10-18-17

Week two of a three-week Asian jaunt finds the Tour at a brand-new event on a course that hasn’t been seen by many.

It also finds 78 players lining up for a shot to claim $9.25 million, one of the biggest prize pools in the history of the Tour.

Interesting angles and theories this week to say the least! Is it time to pull the trigger on this guy?

One-and-done

Each week I painfully writhe and wretch trying to figure out the proper strategy to find a player that will hit the top 10. Wins are great but aren’t likely, so I’m satisfied with having a chance to hit the big money. Missed cuts are absolutely the death in this game, but even the surest of things don’t always happen in the reality world of fantasy golf.

Remember, fade or follow, it’s up to you.

Gamers who are new to OAD must remember that the most lucrative purses, the majors, WGC events, THE PLAYERS and FedExCup Playoffs, are down the road and you’ll need to save some big boys for these events, all 12 of them.

But this year, we have another event to add to this list: CJ CUP AT NINE BRIDGES.

What?

Yep.

$9.25 million purse and a winner’s check that pays more than last year’s Tour Championship.

Pay attention, it’s free.

 

History Channeled:

2015-16 Season total: $5,978,929; 47 events

• Wins: 2 (Matsuyama, Hoffman)
• Seconds: 0
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 9
• Top 25s: 18
• MC: 8 (Mickelson, FIO; Oosthuizen, SHO; Chappell, Colonial; Casey, Memorial; Woodland, FESJC; Hearn, RBC Canadian; McGirt, Wyndham; Justin Thomas, DBC)

 

2016-17 Season total: $6,533,509 45 events

• Wins: 1
• Seconds: 1
• Thirds: 1
• Top 10s: 12
• Top 25s: 20
• MCs (10): Grayson Murray (Safeway Open); Patton Kizzire (SFC); Jamie Lovemark (CB Challenge); Jimmy Walker (FIO); Charl Schwartzel (Genesis); Russell Knox (Honda); Henrik Stenson (API); Thomas Pieters (Zurich); Kevin Kisner (WFC).

 

Event	Golfer	Place	Money
Safeway Open	Grayson Murray	MC	$0
CIMB Classic	Hideki Matsuyama	T-2	$756,000
WGC-HSBC Champions	Martin Kaymer	T-40	$62,000
Sanderson Farms	Patton Kizzire	MC	$0
Shriners	Chris Kirk	T-61	$14,190
OHL Mayakoba	Emiliano Grillo	T-10	$175,000
RSM Classic	Russell Henley	T-10	$150,000
SBS TOC	Brandt Snedeker	T-14	$122,000
Sony Open	Charles Howell, III	T-8	$180,000
CB Challenge	Jamie Lovemark	MC	$0
Farmers Insurance	Jimmy Walker	MC	$0
WMPO	Brendan Steele	T-16	$90,952
AT&T Pebble Beach	Phil Mickelson	65th	$15,120
Genesis Open	Charl Schwartzel	MC	$0
Honda Classic	Russell Knox	MC	$0
WGC-MC	Justin Rose	T-38	$64,000
Valspar	Bill Haas	T-41	$21,451
Arnold Palmer	Henrik Stenson	MC	$0
Puerto Rico Open	Luke List	T-37	$12,900
WGC-Match Play	Rory McIlroy	T-30	$74,000
Shell Houston Open	Jon Rahm	T-10	$182,000
Masters	Jordan Spieth	T-11	$223,200
RBC Heritage	Matt Kuchar	T-11	$114,045
Valero Texas Open	Charley Hoffman	T-40	$21,727
Zurich Classic	Thomas Pieters	MC	$0
Wells Fargo	Kevin Kisner	MC	$0
THE PLAYERS	Sergio Garcia	T-30	$65,205
AT&T Byron Nelson	Brooks Koepka	T-50	$18,090
DEAN & DELUCA	Bud Cauley	T-41	$24,050
Memorial	Dustin Johnson	MC	$0
FedEx St. Jude Classic	Billy Horschel	T-4	$252,000
U.S. Open	Rickie Fowler	T-4	$420,334
Travelers	Paul Casey	T-5	$248,200
Quicken Loans	Patrick Reed	T-17	$99,400
Greenbrier	Tony Finau	T-7	$228,975
John Deere Classic	Daniel Berger	T-5	$189,840
The Open	Adam Scott	T-22	$88,000
RBC Canadian	Bubba Watson	T-42	$42,200
WGC-BI	Branden Grace	T-28	$73,562
PGA Championship	Tommy Fleetwood	T-61	$21,300
Wyndham	Webb Simpson	3rd	$394,400
THE NORTHERN TRUST	Justin Thomas	T-6	$283,281
DTC	Louis Oosthuizen	T-30	$54,337
BMW	Marc Leishman	WIN	$1,575,000
Tour Championship	Jason Day	T-17	$176,750
Total			$6,533,509.00

 

Thermometer:

Hot.

Two events, a solo second and a T-7.

Safeway — Tony Finau, 2nd.

CIMB — Paul Casey, T-7.

That’s rolling in my world.

 

Last week:

Whew.

When the lead dawg opens with 77 and still hits a top 10 (T-7) there is NO CHANCE you’ll hear me complain.

None.

Zero.

Dodging a bullet that early in the season is huge especially with a player of his top 10 resume.

As I do every week, squash it, regardless of finish, and move on.

There’s another decision to be made this week.

I had a few cookies for you last week and a few of them were burnt beyond recognition.

 

CIMB Recap:

My Choice: Paul Casey — T-7

Close Second: Kevin Na — T-44 (Chadder’s Pick), Xander Schauffele — T-3

Outliers: Jamie Lovemark — T-32, Keegan Bradley — 2nd

Gut Shot(s): Scott Hend — T-72

Rank Outsider(s): James Hahn — T-28, Luke List — T-13, Russell Knox — T-63

 

Keys this Week:

Class.

One word should suffice for a couple of reasons. Big boys cash big checks and big boys usually dominate courses on a level playing field.

Toss in some wind and the field shrinks significantly and the cream should and will rise to the top.

I’m leaning on ball-strikers who don’t mind a bit of breeze.

You do you.

I’ll do me.

We can learn from each other.

 

My Weekly Finalists:

My Choice: Keegan Bradley

Close Second: Marc Leishman

Outliers: Gary Woodland, Thomas Pieters

Gut Shot(s): Kyle Stanley

Rank Outsider(s): Luke List, Ollie Schniederjans, Jenghun Wang

 

QUESTION(S) OF THE WEEK:

The winner this week will be…

Inside the top 30 in the OWGR as class will prevail. With a brand-new event on a track that only few have seen, I’m not going to stray too far from the elite. Plus, with big buck$ on the table, that should have everyone’s attention.

What about…

Did you check my preview? Plenty of dudes in there with stats and facts that will encourage or discourage.

No Cut = No problem!

Anyone who finishes four rounds will be taking home a very nice check with only 78 players in the field so “taking a chance” this week won’t be frowned upon.

But I’m not setting it and forgetting it just to “save” a start on a guy. This event is paying what a Playoff event will play and the field is considerably more shallow than any of those events.

If your strategy is to back-load for the Playoffs, I hear you. This money will spend just as well!

Reach out mikeglasscott@gmail.com @MikeGlasscott. I won’t be mad if you share this around the interwebs either but I understand not giving folks an advantage!

Thanks for reading, as always and good luck in the new season!