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