Daily Fantasy Golf: The Valero Open at TPC San Antonio

Daily Fantasy Golf:  The Arnold Palmer Invitational Recap

Matt Every sunk an 18 foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole for a final round 66 and the outright lead and repeat championship at Bay Hill.  This marks the ninth straight tournament of the year that the winner has come from behind to win over the 54 hole leader.  Great job Matt.

Golf is quite an amazing sport, and may be one of the hardest to predict in all of daily fantasy games.  It is the only sport where all players have equal chances to put up the same points and this past weekend’s tournament was a great example of this.  Take Matt Every and Henrik Stenson for instance.  In the world of football this is the equivalent of Jonathan Stewart and Matt Forte in price.  However, you know before the game that Forte is going to get more carries, more catches, and more opportunities to score points which is why he is so much higher in price.  Could Stewart go off, yes, but he would have to do so with a lot less volume.  That is just not the case in golf.  Everyone has equal opportunity to perform on any given tournament.

My scorecard:  

I was able to find the rabbit in the hat and pick Matt Every, who I still can’t believe repeated, but if you had him what a great value he was at $5,200.  I was also able to pick the runner up in Henrik Stenson, so if you took a stacked lineup on top with Every as your value pick, you probably made some money.  Hope that was the case.

Of my 14 picks only eight made the cut, which is rather disappointing given that a higher percentage of the field made the cut in this tournament.    Of the eight, I did pick the top two, and four of the top twenty. 

Last week I picked a higher percentage of players that made the cut, but not enough top finishers.  This week was the exact opposite, with successfully picking the top two, but not enough made the cut.  Look out this week as I shall put it all together. 

My Sixsome: 

I started picking a team last week to enter into a GPP on DraftKings.  However this lineup included Bubba Watson, who withdrew after I posted my article.  So we shall continue that next week.

Withdrawals, although rare, do happen in golf.  So please keep an eye out Wednesday nights or very early Thursday mornings for updates.  The worst ones are when they start a few holes of the tournament and then withdraw.  Leaving a hopeless void in your lineup for the next 72 holes.  I try to avoid golfers with any injury concerns for this point.  It’s just not worth the risk.

Daily fantasy golf:  The Valero Open Preview

The Florida swing has come to an end, and now the tour moves to Texas with the Valero Open at TPC San Antonio.  Being played two weeks before the Masters, the golfers in the field use this as a final tune up before the first Major of the tournament. 

Notables in the field:  Jordan Speith, Jim Furyk, Jimmy Walker, and Phil Michaelson are yearly participants at the tournament.

Newcomers:  Notable newcomers include Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, and Graeme McDowell.  However DJ did compete in this open it was before it moved to the TPC San Antonio course. 

Course Notes:  The course is a standard par 72 with four par threes and fives.  However, the par fives are anything but standard.  Two of the par fives are just over 600 yards and a third going over 590 yards.  Going for the green will not be an option for most, and very risky for those who can reach it.  Most par fives are looked at as scoring opportunities on tour, but that will not be the case this weekend.    

Keys to victory:

1. Driving accuracy:  Hitting these narrow fairways at the highest percentage will be key this weekend.  It’s not the rough that is the issue, but some off terrain and unplayable lies that will bring big numbers into play off the fairway.  Just ask Kevin Na about trouble off the fairway.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWTXoNzuk8c
2. Scrambling:  Even though driving accuracy is a must there are holes where distance is needed over accuracy, which usually leads to missed fairways and greens.  Getting up and down and saving par will be round savers.
3.  Strokes gained putting:  Following form, the idea is to avoid bogeys and better, so those who can save pars on the greens with the short stick will benefit the most.

DraftKings first look and random thoughts:

1. Dustin Johnson:  Not feeling it this week.  I know he is hot right now, but first time at course and I don’t think it sets up well for his game.
2. Jim Furyk:  I hope everyone is as frustrated as I am in Furyk and doesn’t take him.  He will get one more shot from me.
3. Jimmy Walker:  Home state of Texas.  Liking him. 
4. Phil Mickelson:  Are people still fooled into taking him?  That’s just crazy.  Way to expensive.
5. Daniel Berger:  This rookie just gets it done.  His albatross got him a 20 point bonus last week. Nice.
6. Camilo Villegas:  Been waiting to pull him out of a hat, thinking this is the course for him to flare some magic.
7. Kiradech Aphibarnrat:  Where did you come from.  Nice run last week to finish T6.
8. Steven Bowditch:  Returning champ for 6k?  No chance he does what Every did.
9. Jhonattan Vegas:  Wish this guy would put it together, he has some sweet game.
10. Andrew Loupe:  Best tour finish was here last year with a T4.  Great value if he makes the cut.

Well that’s all for now.  Check back Wednesday afternoon for my indepth picks. 

Golfer:  “Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?”

Caddie: “Eventually”

Happy Drafting,

Perry 04.