Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – Fortinet Championship
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Fortinet Championship
Fortinet Championship Fantasy Preview
Once more into the breach we go….the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season is upon us.
The campaign gets off to its customary low-key start with the Fortinet Championship, which you may know better as the Safeway Open from years past. The journey to the FedEx Cup starts here….
It was Patrick Cantlay who trousered the big payout for topping the standings at the end of last season. Winning the BMW Championship propelled him to the top of the leaderboard, and he did just about enough to cling on to his supremacy at the TOUR Championship.
The new season is a time for optimism and expectation, and while the progress of this field will be halted by the Ryder Cup next week – what a mouth-watering prospect that is at Whistling Straits – those in the field of the Fortinet Championship will be desperate to kick off their campaign in positive fashion.
Last Years Fantasy Results
We’ve finally capped off the 2020-2021 super-season after what seemed like endless golf. And, throughout the season, over 45 events, we managed to maintain a 71% cuts made in our main picks weekly segment with 9 total winners, 6 runner ups picked, and 97 top-25 picks!
Don’t forget to use our Fantasy Stats Tool every week to help decide between some of those close call picks.
Fortinet Championship Field
At little more than 5/1 with the sportsbooks, Jon Rahm could be one of the shortest-priced favorites we see all season long!
The Spaniard may just have the Ryder Cup in mind, and so there are reasons to oppose him, and so the likes of Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Na will be looking to take advantage.
The likes of Cameron Champ, the 3M Open champion, and West Coast specialist Phil Mickelson will also be eyeing the trophy, while wouldn’t it be ironic if Will Zalatoris opens his PGA TOUR win account on what will technically be his first start with full playing rights.
A number of Zalatoris’ fellow Korn Ferry Tour graduates will be in the field, and keep an eye out for the roly-poly Kiradech Aphibarnrat – he earned his card via the KFT finals, and was very much in contention at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour over the weekend….that was eventually won by Billy Horschel.
This Week’s Course Preview
In many ways, the North Course at Silverado in Napa, California is the perfect seasonal curtain-raiser.
Despite a certain type of player thriving here in recent years – more on that later, nobody can be discounted at a venue where the second shot is oh so important.
Measuring 7,123 yards for its Par 72, Silverado is pretty short and gives all players – regardless of length – a chance to challenge and make the many birdies required to triumph in this event.
All of the stats suggest that accuracy off the peg is of little consequence at Silverado, so friendly is the rough, with the fairways also pinched in places.
The Poa Annua greens are large enough to hit from all angles, and their slow and sluggish nature ensures they are easy enough to hold even when approaching from the rough stuff.
There are some deep bunkers and water on the premises, but all things considered the only real defense that Silverado has is the wind – the early forecast suggests that will be present but not too demanding this week.
And so it’s very much a free-for-all to get things underway in 2021-22.
Weather Forecast for Napa, CA
A cool but relatively wind-free week, these are ideal scoring conditions.
The mercury is beginning to drop with the changing of the seasons in Napa, and the temperatures will range from 73˚F to 79˚F according to the early predictions.
But the breeze should get up to no more than 12 mph according to that early forecast, and so there will truly be little to trouble the players at Silverado.
Overall, it’s a kind of nondescript week with sunny spells and cloud in Napa, but you won’t hear the players complaining about such middling conditions.
Last Year’s Results from the Fortinet Championship
Stewart Cink followed the Cameron Champ playbook for success at Silverado from 2019, and in doing so ended an eleven-year wait for a PGA TOUR title – becoming one of its oldest winners at 47 into the bargain.
Cink went for full on ballistics off the tee, averaging 315 yards off the peg and finding just 55% of fairways. But he was outstanding from out of the rough, and he made just two bogeys all week on his way to a winning mark of -21 – two clear of Harry Higgs, who had chances of his own to at least draw level with the leader.
It would be the first of two wins for Cink in the 2020-21 season, and with son Regan on the bag showcased the fine margins that can prove oh so vital in these early campaign events.
Highlights | Round 4 | Safeway Open 2020
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Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Fortinet Championship this Week
How are you going to play it? A new season brings fresh opportunities, and with a little digging you can come up with a solid roster this week with a couple of different variations. Therefore, we decree the Fortinet Championship to be prime DFS real estate.
- PGA TOUR $600K Fresh Start: We can start as we mean to go on in this $25 entry contest, with the winner banking $200k for their troubles. As ever, there’s lots of other opportunities to cash too.
- PGA TOUR $150K Drive the Green: As you scroll through the player list this week you might find that you make a couple of line-ups, and so a budget multi-entry contest might be the way to go. For $5 apiece, you can play for a $50k jackpot here.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Fortinet Championship
Early season, weak field….it’s not necessarily a recipe for DFS success.
The selection process is complicated further by the fact that nobody can be discounted as far as length is concerned, although we do have one weapon of choice up our sleeve.
Of the first eight players on the leaderboard at Silverado in 2020, four ranked inside the top-10 for SG: Approach and two others ranked in the top-30 for that stat. In short, this is a birdie-fest but it’s not the usual putting shootout you might expect.
Instead, quality on approach is the key, and it doesn’t really seem to matter whether that’s from the rough or the short stuff – within reason. Quality from the 100-150 yard range will be vital this week.
As we know, Poa Annua greens are not for everybody, and it’s telling that Californians – or, at least, those with previous on the West Coast – do tend to thrive on these surfaces. Again, that’s food for thought.
So we do have a profile of sorts to look out for this week, and with that in mind who makes our draft for the Fortinet Championship?
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win Fortinet Championship
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Fortinet Championship
Top Tier Pick #1:
Will Zalatoris (Odds: 28/1, FPPG: 81.7, GPFP: 65.36 Salary: $10,500)
It’s hard to resist the claims of Will Zalatoris this week.
The Californian returns to home soil with less pressure on his shoulders – he knows he has full playing status on TOUR, and that will surely afford him the chance to puff his chest out and show his class in this field.
A mesmeric iron player, Zalatoris has the length to gain an edge at Silverado, and he’s unlikely to find anything to dislike at a course not far from where he grew up in San Francisco.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 7th
- Driving Distance – 23rd
- Scrambling – 44th
Top Tier Pick #2:
Kevin Na (Odds: 22/1, FPPG: 69.0, GPFP: 82.75 Salary: $10,000)
Rahm withstanding, there’s a case to be made that says Kevin Na is he in-form player in this field.
Defeated in a play-off at the Wyndham Championship, Na has since banked a top-10 at the NORTHERN TRUST and shot the joint-lowest 72-hole score at the TOUR Championship.
While he’s one of the best chippers in the business, it’s actually Na’s approach play in recent weeks and months that has really caught the eye, and he does have the skillset to thrive at Silverado – despite a mixed bag of form at the layout.
With a bank of success on Poa Annua, Na could add yet another PGA TOUR title to his collection this week.
Key Stats:
- SG: Around-the-Green – 1st
- Birdie Average – 36th
- Approaches from 100-125 yards – 38th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Max Homa (Odds: 66/1, FPPG: 60.3, GPFP: 59.10Salary: $8,700)
It would be fair to say that the second half of the 2020-21 season did not go to plan for Max Homa, but a couple of weeks to reset and work on his game behind closed doors should hopefully pay dividends.
The Californian landed the second PGA TOUR title of a blossoming career and served up five other top-10s, and that confirms his growing reputation in the sport.
Perhaps a return to home soil will work like a charm, given that he won the Genesis Invitational on Californian turf, and his long hitting, precise approach game is ideally suited for Silverado.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 40th
- Birdie Average – 48th
- Driving Distance – 56th
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Roger Sloan (Odds: 80/1, FPPG: 59.5, GPFP: 55.34 Salary: $7,800)
It’s been a decade since Roger Sloan won anywhere, but at the tail-end of last season he came pretty close to ending that drought.
A final round of 72 stopped him in his tracks at the 3M Open, while sixth place at the Barracuda Championship was very much a case of what might have been.
And then came the play-off loss at the Wyndham Championship, where he had a genuine chance of winning – missing a decent chance on the first extra hole to prevail.
An excellent approach player from within that 100-150 yard range, Sloan may go even closer to victory at Silverado.
Key Stats:
- Approaches from 100-125 yards – 9th
- Greens in Regulation – 32nd
- Birdie Average – 76th
Low-Tier Pick:
Hudson Swafford (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 48.5, GPFP: 56.28 Salary: $7,200)
Quite where it’s come from is anybody’s guess, but Hudson Swafford delivered some exceptional ball-striking performances in the FedEx Cup events.
That yielded top-20s at the NORTHERN TRUST and BMW Championship, which is a marked improvement on what had come before, and so we have every right to expect another quality showing in much weaker company here.
A winner in California and a champion in 2021 at the Corales Puntacana, the stars appear to be aligning for Swafford.
Key Stats:
- Driving Distance – 45th
- Greens in Regulation – 50th
- Birdie Average – 67th
Sleeper Pick for the Fortinet Championship
Scott Piercy (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 59.8, GPFP: 47.87 Salary: $7,000)
There was a wholly unexpected improvement in Scott Piercy’s short game towards the tail end of last season, and for a guy noted for his precision iron play that’s a happy addition to his repertoire.
Third at the Barracuda Championship, Piercy followed with T15 at the Wyndham Championship and closed out his NORTHERN TRUST campaign with a round of 66, and that is eye catching indeed.
A noted birdie maker, Piercy will be looking to capitalize on his recent improvements in Napa.
Key Stats:
- Scrambling – 54th
- Birdie Average – 83rd
- Driving Distance – 83rd
Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Fortinet Championship
Cameron Percy (Odds: 200/1, FPPG: 55.1, GPFP: 44.12 Salary: $6,800)
While not exactly the most exotic of names, Cameron Percy is a perfect fit for these tests of iron play – he ranked ninth for SG: Approach last season.
Will the Aussie win the event? It seems unlikely, but with a return of 23-7 in his last two trips to Silverado he could certainly outperform his $6,800 salary.
With a made/missed cut ratio of 17/7 last season, Percy is a prime candidate for those seeking a solid bargain play on their roster.
Key Stats:
- Greens in Regulation – 1st
- SG: Approach – 9th
- Scoring Average – 92nd
This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup
Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only. Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.
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Fantasy Golf Predictions LAST Season (2020-2021)
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