02-01-17
Outdoor golf played indoors in the desert this week.
This fella used to play up the street in Tempe and did OK last week.
Yahoo! Fantasy Golf
Last Week: 176
Points: 611
Rank: 7,181
Last Week:
For the second week in a row I couldn’t find somebody to paint a top 10 but timely rounds from Woodland and Holmes on the weekend papered over the disappointment from Matsuyama and Snedeker. It was hard to see Molinari beat both of them each day sat firmly on my bench. #PointsDropped.
The biggest loss on the week was burning a start on Jason Day and getting a whopping six points out of it. The next biggest would have been not finding a spot for Charles Howell, III.
I moved up from the basement to mid-town but there’s still plenty of work left to do.
This Week:
Remember, Yahoo! is a SCORING GAME ONLY.
Nothing else matters.
Hideki Matsuyama has the lowest round on the redesign the last two seasons with 63 in 2015 but with perfect weather, it will be interesting to see how they set it up. Last year, new pin positions were introduced and low scores dried up. I would suggest another year of experimenting with new locations could be on the cards but the buzz associated with 59 might be too great to overcome.
I’m leaning on guys who eat up par fives and have no problem making birdies. Last week, par was a good score. This week, par will be the minimum required to stay within touching distance of the leaders. With great weather forecast, flights and tee times should be of no consequence.
More details in my preview here:
Group A
Starts remaining in parentheses
Brendan Steele (10) — Brimming with confidence after his season opening win and his play is reflecting it.
Patrick Reed (9) — Balance is the name of the game in this group as Reed’s short game is definitely top five in the world!
SUPER SUBS
Gary Woodland: Drove the bus for me in this group last week but I’m leaning on the desert form of Steele instead this week.
Roberto Castro: I’m not sure if he can make enough putts but he’s only MC once in his last 19 starts on Tour. #InsurancePolicy.
Group B
Justin Thomas (9) — If he wins, he’s 20-under or LOWER…
Ryan Moore (10) — Nothing over par here in the last four years.
Hideki Matsuyama (7) — Course record holder on the new design; T4, T-2 and WIN in his last three here.
Bubba Watson (10) — He’s played 10 events here and is 100-under par. Not bad for a guy who hates the design and layout!
SUPER SUBS
I’ll never talk you out of Jordan Spieth. Ever. Russell Knox and Phil Mickelson shouldn’t have problems circling a few birdies. Harris English and Webb Simpson have track records here that deserve attention.
Group C
Jon Rahm (10) — The Hollywood angle is too good to get caught on the wrong side. The ASU alum has seen plenty of this place.
Keegan Bradley (10) — The results over the last six events speak for themselves thanks to fantastic tee-to-green play. If he makes anything this week, look out!
SUPER SUBS
I’ve often referred to Group C as the Rummage Sale of fantasy golf as there is something in here for any theory or style.
I left Bradley down here last week (T-4) and Pat Perez right next to him (T-4)! If you’re going with Rahm, I’d pair him with a solid commodity who will likely make the cut as insurance. Kyle Stanley has been sniffing around lately and Brooks Koepka should bounce back after a short week last week.
“Ned says…”
Ned Brown returns to drop his knowledge in Yahoo! as he did here last year. Ned is a legend in the gaming world and has cleaned up in Yahoo while most of you were in diapers! He’ll share his thoughts and picks here when he wants!
@ESoxGolf
Season Points: 654
Season Rank: 1,532
Last Week: 152
“Tough to get a handle when the Yahoo! site was having troubles so this was put together quicker than I would like.”
–Ned
Group A
Brendan Steele (10) — He has continued his good play from the fall into the new year with a T-6’s at the TOC and CareerBuilder and a T20 at the Farmers. His excellent record here includes three top 10s ( T5 in ’12, T6 in ’13, T6 in ’15) in six career starts.
Shane Lowry (10) — Call this a gut-type of call. Lowry has played ok this year but I was impressed last year how in his first time playing at the WM Phoenix Open he embraced the place and finished T-6.
SUPER ALTERNATES
Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler
Group B
Justin Thomas (8) — He swept both Hawaii tournaments and is averaging 79 points per tournament in this game. Will you get 79 points from him this week? Nope, but he playing out of his mind right now and there is no way that you can fade him.
Jordan Spieth (8) — Thomas has been getting all the headlines but Spieth has been playing well also. He tied for third place at the TOC and finished in solo third place at the Sony despite some issues with his putting. Spieth has only one start here but that was a T-7 in ’15 with a closing 65.
Hideki Matsuyama (8) — He’s finally cooled off a little bit in here but he returns to a course that he kills it. In three starts he has a T-4 in ’14, a T-2 in ’15 and championship last year. Deserves serious consideration in one-and-done.
Ryan Moore (10) — He looked great at the TOC where he tied for third place. His recent record here is very good with a fourth place in ’13, a T-6 in ’14, a T-17 in ’15 and a T-11 last year.
SUPER ALTERNATES
Adam Hadwin, Bubba Watson, Bryce Molder
Group C
Jon Rahm (10) — Won last week and looked good doing it. A lot of players won’t use a player that won the week before but I’ve never had that problem. Rahm played here once in ’15 and tied for fifth place.
Brian Harman (10) — Harman has been on a nice run in here with a T-20 at the Sony, a T-3 at the CareerBuilder and a T-9 last week at the Farmers. His record here is three made cuts in four starts with finishes back in the pack so he all about playing the hot hand.
SUPER ALTERNATES
Pat Perez, J.B. Holmes, Tony Finau
FORE!
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