CIMB Classic Expert Picks & Projections
Event Preview
The PGA Tour heads to Malaysia this week for the CIMB Classic. The event will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club for the second consecutive season. Defending champion Ryan Moore will be in the field, but comes into this week playing some poor golf with missed cuts in two of his last four events. This year’s event features a small 78-player field and 10 of the spots are reserved for players from the Asian Tour. With such a small field, this event does not feature a cut, so it’s important to target golfers with the ability to go low rather than the ability to make cuts.
Kuala Lumpur Golf Course is a Par-72 that stretches only 6,985 yards. This is one of the shorter tracks on the PGA Tour, but it didn’t exactly play easy last season, as the average score per round was 71.9. Last year’s winning score was 14-under and we can expect a similar score from the winner this week. There are rain and thunderstorms predicted for all four days of the tournament, which means golfers are going to have soft green conditions to work with. Proximity to the hole is high on my list of stats to target as well as Par-5 scoring and the ever-important ball striking.
CIMB Classic Expert Picks
TIER 1
Hideki Matsuyama: $11,400 – Matsuyama picked up where he left off last season with Top 10 finishes in each of his first two starts this season. He played in this event last season and finished with a respectable T-25th finish. Look for him to imporve upon that this season as he now has some course history under his belt. Matsuyama’s stats fit this course beautifully as last season he was ranked 69th in ball striking, 5th in proximity to the hole, and 5th in Par-5 scoring. With the soft greens, look for Matsuyama to have plenty of short birdie opportunities this week.
Gary Woodland: $10,000 – Woodland is a long bomber (9th in driving distance last season) that had great success at his event in 2013. He had a chance to take home the crown, but ended up losing in a playoff to Ryan Moore. This will be the first time that Woodland tees it up this season and I’m expecting him to get off to a hot start. After a mini-slump during the months of summer last season, he finished strong with Top-30 finishes in each of his last four events. Last season Woodland was ranked 32nd in ball striking and 71st in Par 5 scoring.
TIER 2
Graham Delaet: $9,300 – Delaet was a very frustrating player in fantasy golf last season. There were tournaments when he would be in the Top 10 in fairways hit and greens in regulation, yet he would still miss the cut due to his extremely poor putting. Luckily for him, average putters have fared well at this course both on the PGA Tour and on the European Tour. That’s good news for Delaet who finished in 7th here last season. Delaet is one of the best drivers on tour and is extremely accurate with his irons as he was ranked 9th in proximity to the hole last season. He has a good chance of posting another Top-10 at the CIMB Classic this week.
Kevin Chappell: $8,300 – Chappell was featured in my picks last week and he finished strong at the McGladrey Classic with a Top-10 finish. He’s one of the more accurate players on tour as last season he was ranked 43rd in driving accuracy and 11th in proximity to the hole. Much like Delaet, putting is the biggest weakness in his game, but like I mentioned, average putters can succeed on this course. Chappell has experience on this course as he finished T-25th here last season. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him post a Top-15 finish this week.
John Senden: $8,000 – It’s really hard not to like Senden this week. He comes into the event with Top-25 finishes in four of his last five starts including a T-18th at the Shriners Open. This is a course that should fit Senden’s fancy as last season he was ranked 32nd in ball striking, 13th in strokes gained putting, and 10th in Par-5 scoring. He hits a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and he makes a lot of putts. If that’s not a recipe for success in daily fantasy golf, I’m not sure what is.
TIER 3
Anirban Lahiri: $7,100 – Lahiri may go overlooked by the DFS masses this week as he is not a recognizable name on the PGA Tour. He’s one of the ten players from the Asian Tour that get to play in this event. Lahiri is a very talented, young golfer that comes from India. He already has five wins in his career over on the Asian Tour including a win last week at the Macau Open. Lahiri knows the course well and finished T-35th here last season.
Ryo Ishikawa: $7,000 – Ishikawa can be nerve-wrecking to take in events with a full field of golfers because he tends to have a really bad round every now and again. That said, we don’t have to worry about him missing the cut as there is no cut this week. Ishikawa makes a ton of birdies and could really post some low scores here. He’s one of the best values on the board as he is currently listed at a 50/1 favorite and he has a very reasonable price tag of $7,000.
Chris Stroud: $7,000 – Stroud is always in play when he is playing on a short track. Last season he only ranked 119th in driving distance which put him at a disadvantage on longer courses. Distance shouldn’t be an issue this week though as this course measures less than 7,000 yards. Stroud is an accurate player that was ranked 70th in strokes gained: tee to green and 60th in strokes gained: putting last season. If that’s not enough to persuade you, how about the fact that he finished in third at this event last season?