Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – 2015 CIMB Classic

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2015 CIMB Classic

The 2015 CIMB Classic Fantasy Preview

In last Tuesday’s Fantasy Sleeper Report we had newcomer Smylie Kaufman as one of our sleeper picks to win, and he did just that, locking up his first PGA TOUR win and making him a millionaire in the process—we hope his win made you a few bucks as well!  We’ll highlight the Kaufman pick more in a moment but first let’s prepare you for this week’s CIMB Classic which kicks off early this week on Wednesday night at 10:30pm EST.

The major news story this week will be the return of two time champion Ryan Moore who sets out to become the first player to win the same event in three consecutive years since Stricker last accomplished this feat by capturing three John Deere Classic titles from 09-11.

Of course we’ll see a handful of big names in the field this week like Henrik Stenson, Kevin Na, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, and others but it has been the Web.com graduates making all of the story lines so far this season so you simply cannot overlook these “new” names when building your DraftKings and other fantasy rosters this week.

Again, because the event is in Malaysia be sure to have your picks in early this week.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

At times Rickie Fowler—our Horse Pick from last week—looked like he had a chance to make a serious push as evidenced by this amazing drive at the par 4 15th hole:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYFWGR04e0&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]
 
But in the end it was our sleeper pick Smylie Kaufman who came off a whopping 175/1 Vegas Odds line to win the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open beating out Tringale, Bohn, and a handful of others by just one stroke.

We featured Kaufman in our recent 2016 Rookie Class Preview in which Danny Norris likened Smylie to a “combination of Tony Finau and Daniel Berger” in terms of ability and playing style.

If you followed our advice and added Smylie to your roster last week chances are that you cashed in big time your weekly fantasy golf leagues and we expect plenty more good things to come from this emerging young star.  It’s also worth noting that the Shriner’s represented the second straight week that a Web.com graduate has won on the PGA TOUR.

The Field

The top ranked player in the field this week will be OWGR No. 6 Henrik Stenson, who is coming off a super hot playoff run about a month ago.  The Swedish pro is making his first visit to Malaysia in about 10 years and will square off against two-time champion Ryan Moore.  The field is small this week with roughly 78 players in attendance including Rookie of the Year Daniel Berger and fellow PGA TOUR sophomore Justin Thomas.

Adam Scott who has dropped to No. 16 in the Official World Golf Rankings, will take his shortened putter and try to get some early FedExCup points at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club this week.  This appearence is much sooner than usual for Scott as last season we didn’t see him play any events until the Florida swing in February.

Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, and even South African Hall of Famer Ernie Els will be present in Malaysia this week as well.

The Course

The West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club will measure in at a “shorter” 6,985 yards and play as a par 72 this week.  This course is the usual home for big name events in Malaysia for both PGA and European Tours as the track has served home to The Malaysian Open seven times which showcased 2015 International President’s Cup player Anirban Lahiri’s victory 8 months ago.

Nick Pugh on Instagram: “Where it will all be decided come Sunday afternoon #CIMBClassic #KLGCC @pgatour”

Nick Pugh shared a post on Instagram: “Where it will all be decided come Sunday afternoon #CIMBClassic #KLGCC @pgatour”. Follow their account to see 1509 posts.

 
The women of the LPGA also play here at least once per year as Jessica Korda became victorious at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia just three weeks ago on their East course.

We’ll highlight more about the course and what to expect there for this week’s fantasy picks in our Weekly Fantasy Notes segment below.

[gard group=’3′]

Weather Forecast for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Expect hot temperatures and plenty of rain all week with 90 degree days in the forecast for the entire week in Malaysia.

https://instagram.com/p/9Qwv2vHmTj
 
Wind shouldn’t be an issue but the course will play really slow and wet, which could favor certain players over others—a factor we’ll be considering in our top picks this week.

Last Year’s Results from the CIMB Classic

As mentioned earlier, Ryan Moore won back-to-back CIMB Classics with his victory here in 2014 and became the first player to accomplish that for this event. Moore fired a final-round 5-under 67 to win by 3-strokes.  Moore carded an impressive eight birdies in the final round, to fight off Gary Woodland, who suprisingly enough lost to Moore in the 2013 edition during a playoff.   You can’t rule out Woodland and Moore again as a one-two punch on this track, but we’ll be the judges on that.

Here is the recap of the 2014-2015 CIMB Classic:

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7zDtkNbUwA&end=163&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

 This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

Remember, this week’s 2015 CIMB Classic will kick off on Wednesday evening local time so be sure to get your fantasy golf picks a little early to avoid being locked out!

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Wednesday – Thursday: 10:00 pm – 2:30 am EST (Golf Channel)
  • Friday – Saturday: 11:00pm – 3:00 am EST (Golf Channel)
• Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
  • No radio broadcasts scheduled for this week’s event
• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the CIMB Classic this Week

With so much exciting fantasy football going on right now a it might be easy to forget that there are still a handful of fantasy golf leagues with plenty of action to be had during the PGA TOUR’s fall season.  Although there are less options to choose from in October you can still find an exciting fantasy league and you’ll have a better shot at winning with the lower participation rates.

• PGA $125K BIRDIE [$125,000 GUARANTEED]: There’s really one one place in town with a solid sized pot of money this week and thats this 3 dollar entry event on DraftKings.  There should be over 20,000 players in the contest come Wednesday and first place takes home $10,000.  Just remember to get those picks in before the early Wednesday deadline!

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the CIMB Classic

All of a sudden the big names start popping back up as we prepare to head into the PGA TOUR’s holiday layover in just three weeks.  The TOUR will play a few more events after this week as part of the “wrap-around” fall season before kicking the new year off in Hawaii.

A lot of guys are using these early season events to get a crack at some early FedExCup points similar to what Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed have done over the last couple of years—win early then coast into East Lake.

Although it plays at under 7,000 yards the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Clubh is no walk in the park and the Par 5s tend to be pretty brutal.  With that in mind we’ll focus on Par 5 warriors this week with deadly accuracy, solid birdie averages, and long shot off the tee.  Remember that the CIMB Classic is a no-cut event so each player pick will earn you points.  The key then will be maximizing your roster for points and not worrying about chasing cut-makers.

[membership level=”0″]

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2015 CIMB Classic

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

[/membership]

[membership level=”1,2,3″]

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the CIMB Classic

Kevin Na (Golficity Odds 10/1 FPPG: 109.30 GPFP: 87.40 Salary:$10,800): You may be scratching your head thinking that this is a strange horse pick this week over Stenson and Matsuyama but he’s trending, he’s confident, and he comes into Malaysia with a P2 and a T2 here with a chance to defend his T2 last year (tongue tied yet?).  Na is a definite horse for the course like Ryan Moore, so we needed to have him in this spot.  Stenson, although lights out in his last four events of the FedExCup playoffs, is just too expensive for us this week in a non-cut event.  Henrik may perform fine, but remember that you’ll need equal or better picks at lower prices in order to fill up the seats on your teams for this no-cut event.

(2016 Season Stats)

• GIR Rank: 8th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 2nd
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 23th
• Scrambling: 25th

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 7th

Justin Thomas (Golficity Odds 16/1 FPPG: 98.50 GPFP: 106.38 Salary: $9,600): We like the idea of Ryan Moore on a course where he has won two years in a row, but given his “so-so” 2015 season performance we think his chances of a three-peat this year are not worth the gamble.  Thomas on the other hand is a Par-5 animal with the ability crush the ball off the tee and score very well on this course.  He closed last season at second in par-5 scoring on TOUR and already broke through early in the 2016 season with a T3 at Silverado two weeks ago.  Thomas comes into Malaysia with six top 20s in his last eight starts and looks poised to have a monster year.

(2016 Season Stats)

• GIR Rank: 1st
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 10th
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 27th
• Scrambling: 12th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 2nd

Danny Lee (Golficity Odds 20/1 FPPG: NA GPFP: NA Salary:$9,200): Lee is looking to continue his recent success after coming off  a 1-2-0 record at his inaugural Presidents Cup appearance.  Danny finished T2 a few weeks ago at East Lake and concluded the 2015 season with five top 10s in his last 10 starts.  He also notched a top 15 (T13) performance here last year.  There are no stats yet this season for Lee so we’ll share his 2015 stats at season end.  Although his last season stats don’t seem like much, his putter can bail him out this week and help catapult him up the leaderboard.

(2015 Season Stats)

• GIR Rank: 111th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 59th
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 115th
• Scrambling: 52nd

* Most Notable Stat: Putting Average: 9th

Gary Woodland (Golficity Odds 24/1 FPPG: NA GPFP: NA Salary: $8,700): Like Lee, this is Woodland’s first event of the 2016 season so forgive us for not having a calculated GPFP yet since our algorithm is only factoring in current season stats.  But numbers aside Gary was the runner-up here the last two years losing to Moore both times and scoring a 14-under 274 in both appearances.  We all know he has the long stick in his bag and if his accuracy shows up this week, he can be a solid addition to your team.

(2015 Season Stats)

• GIR Rank: 79th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 86th
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 97th
• Scrambling: 142nd

* Most Notable Stat: Driving Distance: 12th

Brendan Steele (Golficity Odds 33/1 FPPG: 64.00 GPFP: 67.84 Salary: $8,000): Steele followed his T17 finish at Silverado with a MC last week in Vegas.  There’s no denying that Brendan has always been a solid fantasy contributor and we like this spot for him to potentially step up and do something big on a course like this.  We are definitely trying to catch lightning in a bottle with Steele this week and so if you can squeeze him on your roster try and add him.  You just might be patting yourself on the back (and filling your wallet) come Monday.

(2016 Season Stats)

• GIR Rank: 59th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 36th
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 63rd
• Scrambling: 159th

* Most Notable Stat: All – Around Ranking: 2nd

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the CIMB Classic

Daniel Summerhays (Golficity Odds 50/1 FPPG: 82.00 GPFP: 65.60 Salary:$7,800): Summerhays comes into Malaysia off the heels of a T16 finish at the Shriners which marks his fifth top 20 in his last nine starts.  Not a whole lot to be said of his stats yet as we’re only a handful of events into the new season but he can certainly find the greens and has dominated Par-4s this and last season.

• GIR Rank: 21st
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 32nd
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 98th
• Scrambling: 66th

* Most Notable Stat: Par 4 Scoring Average: 11th

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the CIMB Classic

Rory Sabbatini (Golficity Odds 66/1 FPPG: 57.3 GPFP: NA Salary:$7,100): This might be the one and only event in which we pick Sabbatini this year but something is telling us to go with him after watching him play last week.  At just $7,100 he certainly allows you to free up some spending cash for some of the other names on this list which is a big plus.  Rory showed his strengths when he finished T25 at TPC Summerlin two weeks back with a closing 66.  He knows this course well as evidenced by a T8 here last year and like Summerhays, he is also a Par-4 Scoring machine.  He’s a true Sleeper Pick for sure but with no-cut and four rounds to play Sabbatini might just jump out and surprise us a bit.

• GIR Rank: 72nd
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 70th
• Par 5 Scoring Average: 94th
• Scrambling: 78th

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 31st

DraftKings Roster Suggestion #1

DraftKings Roster Suggestion #2

[/membership]

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Shriners Open

• Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 6/1 ): T25
• Emiliano Grillo (Golficity Odds 10/1): MC
• Jimmy Walker (Golficity Odds 16/1):  T50
• Russell Knox (Golficity Odds 26/1): T38
• Will Wilcox (Golficity Odds 40/1): MC

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Shriners Open

• Ben Martin (Golficity Odds 50/1): T25

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Shriners Open

• Pat Perez (Golficity Odds 66/1): MC

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD (2015-2016)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”7.1428%” bar_text=”1 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.285%” bar_text=”2 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 2 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Sleeper Report Winners Picked” percent=”14.29%” bar_text=”1 out of 10 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 2 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”71.42%” bar_text=”10 out of 14 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Major Winners Picked (TBD)” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 0 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2015 CIMB Classic with other Premium Members.

Want even more fantasy golf picks for this week’s CIMB Classic?  If so be sure to check out this week’s Fantasy Sleeper Report for even more selections coming off 50/1 or greater odds.

Cover Photo via @CIMBClassic on Instagram