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Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational? Chris is selling lineups plus a cheatsheet for only $5. He covers 3 DraftKings, 1 Victiv and 1 Fantasy Feud lineup. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.
Firestone Country Club(South Course) - Akron, OH
Par 70, 7,400 Yards Yards
This week the PGA Tour will head to the Firestone Country Club for the World Golf Championship - Bridgestone Invitational. The top 70 golfers in the world plus invites will compete against one another for a shot at winning a WGC event that Tiger Woods has dominated over the years. The players won't have to worry about Tiger this year as he will not be playing. Forget about Tiger, there are so many golfers under 30 years old right now who are competing week in and week out. It makes for exciting golf and great finishes almost ever tournament. Before this year I have never paid this much attention to every tournament each week as I have this year now that I am writing about it. This is due to the massively growing DFS industry. It is a great time to be a golf and sports fan in general. Ok, on to the course this week.
Firestone Country Club has been home to the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 16 of the 17 years it has been around. The course was opened in 1929 and designed by Bert Way. It was redesigned in 1959 by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and became the course it is today with the help of some Jack Nicklaus tweaks along the way. The course is a Par 70, 7400 yard test for the golfers. It has two Par 5's(526/667 yards), four Par 3's(200/219/180/221 Yards) and 12 Par 4's(Between 399 & 394 Yards). To make it to the top of the leaderboard the players will have to excel on the Par 4 holes. With 8 of the 12 Par 4's 442+ Yards, driving distance will be a factor to have a decent approach at the greens. Not only is distance important, but accuracy will be as well with the rough not as friendly as most and will definitely penalize those who land in there on their first shot. With the greens being very fast not only will Greens in Regulation be important but Proximity as well. You will want to be as close as possible to the pin to get a decent birdie opportunity. For those who miss the fairway or greens, Scrambling ability will be key to avoid the Bogeys or worse. As always I will look closely at Strokes Gained Tee to Green and Putting. Below are a list of all the stats I am using in my cheatsheet this week:
Jordan Spieth
Vegas Odds - 5.5/1
Draftkings - $12,500
Victiv - $12,100
Fantasy Feud - $194,000
The most expensive golfer on all sites and the favorite in Vegas to win this week. Why not? He is the hottest player on the planet and if not for an odd amount of 3 putts at St. Andrews he would be coming in with 3 majors this year. He will be looking to win his first WGC event this week and has the game to do it. Yes, he only finished 49th last year but he is a way more mature and a much more polished golfer this year. I mean, look at his stats and he is near the top on almost everything. One thing I noticed when looking at par 4 performance was that Jordan is -56 on on Par 4 holes. The next closest is Matsuyama at -36 and there is only 22 golfers on Tour below par. Get him in your lineups!
Rickie Fowler
Vegas Odds - 17/1
Draftkings - $10,500
Victiv - $11,000
Fantasy Feud - $165,000
For me this week it was DJ or Rickie and I chose the golfer with the best current form. Rickie is coming in hot after posting a win and a runner up in the last 3 tournaments. He came on strong on the back 9 on Sunday to come close to another win but had too much to make up after a slow start to the day. He finished 8th here last year and has three top 21 finishes in his previous five trips to Firestone. The other thing that swayed me in Fowlers direction was that he is not only a longer hitter but is accurate as well.
Henrik Stenson
Vegas Odds - 23/1
Draftkings - $9,900
Victiv - $9,800
Fantasy Feud - $137,000
He comes in under the $10K mark this week and in my eyes is a huge value. In his last two years here at Firestone he has a 19th and a 2nd place finish. He is coming into this tournament having not missed a cut on the PGA Tour all season. Then there is his stats. He also hits it long, is very accurate off the tee, crushes Par 4's and is a terrific putter. A combination that will have me playing him in all formats this week.
Hideki Matsuyama
Vegas Odds - 29/1
Draftkings - $9,400
Victiv - $8,300
Fantasy Feud - $129,000
If you are looking for someone that checks every box, Matsuyama is your guy this week. In his previous five tournaments this year he has not finished outside the top 20. He has played Firestone in each of the last two years and has a 12th and 21st place finish. When looking at his stats, the only stat he isn't elite in is putting. It is his weakness and the reason he doesn't have more wins. If he can put together four consistent rounds putting he will be there on Sunday.
Keegan Bradley
Vegas Odds - 41/1
Draftkings - $8,800
Victiv - $6,200
Fantasy Feud - $107,000
He is on my radar, and probably everyone else's, for a few reasons. First of all, he kills it here. In his previous four tournaments at Firestone he has a 4th, 2nd, 1st, and 15th place finish which is an average 5.5 finish. He missed his most recent cut which was only his third missed cut of the year. He is elite in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, Driving Distance and Accuracy. If he can hit some greens in Regulation and putt just above average he will again have a shot at winning.
Paul Casey
Vegas Odds - 51/1
Draftkings - $8,000
Victiv - $6,900
Fantasy Feud - $90,000
He hasn't been at top form recently and only played this tournament in 3 of the last 5 years so I will be reserving him for GPP only. I am thinking he will be lower owned than some this week with his less than ideal form so it makes a good time to jump on board. He is elite in 5 of the 7 stats I am using with his weakness being the flat stick. If he can hit it close this week he won't have to rely on the long putts and will lead him to the promise land.
Billy Horschel
Vegas Odds - 81/1
Draftkings - $7,700
Victiv - $5,900
Fantasy Feud - $86,000
If you are looking for a solid cash play this week Horschel fits the bill. He has made 10 straight cuts on the PGA Tour with only two finishes outside of 30th. Combine that consistency with the fact he is under $8,000 and you have a great cash play. He is elite in Driving Distance, Driving Accuracy, and Putting.
Francesco Molinari
Vegas Odds - 81/1
Draftkings - $7,700
Victiv - $5,900
Fantasy Feud - $41,000
Another solid choice for cash game this week, Molinari checks off a lot of boxes. He hasn't missed a cut on the PGA Tour since March. He has played the Bridgestone Invitational in each of the last 5 years and has a 33.8 average finish. He won't kill you in cash but lacks the upside for GPP play. He is #1 on tour when looking at Driving Accuracy, which makes up for his lack of distance. He is also elite in Proximity and Par 4 Performance. His best bang for the buck is on Fantasy Feud this week.
Brendon Todd
Vegas Odds - 81/1
Draftkings - $7,600
Victiv - $5,900
Fantasy Feud - $63,000
Much like Molinari, Todd has been consistent as of late missing only 2 cuts since the middle of June. The difference in the two is that Todd, in his last 5 tournaments, has four top 20's and a top 10 finish. He has the upside you are looking for in GPP and the savings is incredible. He is elite in 6 of 7 stats which should help him make a move towards the top of the leaderboard this week.
Webb Simpson
Vegas Odds - 91/1
Draftkings - $7,400
Victiv - $5,800
Fantasy Feud - $60,000
Webb comes in near the bottom of the salaries this week with a small field full of elite players. In his last two starts here he has a 31st(2014) and a 14th(2013) place finish. He has been up and down lately with his form so I will be using him in GPP only this week but when looking at his stats, he has a lot of upside. He is 9th tee green, 20 in Driving Accuracy, and 28th in Proximity. A nice recipe for success at Firestone Country Club.
Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational? Chris is selling lineups plus a cheatsheet for only $5. He covers DraftKings, Victiv and Fantasy Feud. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.
Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.
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View Comments
Your pricing seems to be off on some of the guys for this week... Looks like you have some old pricing numbers in there from the previous weeks tourney on your paid cheat sheet. FYI (Web Simpson $7100 should be &7400). Just made me think if some of these stats were tied into last weeks tourney as well.
You're probably right!! I was stupid and purchased the cheat sheet on my iphone and can't get into it to print it out on my laptop! Tries to charge me again. I'm not going all of the way with his picks just comparing many to get a happy medium. Wins better!!