As ever when there is a PGA Tour golf event on our fantasy partners at Draftkings put up decent prize pools for their fantasy games and this week is no different. This week the tournament in question is the WGC HSBC Champions and with some good prizes on offer we’ll certainly be putting some line ups into battle. Here is our advice on who to pick and who not to pick.
Once again the beauty of this tournament is that the field is a select one and there isn’t a cut so we know the six men we pick in our teams will get to play the entire four rounds which means we can concentrate on high point scorers without worrying about the threat of them not making the cut.
It is quite early on the PGA Tour this season so it is hard to use statistics at the minute but credentials we are looking for in our picks are as follows:
- Ball striking
- Fairways hit
- Greens in regulation
As ever we will go through the players in three group but just like last week the bottom group of players is a pool which isn’t that deep so there won’t be as many picks from there.
Star Men
This group is of players who cost more than $8,000. This is a fairly big group this week albeit not quite as big as last week.
MAIN PICK – Hideki Matsuyama $10,000
The Japanese star heads into this event with form figures of 1-2 in the last two weeks so we know he is full of confidence and we expect him to go well here too. Tee to green there aren’t many in the game more reliable than Matsuyama and with the short stick in good touch we’re expecting the man from Japan to pile up the points.
PICK – Sergio Garcia $9,100
After having last week to blow away the cobwebs after the Ryder Cup we are expecting Sergio Garcia to deliver a big run. That match against Mickelson in Minnesota should have done wonders for the Spaniard’s confidence and given the strength of his game from tee to green we expect a big return from Garcia here.
PICK – Martin Kaymer $8,700
We’ve already mentioned Kaymer in our tournament betting preview and he is such a good fit on this golf course that we have to find a place for him in our teams this week. Kaymer is hitting the ball well, he has a wonderful record on this course and he raises his game for the big events. Perfect for us and a more than acceptable price too.
PICK – Francesco Molinari $8,300
The Italian arrives in China in good form having won in Italy last month and having previously won around this golf course the mix of confidence and course knowledge is a good one. Molinari is relentlessly straight off the tee and we know these greens suit him after his win here. He should clock up some big points.
AVOID – Bubba Watson $8,800
Watson hasn’t been seen since missing out on the Ryder Cup side and although he is a former winner around here the course set up was different that week hence his winning score being much higher than the others. Quite simply there isn’t a part of Watson’s game which is impressing us right now and at this price we need something to cling to. It isn’t there so he’s not for us.
AVOID – Rickie Fowler $8,400
Is Fowler’s game really in good shape at the minute? We’re not sure and when we are spending this sort of cash from our salary cap we want to know we’re getting some top form. You would think Fowler will make plenty of birdies but there could be plenty of big scores mixed in too. On value grounds he isn’t for us.
Mid-Range Players
This section is for those golfers who cost between $6,600 and $8,000 inclusively. This is a large group of players this week.
PICK – Alex Noren $8,000
Can you afford to leave the winning machine out of any team right now? We don’t think so and even at $8,000 we are going to find some way of getting him in our teams. Noren is hitting the ball so nicely at the minute and is putting brilliantly and that is a combination that usually leads to high scoring.
PICK – Matt Kuchar $7,900
This one is a fairly obvious pick. Absolute monster from tee to green and by no means shabby when he gets on the dance floor either. His profile is almost perfect for this course and at less than $8,000 he’s very much on our radar despite him likely to be a popular pick.
PICK – Ross Fisher $7,800
Ross Fisher has made no secret of the fact he likes this golf course and that it suits his eye and with two runner up finishes prior to the British Masters we know he heads to his favourite course in good form. He has been beaten in a playoff here and finished third and another strong week would be no surprise.
PICK – Andrew Johnston $7,500
You could argue that given his inexperience at this level that Beef is a little expensive this week but he’s in decent form and whenever fairways and greens are the order of the day he is usually a good fit. He might not have the camaraderie with these crowds that he has with others but with him being on the PGA Tour this season this is a big event for him in a number of ways and that just about convinces me that he is worth picking.
PICK – Alex Levy $7,300
Another one who we’ve flagged up in our betting preview but it really is a no brainer not to include him given his immaculate record in China. With no cut and a golf course which should suit his strengths the birdies should really flow from the Frenchman. Three of his last four tournaments have yielded in excess of 95pts and that’s a run we want to ride this week.
AVOID – Danny Willett $8,000
Willett went well around here last year but his game just looks to be in a little slump at the minute. He was ordinary at the Ryder Cup and never really featured in the Dunhill Links either and pulled out of the British Masters at the last minute with a back injury. These are all factors which make us look elsewhere this week.
AVOID – Branden Grace $7,500
The South African will come good at some point but when he isn’t getting the job done from tee to green it might not be this week. A drop down in grade on a couple of the South African events to come could be the order of the day for the former Dunhill Links champion but in this company we prefer others at this sort of price.
AVOID – Shane Lowry $6,700
I saw Shane Lowry on the final day of the British Masters and none of his game looked great that day. He is a former WGC champion out in America but he isn’t the tee to green monster that we know he can be at the minute. His putting has been an issue for a while too. Go with others this week.
Bottom End Players
We go through the players rated $6,500 and less in this section. As mentioned earlier this isn’t the biggest group this week.
PICK – Joost Luiten $6,400
The Dutchman should still be buzzing from winning his home title last month but this is a course which should suit him given the necessity to keep it in play off the tee. Luiten might not run up the birdies like some but he won’t make many mistakes either and that should see him to a score more than worthy of the price we’re paying.
PICK – Jeunghun Wang $5,800
It is fair to say that Wang didn’t have the CIMB Classic he would have liked last week but he remains a solid player with a dream of a golf swing and if you need a cheap option to balance out the more expensive picks then he should pick up a solid total for not much of a price.
AVOID – Nathan Holman $5,700
Easy one to pick out but the Australian’s form has completely left him and it is a long time ago that he won the Australian PGA Championship. He has missed eight of his last nine cuts in Europe and even with no cut this week that isn’t form that inspires us to take him even though he is this cheap.
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