Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – The British Masters Supported by Sky Sports

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2016 British Masters Supported by Sky Sports

The British Masters Supported by Sky Sports Fantasy Preview

As the PGA TOUR season kicks off its newest campaign, the European Tour inches closer to the Final Series at the beginning of November. The British Masters made its way back into the Race to Dubai in 2015 after leaving the circuit for a span of seven years and will be making its debut at The Grove in Hertfordshire, England. There has been one other European Tour event at this Kyle Phillips designed course; the 2006 WGC-American Express Championship which was won by Tiger Woods with a score of 23-under-par; defeating the rest of the field by a whopping eight strokes.

With just a few events left until we get to the final of the Race to Dubai, each outing becomes that much more important, and the youngest player in the field last year was able to dominate despite the added pressure. Matthew Fitzpatrick earned his first of what should be many European Tour victories in this event last season behind four rounds of 69 or better. His Thursday 64 put him in the driver’s seat from the jump and he never looked back with an impressive wire-to-wire finish. He beat out the trio of Soren Kjeldsen, Shane Lowry, and Fabrizio Zanotti by a pair of strokes and with a win this year would become the 14^th player in the event’s history to win the trophy twice. In doing so he would also join Bernard Gallacher (1974, 1975) and Greg Norman (1981, 1982) as the only golfers to come away victorious in back-to-back seasons.

The field is very strong this week as four players from the top-10 in the Race to Dubai rankings, Masters Champion Danny Willett, last week’s victor Tyrell Hatton, Ryder Cup member Chris Wood, and two-time winner in 2016 Alexander Noren, look to improve on their already solid spots in the race. Also returning will be 2015 champion Matthew Fitzpatrick as he joins the host for this year’s festivities; Luke Donald. The talent continues with the likes of Bernd Wiesberger, Ross Fisher, Shane Lowry, Graeme McDowell, Soren Kjeldsen, Tommy Fleetwood, Andrew “Beef” Johnston, Andy Sullivan, Richard Bland, and Thongchai Jaidee all having 33/1 odds or better.

The daily fantasy sports landscape continues to expand with its offerings and the European Tour is one of the newest ways that you can enjoy some of the added weekly golf contest. With this being a fairly new addition, many fans out there are just getting their feet wet with some of the new names and we hope that this article will shed some light on some golfers who could help you when you are building your lineups this week.

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The British Masters Supported by Sky Sports Fantasy Picks and Predictions

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The British Masters Supported by Sky Sports Fantasy Picks

Tyrell Hatton – $10,700 – Hatton dominated the field last week in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, grabbing his first European Tour trophy after shooting 67 or better on three of the four days, including an incredible 62 on Saturday, and defeating runners-up Ross Fisher and Richard Sterne by four strokes. Taking him in this situation may seem like chasing points, but he has been tremendous all season long and has one of the highest floors out there with an average finish of 31.28 over 19 events. In that time he has been able to earn seven top-10s and has shot in the 60s during nine of his last 14 rounds. Hatton currently holds the fourth-best scoring average (70.03) and can get it done with all parts of his game, but primarily makes his money with putting (1.751 putts per GIR, 26^th on TOUR) and by hitting a load of greens (70.7%, 37^th on TOUR). Watch out has Hatton rides the momentum of his win to another big showing this week at The Grove.

Joost Luiten – $9,600 – Joining Hatton as a player with an extremely high floor this week is five-time European Tour winner Joost Luiten. He has made it into the money on 17-of-23 occasions (74%) and has a recent win at the KLM Open in September. He does not have the power that many of the younger players possess these days, but on this type of course he will have no issues scoring big thanks to nailing 74.6% of GIR (11^th on TOUR) and allowing his putter to get to work on the tough, undulating greens. Some people will not be as high on Luiten after a poor showing at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but that will give you the edge as the 30-year-old hits the links on Thursday.

Richard Bland – $8,500 – It’s not often that you see a player break out like Bland has in 2016 while at the age of 43. The Englishman has been able to have his best season in all aspects and is currently riding a 28.46 average finish in his 25 outings. Previous to this year, Bland had never done better 65^th in the Race to Dubai, but his ability to make it into the money 88% of the time (22-of-25) has solidified his spot in the top-30. Over his last seven events, he has done no worse than 27^th and has finished in the top-10 three times. That stretch has seen him shoot rounds in the 60s in 18-of-27 chances (67%) and he has averaged nearly 10 shots under par (9.9). At this point it does not seem like a fluke despite his past and all he has left to do is earn his first career win as he takes one of the best putters (1.735 putts per GIR, 12^th on TOUR) into Hertfordshire in an attempt to improve on his ninth-best scoring average (70.4).

Fabrizio Zanotti – $7,700 – Zanotti has not had that defining week yet this year as he aims at earning a second career European Tour trophy to his collection. Twice he has made it into the top-10 and he has been able to maintain consistency with nine cuts made over his last 10 tournaments while also getting a solid tie for fifteenth at the Olympic Games. Thanks to Zanotti’s skills at hitting the ball in the fairway (72.6%, 2^nd on TOUR) and onto greens in regulation (72.4%, 22^nd on TOUR), he should have a distinct advantage at his proximity to the hole on these tough greens and help even out his rather poor putting ability. Despite this event not being played at this venue last year, the field was very similar, and Zanotti was able to put forth a huge effort with his fourth career runner-up performance after shooting 13-under behind 80.4% driving accuracy (8^th), 77.8% GIR (10^th), and 1.73 putts per GIR (11^th). This 33-year-old could once again perform well in this tourney and be a nice addition to any daily fantasy crew.

David Lipsky – $6,800 – Lipsky has been fantastic during his second full season on the European Tour and has improved his average finishing position by more than 13 over last year. In 51 outings between 2012 and 2015, the 28-year-old American had four finishes in the top-three, and although he has just one third this season, he has seen more consistency with another four finishes in the 4-10 range and has made it into the money just as many times (16) as he did last year in two fewer events (26). He does not impress much off of the tee, but will be able to take advantage of the course the week thanks in part to a great short game. He is in the top-70 in GIR percentage (69.1%, 58^th on TOUR), putts per GIR (1.776, 68^th on TOUR), and sand save percentage (59.6%, 49^th on TOUR). Lipsky is better suited as a tournament player, but at this price range he is one of the few players who could actually come away with a trophy at week’s end.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera – $6,700 – As a whole, Lorenzo-Vera’s season may not look very impressive with a mere 12 cuts made in 22 outings (55%), but he has been turning it on of late and has an average finish of 27.2 over his last five events; and that’s including a 72^nd at the Italian Open. His three top-10s in 2016 match what he has earned over the previous five years and he looks to be a cheap option that is running hot who could really get you some points where many other people aren’t looking. His short game has been his money maker this year as he can get it done both with his putter (28.9 putts per round, 28^th on TOUR) and wedge (68.5% sand saves, 7^th on TOUR) which should keep him out of trouble and allow him to score in the area on this course which is the toughest.

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