. Jimmy Walker will be one of the favourites here having won the last two times he played here. It’s also his birthday this week, if you believe in that kind of thing. Russell Henley and Johnson Wagner won here the two years before Walker, and could well be in contention again. The second most selected player in Yahoo and AVIS is Brandt Snedeker. He finished last week in third and will be the highest placed finisher from that tournament to play in the absence of Spieth and Reed.

Zach Johnson is the third most selected player in Yahoo, probably because of his good record on Bermuda grass greens. But he has only finished inside the top 10 here once (T8th) so I’ll be avoiding him I think. Looking further down the list; Chris Kirk has had two top 5s here in recent years. Charles Howell III has an excellent record here spanning back almost 15 years. Plus he has the longest run in Golf Channel Fantasy Group 3 without missing the cut and is a strong selection there.

Here are this week’s picks. Good Luck Everyone.

Group A

Russell Henley (AVIS)

Chris Kirk (AVISsub)

 

Group B

Brandt Snedeker (AVIS) (G2)

Jimmy Walker (AVIS)

Charles Howell III (G3)

Troy Merritt

Brendon Todd

 

Group C

Matt Kuchar (AVIS) (G1)

Graeme McDowell

Lucas Glover (AVISsub) (G4)

Johnson Wagner

Peter Malnati

Daniel Berger

Will Wilcox

Marc Leishman

Fantasy Golf: Wyndham Championship

For those of you following me on Twitter (and if not, why not! => @GarryIrwin) you will have seen that I posted all the top 5 finishers for last weekend’s PGA Championship as my fantasy selections. If you haven`t moved up in the rankings after that, then you must already have been pretty high.

This week sees the PGA Tour head to Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina. This is the final `normal` week of the Tour before the four rounds of the FedEx Playoffs begin. It is also the winding down of the Fantasy Golf games. Yahoo Fantasy Golf finishes its winter segment at the end of September. Official PGA Fantasy will end at the tail end of September too but will start up again two weeks later in October. AVIS Fantasy Golf will also finish on the 27^th of September, but that game only started in April and surely won`t wait until that far into next season to start again?

This weeks picks for the Wyndham Championship are a mix of past winners and in form players, plus a long shot or two. As always picks are divided according to their grouping in Yahoo Fantasy Golf, with AVIS picks given at the bottom of the post.

Since this tournament has been played at Sedgefield (2008) the winners have alternated between the U.S. and overseas. Last year Columbia`s Camilo Villegas was victorious, so perhaps an American will win this time out? Not very scientific, but something to think about! Past American winners here include Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson. Simpson has always been there or there abouts over the last number of years here and should be within spitting distance of the top ten come Sunday evening.

Another former winner, and player who has always done well on the course, is Sweden`s Carl Pettersson. He holds the tournament (259) and course (61) records here. Just before this leg of the Tour moved to Sedgefield CC, it was held at Forest Oaks, and the winner in 2007 there was Brandt Snedeker. He finished in the top 5 here last year too, so will be fancied to do well.

Justin Thomas is an in form player coming into this weekend. A very credible 18^th at the PGA Championship came after a fourth and a fifth at the Quicken Loans National and the John Deere Classic. Another young American with a bright future is Brooks Koepka. He comes to North Carolina having been inside the top 20 in every competition he`s entered since the disastrous 78 he posted on the final day of the Memorial Tournament back at the start of June. Look out for him to compete again.

So here are this week’s selections. Good Luck everybody.

 

Group A

Brooks Koepka

Webb Simpson

Bill Haas

 

Group B

Brandt Snedeker

Hideki Matsuyama

Billy Horschel

Paul Casey

 

Group C

Justin Thomas

Carl Pettersson

Boo Weekley

Branden Grace

Brian Davis

Charl Schwartzel

Will Wilcox

Jonas Blixt

David Toms

Johnson Wagner

 

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf: Justin Thomas, Boo Weekley, Billy Horschel, Paul Casey; Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker.

Fantasy Golf: The Open Championship

 

The 144th Open Championship begins this week at St. Andrews in Scotland. A lot of former winners will be teeing up, Mickelson, Oosthuizen, etc. But last years winner, Rory McIlroy, is injured and absent. So this week most eyes will be on Jordan Spieth to see can he complete a hat trick of Majors, after he won the Masters and the U.S. Open earlier in the year. Spieth is fresh off another win on the U.S. PGA Tour too, but will having to cross the Atlantic during the week have an impact on his chances? The last five winners of The Open all went to Scotland early and participated in the Scottish Open the week before.

 

A quick scan of the most selected players shows Spieth occupying most peoples thinking. He is in 85% of teams in AVIS PGA Fantasy and 56% in Yahoo. Next up in Yahoo is Dustin Johnson on 42% of teams. In AVIS he is the third most popular on 53%, behind 68% Rickie Fowler.

 

Timing is playing havoc with my blog posting this week. So no more beating around the bush, let's have a look at this weeks picks.

 

Group A

Henrik Stenson

Victor Dubuisson

Tommy Fleetwood

 

Group B

Martin Kaymer

Paul Casey

Hideki Matsuyama

Rickie Fowler

Brandt Snedeker

Jordan Spieth

Dustin Johnson

Bernd Wiesberger

Matt Kuchar

Phil Mickelson

 

Group C

Charl Schwartzel

Louis oosthuizen

Branden Grace

Patrick Reed

Raphael Jacquelin

 

AVIS PGA Fantasy: Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson, Victor Dubuisson; Jordan Spieth, Charl Schwartzel.

 

On a side note, the Notebook will be taking a break for the next two weeks. See you all in August.

Fantasy Golf: John Deere Classic

The big golf news this week is that Rory McIlroy has injured himself and won't be able to defend his Open title next week. Does this leave the door wide open for Jordan Spieth to complete a Major hattrick? Will this distract Spieth this weekend at TPC Deere Run? A lot of big names are already in Scotland warming up for St Andrews with a run at the Scottish Open. Will Spieth be rewarded for staying in Illinois?

This week is also the last of this segment in AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf, so if you were holding back your last use of any golfer (for example, Spieth), now is the time to throw him in, as all players will be reset next week. With this in mind, players such as Speith will be popular this week, 59% AVIS, 35% Yahoo.

Spieth is not the most selected player in either game though. In AVIS, 66% of teams are going with Zach Johnson. Johnson was a winner here in 2012. The most popular player in Yahoo is Kevin Kisner from Group B at 47%. People are obviously hoping Kisner can go one better than the playoff loss from last weekend.

Yahoo Fantasy Golf could have some wildly differing scores this week too. Group A only has four golfers to choose from; Harris English, Steve Stricker, Sueng-yul Noh and Kevin Stadler. Choosing the wrong player before someone who ends up being competitive this weekend could set you back in the rankings. This is only Stadler's third event this season so he's tough to recommend. Stricker is a three time winner here and should probably be one of your two picks. He hasn't registered a top ten in a year though, so you are going on his course know-how rather than on any form to speak of.

Without further delay, here are this weeks picks.... Good luck everyone.

Group A
Harris English
Steve Stricker

Group B
Kevin Kisner
Brian Harman
Jordan Spieth
Zach Johnson

Group C
Jason Bohn
Tony Finau
Justin Thomas
Ryan Moore
Adam Hadwin
Boo Weekley
Chez Reavie
Johnson Wagner
Steven Bowditch
Scott Brown
Jerry Kelly
Shawn Stefani

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf: Kevin Kisner, Harris English, Jordan Spieth, Jason Bohn; Tony Finau, Justin Thomas.

Fantasy Golf: The Greenbrier Classic

A quick post here as the tournament is about to start.
The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia often throws up some surprise winners (Ted Potter Jr anyone?) and some low scores. Stuart Appleby shot a 59 in the final round to win the tournament in 2010.
A quick scan of the most selected golfers shows Bubba Watson coming out in front. He is in 54% of teams in Yahoo Fantasy Golf and 60% in AVIS PGA Fantasy. Holmes, Reed and Casey make up the next three spots in AVIS, while it's Casey, Reed and DeLaet in Yahoo.
This week the Group C list of players will be rather long. But I feel Tour rookie Tony Finau will make his way onto many teams. He's in solid form and knows that a good finish will grant him entry to the Open Championship. The C group can be a tough one to pick from as there are a lot of golfers to choose, but when selections go wrong it can set you back big time. Last week at the Travelers Championship both our C selections missed the cut (Na and Reed) so I'm just a bit hesitant to select them again.
So without further waffle, here are this weeks selections. As always, players are divided into Yahoo A, B & C groupings. This is the first tournament in the twelve week summer section of that game. While AVIS picks are given at the bottom, and Official PGA allows you to select any four golfers. Good Luck.

Group A
Webb Simpson
Seung-yul Noh
Bubba Watson
Bill Haas

Group B
Paul Casey
Kevin Kisner
Chris Stroud
George McNeil

Group C
Tony Finau
Chad Campbell
Charlie Beljan
Jhonatton Vegas
Jim Renner
Bo Van Pelt
Adam Hadwin
Jon Curran
Sam Bowditch
Chez Reavie
Andres Romero
Cameron Percy
Jason Gore

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf: Webb Simpson, Paul Casey, Charlie Beljan, Chad Campbell; Tony Finau, Jhonatton Vegas.

Fantasy Golf: Travelers Championship

After the excitement of the finish to the U.S. Open last week we return to normal PGA Tour action in Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. The field, as you'd expect is not as laden with star names as the U.S. Open was, but it is made even weaker when a number of big names have travelled to Germany for this weeks BMW International Open.

One big name that does tee up at River Highlands is Bubba Watson. He won here in 2010 and is currently the most selected player in Yahoo Fantasy Golf on 46%. In the AVIS PGA Fantasy game Watson has been selected by a massive 71% of players. Other big names are popular too; Sergio Garcia is the second most selected in AVIS at 61%, and he is the third most selected in Yahoo, behind Brandt Snedeker (42%) on 39%.

Some people might be thinking, but Bubba missed the cut last weekend, how can you rely on him here? And while I agree Watson can be unpredictable at times, an extra few days rest is never a bad thing. Plus if you look at this event from 2007, since it has been played the week after the U.S. Open, no winner has come from any player who finished in the Top 10 the previous week. A strange stat that will surely be bested someday.

With that in mind, it's best to have a team of inform players, a few big names and a few outsiders. As usual the recommendations list is broken down in three sections according to Yahoo Fantasy Golf groupings. Also this is the last tournament of the Spring section in Yahoo, so good luck to all those in contention at the top of the leaderboards. As always Official PGA Fantasy Golf lets you choose any four golfers and only takes their final finishing position into account. While AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf lets you choose six golfers, four of which score you points each day. Picks for AVIS are given at the bottom of the post. You can only use any golfer three times in AVIS, so you really have to have faith in your selections ability to perform in Connecticut this week.

Group A
Sergio Garcia
Matt Jones
Bubba Watson
Seung-yul Noh

Group B
Zach Johnson
Brandt Snedeker
Billy Horschel
Patrick Rodgers
Nick Watney
Graham DeLaet

Group C
Kevin Na
Patrick Reed
Brendon DeJonge
Branden Grace
John Peterson
Jason Bohn
Justin Thomas
Jim Herman
Sean O'Hair
Chez Reavie
Russell Knox
Morgan Hoffman
Jerry Kelly

Fantasy Golf: U.S. Open

It's the second Major of the year this week as we try and claw back some of last weekends lost momentum. A couple of missed cuts and two withdrawals played havoc with our point scoring ability at the St. Jude Classic last time out. This week at Chambers Bay in Washington we have a ton of the worlds biggest names to choose from, as well as a host of little known amateurs.

Big names such as six-time U.S. Open runner-up Phil Mickelson. Phil is the most selected golfer in Yahoo Fantasy Golf (Group B) at 50%, and the fourth most selected in AVIS PGA Fantasy at 51%. Jordan Spieth is the most selected in AVIS on a whopping 65%. You can only select a golfer three times in that game, so this could well be the last throw of the dice with regards to Spieth for many players. He is the second most selected (Group B) in Yahoo on 47%.

Next up is Rory McIlroy, 58% AVIS, 46% Yahoo. Rory has been very hot and cold lately. His stretch on the European Tour was pretty much a disaster as he missed the cut at both the BMW and the Irish Open. Chambers Bay plays a lot like a British Links course, so the last two winners of The Open Championship, Rory and Phil, should have all the assets in their game to do well here.

Selections as always are divided up by groupings according to Yahoo Fantasy Golf. AVIS picks are shown at the bottom of the post. While in Official PGA Fantasy Golf you can select any combination of four golfers, and their finishing position determines your points.

Group A
Rory McIlroy
Jim Furyk
Luke Donald

Group B
Phil Mickelson
Brandt Snedeker
Dustin Johnson
Jimmy Walker
Justin Rose
Marc Leishman
Billy Horschel
Jordan Spieth
Hideki Matsuyama
Rickie Fowler

Group C
Ryan Moore
Branden Grace
Tony Finau
Francesco Molinari

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf: Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler - Jimmy Walker, Rory McIlroy.

Fantasy Golf: FedEx St. Jude Classic

A successful week last time out for the Notebook as six of the top seven were mentioned (the winner David Lingmerth eluded us!). 164 points in Yahoo Fantasy Golf saw a rather healthy green arrow when the playoff had finished; and in Official PGA Fantasy a final position of joint 5th with 663pts was earned.

The U.S. Open is on the horizon and there are many players teeing up in Tennessee for the St. Jude Classic who will be hoping to gain a last gasp qualification spot. Players such as Harris English, Russell Knox and Padraig Harrington have yet to cement their place for the Major on June 18th.

Crucial this week, for Yahoo players, are the two Group A spots. With only eight players to choose from, a slip up in selection could set your team back in relation to a lot of other players. Do you opt for reliability, Webb Simpson and Brooks Koepka have each only missed one cut in nine tournaments played? Or take a chance on Luke Donald or Seung-Yul Noh who miss the cut in half the tournaments they play? Five and seven missed cuts respectively. Maybe mix and match?

Dustin Johnson is the most selected player in Yahoo Fantasy Golf this week at 55%. He won here in 2012 and with four players to choose in the B Group, he's an easy pick to make. Second most selected is Phil Mickelson on 41%, also in Group B. Looking over at AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf, again Dustin Johnson is by far the most selected on a whopping 64%. Ryan Palmer is second on 52%

Let's take a look at this weeks selections. As usual they are divided up by Yahoo grouping, and at the bottom are the six golfers selected for AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf, of which four starters score points for your team each day.

Group A
Webb Simpson
Matt Every
Ryan Palmer

Group B
Dustin Johnson
Billy Horschel
Chesson Hadley
George McNeill
Brian Harman
Graeme McDowell

Group C
Russell Knox
Camilo Villegas
David Toms
Shawn Stefani
John Merrick
Jason Bohn
Jamie Donaldson
Colt Knost
Will Wilcox
Retief Goosen
Roberto Castro
Blayne Barber
Carl Pettersson

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf: Chesson Hadley, Russell Knox, Dustin Johnson, Billy Horshel - Webb Simpson, George McNeill.

Fantasy Golf: the Memorial Tournament

The PGA Tour swings into Dublin, Ohio and the Jack Niclaus designed Muirfield Village this week. A lot of big names are back in the field, but as last weeks winner Steven Bowditch proved, you can never write off the outsiders. This post is a bit late (sorry) so let's just get straight down to the selections shall we?

A quick look at Yahoo Fantasy Golf shows that Kevin Na and Rickie Fowler are the most selected players. Former winners Rose, Kuchar and Matsuyama are popular selections too. Also, maybe it's time to bring in Tiger Woods from the Fantasy wilderness? He has won here five times, but is he worth taking a chance on this week? We are in week 20 in the Yahoo game, so perhaps consistent players like Spieth are running low on remaining starts. You can only use each player ten times, the same in Official PGA Fantasy Golf. Plus the AVIS game let's you only use each golfer three times, so perhaps Spieth is out of commission for the season for you in that game?

Group A
Bill Haas
Ben Martin
Brooks Koepka
Matt Every
Jim Furyk
Tiger Woods

Group B
Hideki Matsuyama
Justin Rose
Jordan Spieth
Kevin Chappell
Matt Kuchar
Dustin Johnson
Marc Leishman
Daniel Berger
Graham DeLaet

Group C
Russell Henley
Kevin Na
Ryan Moore
Francesco Molinari

AVIS PGA Fantasy Golf selections; Hideki Matsuyama, Bill Haas, Ben Martin, Brooks Koepka - Dustin Johnson, Ryan Moore.

Fantasy Golf: AT&T Byron Nelson Championship

This week the PGA Tour is still in Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Four Seasons in Dallas. The tough par 70 course usually throws up an unexpected winner. Last year saw Brendon Todd win by two strokes, and it is still his only PGA Tour win. People still fancy him to do well this time out as he has been selected by over 17% of teams from players in Yahoo Group C.

Jordan Spieth, unsurprisingly, is the most selected player this week with nearly 47% of teams including him. Spieth is in Yahoo Group B. Just behind him is Group A's Ryan Palmer on 41%. Palmer has only three PGA Tour wins, the last being in 2010, but he did lose a play-off to Keegan Bradley at the Byron Nelson in 2011.

Surprisingly I feel is that former winner Rory Sabbatini is not getting much love this week from those ever fickle selectors! He only finds himself in a little over 1% of teams. When Sabbatini won he shot a -19, the lowest winning score at the Four Seasons. Does he make it into the selections for us this week though? Well, read on.... as usual players are listed according to the groupings of Yahoo Fantasy Golf, in PGA Fantasy you can pick any four players. Avis PGA Fantasy Golf selections are given at the bottom. In the AVIS game you select six golfers, four of which score points for you each day.

The weather can often play havoc in this tournament, so it will pay to keep an eye on what's happening each day and adjust your roster accordingly. Weather reports for the area and tee-times will be your friend this week.

Group A
Ryan Palmer
Brooks Koepka
Matt Jones

Group B
Marc Leishman
Gary Woodland
Brandt Snedeker
Dustin Johnson
Daniel Berger

Group C
Russell Henley
John Huh
Rory Sabbatini
Justin Thomas
Keegan Bradley
Jerry Kelly
Danny Lee
Brendan Steele
Tony Finau
Brendon Todd
Charley Hoffmann
Rod Pampling
Morgan Hoffmann
Jim Herman

AVIS Fantasy Golf selections: Brandt Snedeker, Marc Leishman, Russell Henley, Gary Woodland - John Huh, Tony Finau.

Fantasy Golf: Crowne Plaza Invitational

I hope everyone heeded the advice of the Notebook last week and put Rory McIlroy in their respective fantasy squads. He blew everyone away when winning by seven strokes at the Wells Fargo Championship. All the damage was done on a blistering Saturday score of -11. Patrick Rodgers, who finished tied second, actually out scored McIlroy by two shots over the other three days but couldn't hold a candle to him during the third round.

McIlroy is in Wentworth this week for the European Tour so we will be hoping for a closer tournament this week! But who to pick? Jordan Spieth is a popular selection this week, with 39% of Yahoo players choosing him. The Texan will be eager to get back in the swing of things after a couple of quiet weeks, especially with the U.S. Open coming up next month. Fellow Texan Ryan Palmer should also be a popular choice, currently 28% of players have chosen him out of Yahoo Group A. While this Invitational is in Texas, that doesn't mean a local player will win, but it's better to put a few in your team just to be safe!

This weeks selections include the aforementioned Texans, as well as some previous winners, and some long shots. As usual, picks are divided into groups according to Yahoo, and at the bottom of the page you can see the six players selected for the Avis PGA Fantasy game.

Group A
Ryan Palmer
Adam Scott

Group B
Jimmy Walker
Zach Johnson
Jordan Spieth
Kevin Streelman
Kevin Chappell
Paul Casey
Chris Kirk
Ian Poulter
John Senden
Chris Stroud

Group C
David Toms
Russell Knox
Boo Weekley
Kevin Na
Brendon Todd

Avis Fantasy Golf: Ryan Palmer, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth - David Toms, Kevin Streelman.

Fantasy Golf: Wells Fargo Championship

 

Rickie Fowler surprised most people last week in winning The Players Championship after a three player play-off. Surprised because this is only Fowler's second PGA Tour win. His only other win was in 2012 at the, you guessed it, Wells Fargo Championship. So he should be at the forefront of people's thoughts when it comes to selections this week, but as of today Fowler is only the 24th most selected golfer in Yahoo Fantasy. People are still not convinced by Rickie despite 2014 being his best season on tour with ten top-10s. He is getting more consistent and is surely becoming a sounder option.

 

The Quail Hollow course in North Carolina has traditionally attracted some of the big names on the tour. The roll call of previous winners include, Rory McIlroy, who has one win and one runner-up, Jim Furyk has one win and two second placings, Tiger Woods won here in 2007. This course will also host the PGA Championship in 2017, so a lot of players will hope to test their mettle over the four days on this attack minded course layout. In the past it has rewarded scores with power over accuracy off the tee, so this weeks selections take that into account with a mix of big hitters, in form players and local names.

 

As usual the selections are broken down according to their three groupings in Yahoo Fantasy Golf. Official PGA Fantasy lets you pick any four golfers and you are awarded points only at the end of the tournament. A new game can be played on the Official PGA website and it is run almost like a mix of both the traditional Official game and the Yahoo game. It is sponsored by Avis and in this game you pick six golfers, four of whom score points for you every day based on their performance on each hole. Your two substitute golfers can be swapped in for any upcoming day. Interestingly it seems you will only be allowed use a golfer three times rather than the ten times allowed in both Official and Yahoo games. This will make selections very interesting in future weeks. At the bottom of the page you can see my six selections for the Avis game, the first four names are the golfers that are part of the starting point scoring group.

 

Group A

Rory McIlroy

Bill Haas

Jim Furyk

Webb Simpson

Ben Martin

J.B. Holmes

 

Group B

Phil Mickelson

Daniel Berger

Kevin Kisner

Hideki Matsuyama

Rickie Fowler

 

Group C

Justin Thomas

Jason Kokrak

Sean O'Hair

Patrick Reed

Louis Oosthuizen

D.A. Points

 

AVIS picks: Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger - Jason Kokrak, Bill Haas.

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!

Fantasy Golf: Arnold Palmer Invitational

The Arnold Palmer Invitational used to be dominated by a certain Tiger Woods (remember him?), but he's not around to bother the leaderboard this week. Instead we seem to have a wide open field of golfers gearing up for The Masters in April. But who will come good for us this weekend in Florida from the all important Fantasy perspective?

Last weekends picks started off brilliantly but unfortunately faded over the final two days. Hopefully this weeks players can muster a challenge over all four days of action. Henrik Stenson seems like a lock on most teams this week. It would be foolish to leave him out I feel. As usual, Yahoo Fantasy Golf divides picks into three groups, whereas Official PGA Fantasy Golf simply lets you pick any four golfers (to a maximum of 10 times over the season I must add).

Group A
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy
Harris English
J.B. Holmes
Webb Simpson
Adam Scott

Group B
Rickie Fowler
Jason Day
Vijay Singh
Ian Poulter
Paul Casey

Group C
Kevin Na
Sean O'Hair
Shawn Stefani
Sam Saunders
David Lingmerth

Fantasy Golf: Valspar Championship

More green arrows after last week, as our upward trajectory continues apace with the winner (D. Johnson) of the WGC Cadillac Championship, as well as third and fourth placed finishers. This week the PGA Tour remains in Florida for the Valspar Championship. The Copperhead course is tricky and there are five former winners in the field, but we are only going to put three (Donald, Furyk, Senden) in our side for the upcoming four days of action.

Scores have tended to get higher here over the years as the Valspar Championship has become one of the harder courses on the Tour. A rank outsider coming up and winning would not be unheard of. Here's hoping we have chosen wisely for our main eight selections. Remember, Yahoo Fantasy Golf allows you to pick eight golfers from three groups (four of which score you points everyday), while Official PGA Fantasy Golf only awards points for your golfers finishing position but you can select any four players.

So here are this weeks picks. Good Luck.

Group A
Luke Donald
Jim Furyk
Adam Scott
Henrik Stenson

Group B
John Senden
Brant Snedeker
Lee Westwood
Matt Kuchar
Jeff Overton
Martin Flores
George McNeill

Group C
Brendon de Jonge
Shawn Stefani
Kevin Na
Martin Laird
Ryan Moore
Justin Thomas

Fantasy Golf: WGC Cadillac Championship

A short turnaround this week for some players, as the Honda Classic extended into Monday. Padraig Harrington won that one after a playoff, which ended a seven year wait for a victory for the three-time major winner.

On the Fantasy front it was the player Harrington defeated in last weeks play-off that helped us with those all important upward pointing green arrows. Daniel Berger's final day charge pulled in the maximum points for the low scoring round, as well as the bonus points for finishing the tournament in second place. This meant the week ended on a more acceptable note, rather than the terribly bad one it was looking like at the halfway point.

This week the PGA Tour heads to the Blue Monster at Doral for the World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship in Florida. There are four former winners in the field, including last years victor Patrick Reed. We are going to go with a rather short list this week (two players named last week finished in the top 10 but weren't in eight Yahoo picks), in the hopes a narrower focus will reap more rewards. As per usual the picks are divided up into three groups according to Yahoo Fantasy Golf, but you can select any four golfers you wish for the Official PGA Fantasy Golf game.

Group A
Henrik Stenson
Bubba Watson
Brooks Koepka

Group B
Paul Casey
Dustin Johnson
Hideki Matsuyama
Hunter Mahan
Matt Kuchar
Lee Westwood

Group C
Keegan Bradley
Joost Luiten
Patrick Reed
Branden Grace

Fantasy Golf: The Honda Classic

The PGA Tour heads to the east coast this week for The Honda Classic in Florida. Last years winner Russell Henley will be teeing up again, as well as 2012 champ Rory McIlroy.

In fact the last ten winners will be here again this weekend, but who should you rely on for your fantasy team? Also of note, is that in those last ten years there has only been three American winners.
Rory is the favourite and should be in everyone's fantasy teams this weekend. In Yahoo Fantasy golf 40% of teams have him in their team, mostly paired with Sergio Garcia. If either of these players have a good four days and you don't have them, you could leave yourself with a mountain to climb going into the final four tournament of the winter section (Yahoo).

Last weekend at the Northern Trust Open provided our team with lots of green arrows after a tied second from Dustin Johnson and a tied fourth from Keegan Bradley. Here's hoping we can maintain that upward momentum in Florida. As always picks are divided into groups as per Yahoo, while in Official PGA Fantasy Golf you can choose any four golfers that you want.

Group A
Rory McIlroy
Brookes Koepka
Harris English
Sergio Garcia
Seung-yul Noh
Luke Donald

Group B
Justin Rose
Lee Westwood
Chris Stroud
Daniel Berger
Billy Horschel
Paul Casey

Group C
Keegan Bradley
Boo Weekley
Charl Schwartzel
Erik Compton
Lucas Glover
Shawn Stefani

Fantasy Golf: Northern Trust Open

Last weeks AT&T Pebble Beach had its ups and downs fantasywise. While Snedeker was present and won the tournament, plus J.B. Holmes shot the lowest round on the first and last days, all this was offset by both Group C players missing the cut and a few lacklustre performances on the second and third days. Hopefully the Northern Trust Open will see us start to move further up the leaderboard.

Looking at the field: Dustin Johnson and J.B. Holmes both have four top 10s in the last seven years. While Charl Schwartzel has only been here twice but has finished third and fifth, so perhaps third times the charm? And just to add, this is Fred Couples' 33rd tournament here. For those willing to take a chance, Couples has won twice here and relishes this tournament when in the mood. He has five top 10s in the last 13 years, but he has missed the cut two out of the last three. I would love to see Boom Boom do well here again. But is he worth taking a risk on in this weeks fantasy?

Here are this weeks picks, broken down by group as per Yahoo Fantasy Golf. Any four golfers can be selected in PGA Fantasy.

Group A
Bubba Watson
Harris English
J. B. Holmes
Webb Simpson
Bill Haas

Group B
Dustin Johnson
Nick Watney
Alex Prugh
Marc Leishman
Jimmy Walker
Bernd Wiesberger

Group C
Charl Schwartzel
Keegan Bradley
Fred Couples
Tony Finau
Max Homa