Another golf tournament in the books, another W for Mr. Jordan Spieth. Let me know if any of you are surprised, I’ll wait…. But seriously, how great is it to have PGA fantasy golf back in our lives?
This week, we will stay in Hawaii for the Sony Open held at Waialae Country Club. This is a short par 70 course that measures just over 7,000 yards. Putting is once again going to be one of the main indicators of success for this week. Along with strong putters, we need to look at Par 4 and Par 3 Scoring as those will also be very important when constructing your roster this week. If you are looking for a DFS PGA primer with the latest news and trends for all of the major golfers check out the preview we posted earlier this week.
KEY STATS:
SG:Putting
Par 4 Scoring
Birdie or Better %
Par 3 Scoring
As always, SG:T2G, SG:Putting, and Course History will all be sprinkled in to help us figure out which golfers to target from week to week.
$TUD PLAYS:
Jimmy Walker $12,200
Odds To Win: 15-1
Expected Ownership: King Chalk
This is one of the times where you shouldn’t try to get too cute. Jimmy Walker is an obvious favorite for this event as he has won this tournament both times in the past two seasons. For whatever reason, he always shows up in Hawaii events and continued that narrative with a T10 last week at the TOC even with a meh performance on Sunday. His putting should keep him in the mix this weekend so if you can afford him, I highly suggest you get some exposure in both cash and GPPs.
Zach Johnson $11,300
Odds To Win: 20-1
Expected Ownership: 12%
I plan on targeting ZJ pretty heavily this week for a couple of reasons. First, his price is expensive so that will turn off many people. For those that are willing to pay that much, they will most likely move to Matt Kuchar who is $200 more or Brandt Snedeker who is $400 less and is coming off a big week. This should keep ZJ’s ownership below 15% in GPPs and I wouldn’t be super shocked to see it around 10% even making him an excellent pivot play. Aside from that, he sets up really well for this course (former winner). Johnson isn’t the greatest of putters but we all know that he has the capability to get hot from time to time. He is also excellent with Par 4 holes as he is ranked in the top 25 in Par 4 Scoring and 4th in Par 4 Birdie or Better %.
Russell Henley $10,300
Odds To Win: 30-1
Expected Ownership: 20%
Every event where putting is a key indicator of success and Russell Henley is playing in that event, you roster him period. Henley is arguably one of the best putters on Tour and I would put him up against almost any golfer not named Spieth when it comes to putting. Henley ranks in the top 25 this season in SG:Putting and Par 4 Scoring. He is coming off back to back top 10s during the fall swing. Not to mention he won this event before the back to back Jimmy Walker titles. All the Henley this week!
VALUE PLAYS:
Will Wilcox $9000
Odds To Win: 50-1
Expected Ownership: 15%
There isn’t many bad things you can say about Will Wilcox. The guy is the definition of swag with his yellow ball and twitter interaction with fans. Not to mention, he is also an insanely good golfer. Wilcox is solid across the board in this week’s key stat categories although his putting is at sometimes inconsistent. That being said, it is only a matter of time before he has a strong Sunday and takes home a W on Tour. Wilcox had two top 20s during the fall swing and had a T8 here at Waialae in 2014.
Tony Finau $8300
Odds To Win: 50-1
Expected Ownership: 12%
If you are an avid golf fan or if you played PGA DFS last season, then you already know how much of a stud Tony Finau is. He had a ridiculous rookie season in 2015, notching 16 top 25s to go along with a cool 5 top 10 finishes. He is obviously a bomber which really doesn’t help a whole lot this week but he is also an excellent putter and has the ability to string together plenty of birdies. Finau is coming off two top 20s during the fall swing and will look to keep the momentum moving forward this week. Make sure he is on your radar!
Johnson Wagner $7100
Odds To Win: 90-1
Expected Ownership: 7%
Wagner won this event in 2012 and it’s fairly easy to see why as he sets up very nicely this week. Wagner is ranked 30th in SG:Putting this season so if the putter stays on, watch out! He is one of the best Par 3 scorers on Tour so that should benefit him this week with the four Par 3 holes at Waialae. He is coming off two top 15s during the fall swing and is a good bet to make the cut this week. His price is simply too cheap to pass up especially if you want to pay up for guys like Walker and Henley this week.
PUNT PLAY:
Chez Reavie $6100
Odds To Win: 180-1
Expected Ownership: 3.5%
If you’re looking for a punt play around 6k, then you have quite a few intriguing options this week. That being said, it is difficult to find one better than Chez Reavie. Reavie is one of the more accurate guys on Tour and very solid from tee to green as he ranks 45th this season. Reavie is a cut maker and he has had multiple top 30s at this event and most recently a T26 last year.
Guys I’m Fading: Adam Scott, Harris English, G. McDUD, Daniel Berger
My Winner: If I was expecting more wind, I would probably say Jimmy but I have to go with my boy Henley this week. Bring it home Russell!
Best of luck (skill) this week, now show me the money honey!!!!!
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