TPC River Highlands will play host as its done since 1991.

Tough one to handicap coming off a major championship but plenty of clues to use.

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.

2018 Thermometer:

Event	Golfer	Place	$$
Safeway Open	Tony Finau	2nd	669,600
CIMB Classic	Paul Casey	T7	218,166
CJ CUP @ 9 BRIDGES	Keegan Bradley	T47	23,759
WGC-HSBC Champions	Hideki Matsuyama	T50	51,875
Sanderson Farms	Chesson Hadley	T2	464,400
Shriners	Patrick Cantlay	WIN	1,224,000
OHL Classic	Kevin Chappell	MC	0
The RSM Classic	Charles Howell III	MC	0
Sentry TOC	Kevin Kisner	T17	99,333
Sony Open	Brian Harman	T4	256,266
CareerBuilder Challenge	Jason Dufner	T36	27,189
Farmers Insurance	Jon Rahm	T29	43,872
WMPO	Alex Noren	T21	80,040
-AT&T Pebble Beach	Phil Mickelson	T2	488,400
Genesis Open	Dustin Johnson	T16	111,600
Honda Classic	Graeme McDowell	MC	0
WGC-Mexico	Tommy Fleetwood	T14	126,500
Valspar Championship	Ryan Moore	MC	0
Arnold Palmer	Tyrell Hatton	T69	18,067
WGC-Match Play	Patrick Reed	T9	163,000
Corales Puntacana	Patrick Rodgers	T22	27,850
Houston Open	Luke List	T24	54,162
Masters	Jordan Spieth	3rd	748,000
RBC Heritage	Cameron Smith	T32	35,510
Valero Texas Open	Billy Horschel	T11	136,400
Zurich Classic	Bud Cauley	MC	0
Wells Fargo Championship	Bryson DeChambeau	4th	369,600
THE PLAYERS	Francesco Molinari	MC	0
AT&T Byron Nelson	Jimmy Walker	T6	257,950
Fort Worth Invitational	Adam Scott	T52	16,472
Memorial	Tiger Woods	T23	76,985
FESJC	Henrik Stenson	T26	50,820
US Open	Justin Rose	T10	270,151
Total Events: 33	Top 10s: 11	MC: 6	$6,163,967

Last week:

Close, but no cigar, as my ice-cold spring thankfully ends in tatters after Justin Rose couldn’t fire on Sunday. Rose began the final round one shot off the lead and with a U.S. Open title under his belt, I was hoping he was the one that was going to shoot 63.

Those of you who saved Dustin Johnson for this grand occasion were probably feeling similar but you took home 3x the cash/points for your very smart decision. The last five weeks I’ve played Walker, Woods, Scott, Stenson and Rose and have exactly two top-10 finishes to show for it.

Chasers and Dreamers had some nice choices to pick from and the nose pickers were nice too. Maybe I’m going to have “12 Beers In” as a new category this week…

 

My Choice: Justin Rose — T10

Picks for Leaders: Dustin Johnson — 3rd, Rickie Fowler — T20, Rory McIlroy — MC, Jason Day — MC

Picks for Chasers: Phil Mickelson — T48, Hideki Matsuyama — T16, Brooks Koepka — WIN, Henrik Stenson — T6

Picks for Dreamers: Patrick Reed — 4th, Francesco Molinari — T25, Tommy Fleetwood — 2nd, Jason Dufner — T25

Picks for Noses: Jordan Spieth — MC, Tiger Woods — MC, Sergio Garcia — MC

Six Beers In: Jimmy Walker — T56, Kyle Stanley — MC

Drop-Dead Pick: Justin Rose — T10

 

This week:

It’s the third week in a row of Par-70 golf but this track is the shortest of the bunch by some distance. It’s the third week in four on Bent/Poa and those smallish greens will need to be painted to have plenty of chances to make birdie.

Since the 2016 renovation, the scores have been lower than usual. That’s hardly surprising considering tee boxes were added and greens were expanded. This is the third year since the renovation so I would expect scores to start inflating again, especially if the weather holds.

My Choice: Xander Schauffele

Picks for Leaders: Daniel Berger, Paul Casey, Webb Simpson

Picks for Chasers: Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed

Picks for Dreamers: Brendan Steele, Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman, Patrick Rodgers

Picks for Noses: Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka

Six Beers In: Kevin Streelman, C.T. Pan

Drop-Dead Pick: Patrick Reed

 

My Life

Hitting a top 10 in the U.S. Open usually is pretty good. Playing from the third-to-last group with a premium player and finishing T10 isn’t. The ONLY positive thing that happened last week was DJ NOT winning. That would have buried me. Instead I lost only 600k to most rather than $1.9 million.

I’m not riding Berger this week again as I hope to avoid the glut of “general public” who’ll be all over him. Schauffele is just wonderfully inconsistent enough that I’m going rue this decision but that’s why we play the game. I’m currently 15th in my league and $2 million out of first.

Patrick Reed scares me to death this week but I’ve already burned him and I’m hoping plenty others have as well.

Here’s my tentative plan:

QLN: This is year two so I’ll lean heavily on form and the defending champ, Stanley.

The Greenbrier Classic: TBD

John Deere Classic: Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker or Berger (if playing), Kevin Tway.

Barbasol Championship: TBD (brand-new venue)

The Open Championship: Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler

RBC Canadian Open: Matt Kuchar, John Vegas, Brandt Snedeker

Barracuda Championship: Martin Laird, TBD

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational: McIlroy, Schwartzel, Koepka

PGA Championship: First-time venue Bellerive Country Club will suggest a top 10 OWGR player. Jason Day and Thomas are obvious choices.

Wyndham Championship: Kevin Na, Ollie Schniederjans

NORTHERN TRUST OPEN: Matt Kuchar will be the only winner in the field at Ridgewood Country Club (2010). He was also T5 in 2014.

Dell Technologies TPC Boston: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Chris Kirk

BMW Championship: Aronomink is the host and Rose (2010) and Nick Watney (2011) are the only two winners on TOUR here (Donald Ross course).

The TOUR Championship: There has never been a repeat champion or anyone who has won multiple FedExCups so whoever is left!

Good luck!

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).

 

Thanks for reading!