DRAFT PGA Value Watch: WGC-HSBC Champions
Each week, Justin Van Zuiden will list the players he is overweight (heavier exposure than the field) and underweight (lower exposure than the field) on. Dominate your DRAFT drafts with this cheat sheet from one of the best in daily fantasy sports!
WGC-HSBC Champions
Golfers I Am Overweight On
Rory McIlroy
Hideki Matsuyama
Xander Schauffele
These three golfers are the clear class of this field in my eyes, yet DRAFT has them pegged as the 5th, 7th, and 14th best options. Feel free to target any of the three at any point during the first round, and I have them ranked in this order.
Paul Casey – His projection on DRAFT is simply far too low. On a course that emphasizes all around game and limiting mistakes with water in play on 11 holes, Casey will always pop as a potential option. He has posted top 25 finishes here in each of the last four editions of the event, and he has 11 top 25 finishes in 12 career trips to this course. That’s not too shabby. Combine that with the fact that he won on the European Tour just a month ago and finished with a solid 17th place last week in Japan, and you have all the makings of an elite play. There’s really nothing to dislike here.
Corey Conners – His ball striking ability remains very impressive, and Conners is rolling with now with finishes of 13th, 12th, and 6th during the fall swing. He dipped just a bit with an underwhelming Sunday in Japan, but that is not going to get me to shy away. He has been on fire for months now, and he’s a great selection in the middle to later rounds.
Xinjun Zhang – The Korn Ferry money list leader from last year kept the good times rolling with a 4th place finish in Houston, and once again he is flying under the radar. Obviously, the field is stronger at this event, but there is no reason he should be priced this low on every site. After his great season on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, he is rolling with fall ranks inside the top 40 in both ball striking and strokes gained on approach. He has also played in this event in four straight years, and while the finishes weren’t great in those trips, he’s playing MUCH better golf right now. I’ll roll with the current form and target him as a final round pick on DRAFT.
Golfers I Am Underweight On
Tony Finau
Adam Hadwin
These are two golfers that I don’t mind this week (and I even wrote Finau up as a GPP play on the salary cap sites), but DRAFT has them pegged as top three options. That’s a bit steep. I’d rather target the aforementioned trio of McIlroy, Matsuyama, and Schauffele with first round picks.
Jason Kokrak – The form simply isn’t there right now. His last three events have resulted in a missed cut, a 63rd place finish, and a 71st place finish (in a 78 golfer field). He’s wayward from tee to green right now and has always been inconsistent with the putter. This is an easy fade based on the current form.
Bubba Watson
Phil Mickelson
Here are two veterans and two big names that might get some attention in the middle to later rounds. I’ll pass. The form over the last twelve months has been awful for both Watson and Mickelson, and I don’t want any part of that despite the name brand value and the fact that Mickelson is a two-time winner here. He’s simply not the same golfer these days.
Henrik Stenson – He mentioned that he didn’t like his game headed into Houston a few weeks ago, and it showed with a rusty missed cut in a weak field. He’ll undoubtedly attract some attention at a value projection, and I don’t mind Stenson if he lasts to the final round of a six-man or eight-player DRAFT game. However, he likely won’t make it that far. Given the current state of his game, he is nowhere near a must pick.
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