Daily Fantasy Golf Tips
Tiger Woods showed that he can still perform at a high level by winning last week’s ZoZo Championship in Japan with a score of -19, 3 strokes clear of hometown hero Hideki Matsuyama. The PGA Tour remains out east this week and heads to Shanghai, China, for the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions where players will compete for $10.25M USD in prize money.
78 players are set to do battle at the tournament in China this week, and we will again have a no-cut line set up so it’s another great week to take big chances with your 6-player lineups as each one will have 432 holes played excluding withdrawal situations of course. Last week saw Graeme McDowell and Nate Lashley bow out of the ZoZo Championship, so it’s possible we will see more of that activity this week as well.
Sheshan International Golf Course is the host track for this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event – it’s 7,261 yards in length, a par 72, and it’s another bentgrass green course for the third straight week on the PGA Tour. This elite tournament has been played on this course in 13 of the last 14 years. Some of the key stats to take into consideration this week are Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, Strokes Gained: Approach, Birdies or Better Gained, Scrambling Gained, and Strokes Gained: Par 5’s
Onward to my picks for this week – my top 10 players to pay a high price for are included and 5 value picks (all 15 players are in no particular order), plus I include player salaries for both DraftKings and FanDuel.
10 Players Who Are Worth Paying Up For This Week
Tommy Fleetwood (Salary: DraftKings – $9,900, FanDuel – $10,900) – Between the end of last month and up until now he has a 5th, a 20th, and a 22nd which came last week in Japan when he went 67-67 in his final two rounds. Had a 7th here last year, a 20th in 2017, and has other years of good scores and finishes too.
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $11,700, FanDuel – $12,400) – Is coming off a strong 3rd place performance at the ZoZo Championship where he went 65-63-67 in his final three rounds. Has a strong track record at this event after earning a 4th in 2016, an 11th in 2015, and a 6th in 2013.
Sungjae Im (Salary: DraftKings – $9,500, FanDuel – $10,500) – Im has already competed in five events this season and has a 2nd and 3rd, the latter of the two came last week in Japan. Last season’s rookie of the year is making his WGC-HSBC Champions debut and should fare quite well despite his lack of experience on this track.
Hideki Matsuyama (Salary: DraftKings – $11,100, FanDuel – $11,400) – Is certainly trending in the right direction as over his last three starts as he has a 16th, a 3rd, and had a runner up finish last week. Matsuyama won this tournament in 2016, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if he won this week again given his talent, recent results, and having a win on this course.
Patrick Reed (Salary: DraftKings – $9,600, FanDuel – $10,700) – Is fresh off a 17th place result last week in Japan, and had a 4th and a 15th last month on the European Tour. Was 7th here last year, 7th in 2015, and has other years of experience at this tournament with decent results. You may not like him, but he puts up the birdies and fantasy points.
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $10,800, FanDuel – $11,300) – Is the defending champion at this event after putting up a score of -14 last year, and this year marks his third appearance in China at the tournament. Secured a 10th last week in Japan in what was his first start on the PGA Tour this season, and I expect another top 10 finish this week as well.
Justin Rose (Salary: DraftKings – $10,500, FanDuel – $11,200) – Is making his season debut but don’t let that stop you from taking Rose this week as he’s an all-world talent. Was 3rd here last year, he won in 2017 and was 5th in 2013.
Byeong Hun An (Salary: DraftKings – $9,100, FanDuel – $10,000) – Already has a 3rd, 6th, and an 8th for results this season in 6 starts – the 8th coming last week in Japan when he went off for a -10 in his final three rounds after going even par in his opening round. He had a 19th in 2015 and has three years of experience at this tournament.
Billy Horschel (Salary: DraftKings – $8,900, FanDuel – $10,200) – Is coming into this week hot as he went 68-67-64-70 last week in Japan to earn a 6th. He was 11th here last year, and I expect a similar finish this week for Billy Ho.
Paul Casey (Salary: DraftKings – $10,000, FanDuel – $11,100) – Made his season debut last week and had a respectable 17th place finish with consistent play as all of his rounds were under 70. Was 16th here last year, 11th in 2017, 12th in 2016, and has other solid finishes at this event as well.
5 Good Value Pickups
Adam Hadwin (Salary: DraftKings – $7,500, FanDuel – $8,800) – Started the season off with sizzling results earning a 2nd and a 4th only to come back down to earth last week with a 41st. His salaries dropped a lot as a result and I think it’s a good time to take advantage of that. Hadwin manufactured a 30th here last year and I see an improvement on this finish this week.
J.T. Poston (Salary: DraftKings – $6,700, FanDuel – $7,900) – Opened the season with an 11th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and was 27th last week at the ZoZo Championship with a 65 coming in round two. Is making his tournament debut in China but I like the value he brings to the table.
Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Salary: DraftKings – $6,600, FanDuel – $7,900) – Is mostly a European Tour player and the France-born man is a darn good one at that. Since last month he has a 6th, a 10th, 37th, 15th, and was 40th most recently at the Italian Open. I expect the WGC-HSBC Champions rookie to put up some great scores this week in China.
Kevin Tway (Salary: DraftKings – $6,400, FanDuel – $7,800) – Is a steady player earning a 29th, 46th, and a 37th over his past three starts. Will be looking for a better than average result in his first appearance in China.
Xinjun Zhang (Salary: DraftKings – $6,900, FanDuel – $8,000) – I wanted to get a Chinese player in my value player list and I believe the best option is Zhang as he’s playing some very good golf these days. In his last three starts on the PGA Tour, he has a 7th, a 16th, and a 4th came in his most recent start at the Houston Open. Has played in this tournament the last four years and his best finish came in 2016 when he took home 21st, but all signs point to his best finish yet coming this week.
Build some strong lineups and enjoy the action from China, and all the best with getting some of your lineups into the cash this week!
Recapping my 15 pick’s finishes from last week
My Top Picks
- Justin Thomas – T17th
- Rory McIlroy – T3rd
- Xander Schauffele – T10th
- Joaquin Niemann – T33rd
- Hideki Matsuyama – 2nd
- Paul Casey – T17th
- Gary Woodland – 5th
- Sungjae Im – T3rd
- Tommy Fleetwood – T22nd
- Viktor Hovland – T41st
My Value Picks
- Ryan Palmer – T10th
- Corey Conners – T6th
- Rory Sabbatini – T33rd
- Ian Poulter – T13th
- Si Woo Kim – T37th
