PGA DFS Targets: CIMB Classic
Seven players were within a shot of the winner, but no one could catch Smylie Kaufman, who posted a 268 (-16) in route to an impressive victory.
Shriners Open Review
How did my picks do? Jason Bohn fired four rounds under 70 to finish second, and Streelman/Moore/Stefani (punt) all made the cut. The only missed cut? Will Wilcox!!! Wilcox started his first round slowly, but got lava hot on the Back 9 and finished with an impressive 66 (-5). He seemed safe from missing the cut and would potentially challenge deep into the weekend, right? WRONG. Wilcox melted down in route to shooting a 76 and missing the cut by two strokes. Other than the MC from Wilcox, it was a pretty good week. We’ll go with a solid B and hope to improve on it this week.
Some weeks, if time allows it, I’ll try to write up a section here about a particular topic, player, or possibly just some course information. This week wasn’t one of those weeks. Luckily, there are plenty of other excellent articles on RotoGrinders outlining the course layout, tournament history, and other helpful background information to help you this week. Follow me on Twitter at taylorezell and feel free to ask me any questions for this upcoming week. Good luck!
CIMB Classic Picks
Kevin Na
Similar to last week where we faded Rickie Fowler, I’ll be fading the top option (Henrik Stenson) in favor of slightly more affordable options. It’s not that I don’t like Stenson (if you’ve read my articles, you know that I actually like him far more than most), it’s that I don’t have enough confidence in him to forego the savings allowed by spending elsewhere. Kevin Na has several of the things we look for in a golfer each week. He’s in good form (back to back runner-ups to start the year), has some course history (finished second here last year), and he appears to fit the course well too. To start the year, Na is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, eighth in GIR, and eighth in Ball Striking. Na is sick of being a bridesmaid and will look to seal the deal this weekend.
Ryan Moore
Ryan Moore was featured in this spot last week, but never quite got it rolling as he sputtered to a 43rd place finish. Last week, Moore was more of an under-the-radar play, but that won’t be the case this week. Moore has won here back-to-back years, something that is rarely accomplished with the parity on tour. He’ll try to make it an unprecedented third straight, and has the game to do so. Moore is an accurate driver of the ball (11th in Driving Accuracy in 2015), and doesn’t have many glaring weaknesses. Heck, Moore even finished first in FutureOfFantasy’s Searching for a Specialist article. Lock Moore into your lineups and diversify elsewhere.
Justin Thomas
Thomas has become a bit of a DFS sweetheart due to his ability to drive the ball with the best of them and attack Par 5s like no one else in the game. He finished second in Par 5 Scoring last year, finishing with a ridiculous scoring average of 4.49 on Par 5s. This golf course has four Par 5s and I expect Thomas to feast on them. Thomas isn’t just a long-bomber, but has a well-rounded game. He finds greens in a hurry and consistently (17th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 27th in GIR). He struggles with the putter at times, but if he can get it going this weekend, he could be in for a Top 5 finish.
Tony Finau
I was really close to writing up Finau last week, but ended up going with Jason Bohn for a similar price. The move worked out ok as Bohn finished tied for second while Finau finished tied for 16th, but Finau definitely provided some fireworks. His second round scorecard might be the most unique you will ever see. The Back 9 saw him go bogey, birdie, par (boring), albatross!!!, par (still boring), birdie, double bogey, bogey. Just your typical 35, nothing to see there. Similar to Justin Thomas above, Finau can launch the ball off the tee. So far this year, his Driving Distance is a ridiculous 325 yards, and he has already had multiple drives of 350+. He will be able to drive the green on some of these Par 5s and should have some eagle attempts while others will be forced to lay up.
Charles Howell III
Many will see Charles Howell III’s score from last weekend and chalk it up to overall bad play throughout the tournament. A closer look shows us three solid rounds and a meltdown on Sunday (70, 68, 69, 77). He has some course history as well as he finished seventh here in 2014. Howell III is a great driver of the ball (17th in Driving Distance last year) and has an all-around well-rounded game other than the flat stick, which always seems to let him down (144th in Strokes Gained: Putting last year). If he can start to roll in some putts like he did in the first three rounds of The Shriners Open, he could be in for a nice weekend.
Rory Sabbatini
Rory Sabbatini shot an impressive 66 to finish out The Shriners Open at -9 (T25) last weekend and hopes to carry the momentum into this weekend’s event. In an event where there isn’t a cut, we look for guys that might be volatile, but carry some upside with them. Sabbatini seems to fit that mold as he is inconsistent, but has proven the ability to post some low numbers (see 66 above). He also has some course history here as he finished eighth here last year. Sabbatini is one of the most underrated golfers on Tour, which will help keep his ownership low. At his bargain bin price, another Top 25 finish would more than pay off his cheap price tag.