08-09-17

Quail Hollow will drop a par five and add a couple of hundred yards as it hosts the PGA Championship for the first time.

Throw in some thunderstorms and the world’s best 100 or so golfers and we’ll have a party on our hands.

Yahoo! Fantasy Golf

 

@MikeGlasscott

 

WGC-BI: 182

 

Summer Points: 1,103

Summer Rank: 8,526

 

Spring Points: 1,631

Spring Rank: 1,911

 

Winter Points: 1,768

Winter Rank: 2,587

 

Season Points: 4,502

Season Rank: 1,027

 

Last Time:

All four rounds from Rory McIlroy in Group A was a winner three of four rounds but no bonus points doesn’t help. I didn’t was a start on Dustin Johnson (3) so I have that going for me, which is nice.

All four rounds from Hideki Matsuyama led the charge in Group B. I panicked and played Spieth after his opening round 67. He managed to lose to Paul Casey the next three rounds. I lost a Spieth start and plenty of points as well.

The bad news in Group C was I played Brooks Koepka all four rounds. The good news is I didn’t play Rafael Cabrera Bello at all. Woof.

This Week:

Remember, Yahoo! is a SCORING GAME ONLY.

Nothing else matters.

Six events left so be aware of that.

Quail Hollow has given up 61 and 62 previously and both were to Rory McIlroy.

With three par fives, a drivable par four and wet conditions, guys who can bomb it should feature.

There is nothing short about this track but the upgraded bunkers and trimmed trees should help bring some risk-reward to the proceedings. If it’s wet, there should be some low ones posted during the week.

More detailed explanations can be found in my preview here.

 

Group A

Starts remaining in parentheses

Rory McIlroy (6): I played him all four rounds last week and I would expect nothing less than that again this week. If you’re unaware of McIlroy’s history on this course or in the PGA Championship you’re probably not reading this.

Rickie Fowler (1): I’d prefer to hang on to him for another week (see: TPC Boston) but the reason I will be playing him is that he’s on the first page of the leaderboard or McIlroy MC.

SUPER SUBS

Dustin Johnson, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott

I wouldn’t be surprised if the winner came from this group.

 

Group B

Jordan Spieth (1): He’s won back-to-back majors before. He’s embraced history before. Remember, you don’t have to start him or even play him.

Hideki Matsuyama (1): After his 61 on Sunday last week I would suggest he will be the most used golfer in Group B this week. He claimed on television last Sunday that he doesn’t play Quail Hollow well but 10 of his 12 rounds are par or better. His current form, power and ball-striking was enough for me!

Phil Mickelson (6): He’s done everything but win here including NOYNE top 10’s from 13 starts. Giddy up course horse!

Paul Casey (4): He’s been absolutely solid for three consecutive months. I wrote that last week. He finished T-5. No reason to alter this one bit.

SUPER SUBS

Charley Hoffman (might swap for Mickelson last minute #torn), Justin Thomas

 

Group C

Brooks Koepka (4): Not many hotter and his last two outings have been in major championships so no adjustment needed.

Jon Rahm (2): Ok, I’ll bite. His ball-striking numbers won me over even though his majors results this year have been poor. It will come down to him or Daniel Berger at the 11th hour.

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.

Tony Finau won’t have any trouble getting it around 7,600 yards.

Xander Schauffele has been ridiculous for almost two consecutive months.

Henrik Stenson’s current form should trump his terrible Quail Hollow form.

Remember, I reserve the right to change my lineup if weather, injury or whatever else pops up at the last minute.

 

“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

 

WGC-BI: 154

 

Summer Points: 1,132

Summer Rank: 4,722

 

Spring Points: 1,625

Spring Rank: 3,611

 

Winter Points: 1,871

Winter Rank: 140

 

Season Points: 4,628

Season Rank: 139

 

“Ned says…

Last week was working great.

I moved up the ranking back up to number 80, but then Hideki went nuts on a course that he has never done well at before with a brand new putter.

The result was I saved a start on him, but tumbled down the rankings on Sunday evening.

He’ll be in the lineup this week.”

 

Group A

Rickie Fowler (4) — He has been playing some very good golf this summer with five top 10s in his last seven starts. He won the Wells Fargo Championship on this course in ’12 and he finished T-4 here last year.

Rory McIlroy (5) — After really struggling, McIlroy is playing better his last couple of starts with a T-4 at the Open Championship and a T-5 last week at the WGC-BI. He has a very strong record here with top 10s in six of his last seven starts here.

SUPER SUBS

Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Branden Grace

 

Group B

Jordan Spieth (1) — Well it was bound to happen. After capturing the Travelers and the Open Championship Spieth faded on the weekend last week at the WGC-BI and finished in a tie for 13th place. Considering the course is going to play long this week due to the wet conditions some might fade him, but he still is a very hot player and a career Grand Slam is on the line. I’ll have him on the roster, but will try to hide him on the bench.

Hideki Matsuyama (4) — His history last week said to sit him last week, but he is one of those players that gets on a hot streak and can overcome his poor course history. He won last week with a brand new Taylor Made putter last week and there was a picture of him on Twitter this week of him playing around with different new Scotty Cameron putter. I guess when you are this hot you can do stuff like that.

Justin Rose (3) — I really thought Rose set up pretty well in here, so his T-54 at the Open and T-63 at the WGC-BI have disappointed. As I printed up the past Wells Fargo Championships at Quall Hallow, I was struck at Rose’s fifth place in ’14 and third place in ’16. So I’m going to roll with him based on his past history here.

Paul Casey (6) — This pick really comes down to Phil Mickelson vs. Paul Casey. Mickelson isn’t playing well right now, but has a very good history at Quall Hallow, where Casey is in very good form right now. Since I went with course history in picking Rose, I’ll go with form in this pick with Casey.

SUPER SUBS

Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Justin Thomas, Charley Hoffman

 

Group C

Jon Rahm (2) — This entire group has given me a headache since I started to consider it. There are quite a few solid picks but none of them stand out. When this happens, I find the best thing to do is to pick from the top of the list because these guys have played the best throughout the entire year. Rahm is at the top of the list. He dominated at the Irish Open but has been a little inconsistent his last two starts with a T-44 at the Open and T-28 at the WGC-BI.

Henrik Stenson (7) — Normally, I would be taking Sergio Garcia and making it a Spanish duo, but he has been off before and after his recent marriage. After taking Rahm, I’m looking for a veteran and Stenson fits that bill. After playing poorly most of the season, he has found some form recently, with a T-11 at the Open Championship and a T-17 at the WGC-BI.

SUPER SUBS

Daniel Berger, Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia, Tommy Fleetwood

 

FORE!

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