Fantasy Golf: The Barclays Expert Picks
The Barclays Picks
I’m currently on vacation this week so I’ll save us both some time by skipping the intro to the tournament. The Barclays was played at this course in 2010 and 2008 though so make sure to only factor in those two tournaments when looking at tournament history. The key stats to target this week are ball striking, strokes gained putting, par-4 scoring, scrambling, and adjusted scoring.
Adam Scott: $10,800 – In terms of the top play this week, it’s hard to argue against Rory McIlroy, but dollar for dollar, it’s hard not to take Scott over him as McIlroy is $1,400 more than Scott. Scott has 6 straight Top-15 finishes this season and will technically be defending his title even though this tournament was played at a different venue last season. Scott is ranked 12th in ball striking, 12th in strokes gained putting, and 3rd in adjusted scoring. He’s also one of the bettter Par-5 players on tour and will be one of the few golfers with the length to take advantage of them.
Jim Furyk: $10,000 – Furyk has been as solid of a daily fantasy golf option as you will find this season. In his last 10 events, Furyk has 6 Top 10 finishes, 3 runner up finishes, and only 1 start where he finished outside of the Top 20. He’s ranked 45th in ball striking, 5th in adjusted scoring, and 1st in adjusted scoring. He finishes in 12th place here in 2012 and has to be one of the top favorites to post another Top-10 finish this week.
Hunter Mahan: $8,900 – Mahan has had a disappointing season, but it seems like he is finally finding his game with T-7th and T-15th finishes at the WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championship. His stats all look solid, he’s just had some tough breaks this season (penalty at the U.S. Open, bogeys on his final hole to miss the cut). Mahan is ranked 15th in ball striking, 40th in strokes gained putting, and 50th in adjusted scoring. He finished with T-31rd place finish in the Tour’s last stop at this course in 2010.
Other Studs to Consider: Jimmy Walker $9,000, Keegan Bradley: $9,100, Graham DeLaet: $8,300
Paul Casey: $8,000 – Casey is right up there with Haas as my favorite dollar for dollar play this week. Casey has had terrific success at this course in the past with T-12th and T-7th place finishes in 2010 and 2008. Casey has made 7 of his last 10 cuts and has posted Top-20 finishes in 5 of those events. He’s ranked 60th in ball striking, 60th in strokes gained putting, and 28th in adjusted scoring. I’m expecting a strong week from Casey who is having a terrific bounce-back season.
Bill Haas: $7,200 – Haas is the one pricing mistake that I think DraftKings made this week. He is much too cheap at only $7,200 and I think he will be one of the highest owned players on the board. Haas made the cut here in 2010 and in 2008 and was 1-shot away from forcing a playoff last week at the Wyndham Championship. He’s ranked 31st in ball striking, 56th in strokes gained putting, and 32nd in adjusted scoring. Get Haas in all of your cash game lineups.
Kevin Na: $7,000 – Na is one of those players that rarely sees any love from Vegas in terms of his odds to win tournaments. While he doesn’t necessarily contend in a lot of events, he posts a lot of strong starts for a player at his price point. He has 5 Top-25 finishes in his last 10 events and is one of the best scramblers on tour which really helps him save pars. Na is ranked 30th in strokes gained putting and 13th in adjusted scoring.
Other Value Plays to Consider: Ryan Palmer: $7,600, John Senden: $6,500, Justin Hicks: $6,100