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Welcome back to the start of another PGA Tour season. The Tour Championship wrapped up back in September and thankfully we had the wrap around season to get our daily fantasy golf fix. The talent level of the wrap around tournament fields is definitely not the same as the fields during the regular season but still offered some fantastic golf.
It was a great time to see some of the changes the golfers are making to their games going into a new season and a prime example was watching Adam Scott get acclimated to a conventional putter. The two events I watched were the CIMB Classic and the HSBC Champions. At the CIMB back in late October/Early November, Scott finished 2nd and putted great. His putting average on all four rounds was 1.610 which ranked 5th in the field. He then went on to the HSBC Champions the next week and while he struggled to a 70th place finish, his Putting Average was 1.711 which ranked 23rd in the field. He looked comfortable with the conventional putter and I am not going to factor it in much, if at all this season.
Another positive of the wrap around season is the opportunity to get a close look at some of the new players on tour(rookies) and some of the up and coming stars who are out to prove they belong. The four rookies(Daniel Berger-winner, Tony Finau, Nick Taylor, Justin Thomas) from the 2015 season who were nominees for Rookie of the Year are definitely leading a list of players who are already making an impact on tour. This year provides another strong list of rookies who will look for early success. A few to look out for:
Patton Kizzire
Emiliano Grillo
Smylie Kaufman
It's going to be a fantastic year and it all starts this week with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Maui, Hawaii. It is a small field, 32 man field made up exclusively of winners from the 2015 season. The Plantation Course at Kapalua has been the home of the Tournament of Champions since 1999 and will require a score of around -20 to contend for the title on Sunday. It is a Par 73, 7,452 Yard test that has large fairways and large generous greens. It doesn't play as long it it looks as there are plenty of tee shots that are downhill and the course is full of slope which can create a lot of run out. Driving distance won't be absolutely crucial so when choosing a long hitter be sure to find the ones who are good all around players, especially strong putters. With the large greens the average Greens in Regulation will be higher than normal(80% last year) putting more emphasis on Proximity to the hole and Strokes Gained Putting. Below are a list of all the key stats being used this week on the cheatsheet:
**Stats for the first month of the season will be pulled from the 2015 rankings**
I have spent a ton of time on the cheatsheet the last few weeks and will be implementing some new features and stats throughout the beginning of the season. This week the cheatsheet will feature 12 statistical rankings with the above 5 stats highlighted as most important. I also have an average column for all the stats and a feature stat average as well. Here is a list of everything provided on the cheatsheet :
Now, after that lengthy introduction to the season lets take a look at some core players for this weeks tournament. With the small field this week, I will be highlighting two high end, mid tier, and value plays.
Dustin Johnson
Vegas Odds - 8.5/1
Draftkings - $10,600
Fantasy Feud - $
With Spieth and Day in a tier of their own this week, I will be dipping down to DJ this week. With a small field it is very tough to build a lineup with the top 2 options. Another reason for backing DJ this week is his course history here. He has played here three times and has finished inside the Top 10 each time including a Win in 2013. He also ranks high in all featured statistical categories. He is safe in all formats this week.
Patrick Reed
Vegas Odds - 11/1
Draftkings - $9,900
Fantasy Feud - $
The defending champion is back to defend his title this week and comes in with some decent form. Since the end of the regular 2015 PGA Tour season he has played three European Tour Events(Hong Kong Open-T3, BMW Masters-2nd, DP World Tour Championship-T10) and two official PGA Tour Wrap Around events(CIMB Classic-T10 & WGC-HSBC Champions-T7). He has been a busy man and is clearly focused on improving and getting to that Top 5 in the world that he self proclaimed a couple years ago.
Justin Thomas
Vegas Odds - 26/1
Draftkings - $8,700
Fantasy Feud - $
It was an amazing rookie season on the PGA Tour for Justin Thomas. He played 34 events in 2015 and made 27 cuts including 9 Top 10's and his first win which came at the CIMB Classic and earned him his invite to the Tournament of Champions. He was solid across the board in statistics besides Driving Accuracy, which won't be important this week. At a salary in the mid tier this week he makes a tremendous value for any format.
Jimmy Walker
Vegas Odds - 56/1
Draftkings - $8,000
Fantasy Feud - $
He excels at this time of year and is making his third straight trip to Kapalua for the Tournament of Champions. After a 21st place finish in 2014 he picked up a 2nd last year. He hits the ball long of the tee and excels on Par 5's which Patrick Reed crushed last year on his way to the win. The Proximity is a bit concerning but he more than makes up for it in putting where he ranked 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting last season.
Smylie Kaufman
Vegas Odds - 101/1
Draftkings - $7,000
Fantasy Feud - $
One of the PGA Tour rookies to watch this season. He has played in each of the first 5 events in the Wrap Around portion and made the cut in each tournament including a breakout win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open shooting -16 and closing with 61 on Sunday. He hits the ball a ton and destroys the Par 5's. If he can control the emotions of his first tournament with this many top players and make some putts he could be a tremendous value at $7,000. He provides a nice salary relief in a small field tournament. His stats below are from the 2016 season as he didn't log enough rounds last season to qualify for stats rankings.
Peter Malnati
Vegas Odds - 126/1
Draftkings - $6,900
Fantasy Feud - $
He makes a great GPP play at near minimum price in this small field tournament. Not many know much about this guy(including myself) but he will be much more known very soon. He has been back and forth between the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour the last few years and has claimed this is his second chance to make his dream a reality on tour. Even with the inconsistent game he is one of the best putters out there and it was the short stick that led him to his win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. His stats below are from the 2016 season as he didn't log enough rounds last season to qualify for stats rankings.
Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for The FRYS.com Open? Chris is selling lineups for only $5. He covers DraftKings, Fantasy Feud, and GoDraft. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.
FRYS.com Open
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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