Fantasy Golf Predictions – The Barclays 2013

Fantasy Golf Predictions for The 2013 Barclays Aug 22 – 25, 2013

Preview:  PGA TOUR fanatics rejoice!  The FedExCup Playoffs are officially back in action. This year, The Barclays will be hosted by Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, NJ, and comes complete with a warm August breeze coming in off the Hudson River and Lady Liberty standing tall in the background.

The winner of this first of four FedExCup playoff events will bring home a coveted 2,500 points which will count heavily towards the winner’s final playoff rank going into the TOUR Championship in September.

Only 123 of the 125 qualifiers will be playing this week as Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson opted to sit out due to personal reasons.  Tiger Woods stands tall with the overall lead going into The Barclays and Matt Kuchar sits at No.2.

The Course: Liberty National Golf Club measures 7,346 yards and plays as a par 70. The course opened in 2006 on the site of a former Hudson River landfill which offers spectacular views of the New York City skyline and Statue of Liberty.  The tricky crosswinds coming off of the Hudson in combination with the challenging greens will make these next few days a bit of a challenge.  Liberty National first attracted the PGA TOUR in 2009, becoming the second course in The Barclays rotation after the event was first played at Westchester Country Club.

Photo via LibertyNationalGC.com

The Weather at 2013 Barclays in Jersey City, NJ (from weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Aug 22) 82 degrees, 30% chance of rain, scattered T-storms.
• Round 2: Friday (Aug 23) 82 degrees, 10% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• Round 3: Saturday (Aug 24) 79 degrees, 20% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• Round 4: Sunday (Aug 25) 80 degrees, 10% chance of rain, partly cloudy.

2012 Results: Nick Watney was having a disappointing season until he arrived at Bethpage State Park for the 2012 Barclays.  Watney overcame a field of elite players to hang on to a three-shot victory at Bethpage Black, a track that some say is one of the most difficult in on TOUR.  After Watney grabbed the lead from Sergio Garcia with 10 holes to play, Nick survived three three-putt bogeys, a drive into the woods at No. 13 and a seemingly inescapable buried bunker lie. But these missteps weren’t enough to allow the win to slip away and he eventually closed with a 2-under 69 to claim his fifth career PGA TOUR victory.  Perhaps more notably was Brandt Snedeker’s second  place finish which ultimately set him up for his 2012 FedExCup playoffs overall victory.  Garcia and Dustin Johnson both finished a shot back from Snedeker. Garcia was looked to have a strong chance to go back-to-back after winning the 2012 Wyndham Championship, but failed with a closing 75 on the final day.

Notes: Tiger Woods takes a 766-point lead into the first event of the 2013 Playoffs, but could easily find himself out of the top spot with so many points on the line per event.  In case you’re wondering how the FedExCup Playoffs work, brush up on it here.  The goal for the bottom players will be to stay within the top 100 to make it to next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. With so many great names atop the leaderboard, there is no doubt that this will dogfight will come right down to the end.

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The 2013 Barclays:

• Tiger Woods (Golficity Odds 6/1): Although he didn’t win a major this year, Tiger won five events in 2013 – the most on TOUR.  Woods tends to get ramped up for these events, and although they’re not majors, the playoffs are still notable pillars that we’re sure he’d like added to his illustrious career. Tiger currently leads the TOUR in adjusted scoring and was co-runner-up at Liberty National in 2009.
• Jason Day (Golficity Odds 12/1): Day did not play last week at Wyndham but he recently shared eighth place at the PGA Championship, which earned him his sixth top 10 of the season. With twenty-one consecutive cuts made he sits at 38th in strokes gained-putting and 14th in adjusted scoring. Also of note was the fact that Day tied for 12th at the 2009 Barclays.
• Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 18/1): Scott notched a T5 at the PGA Championship two weeks ago where he held a share of the 18-hole lead. Adam is most notably known this year for his epic playoff victory at the Masters and his T3 at The Open Championship, giving him 3 top-5s in majors this year.  If Scott goes into this week treating the Barclays like a major, watch out…
• Jason Dufner (Golficity Odds 22/1): This will mark Dufner’s first start as a major champ and we feel that he can carry that momentum into Liberty National.   His win at Oak Hill was followed by a T4 at Firestone and it quickly erased what seemed to be a disappointing season for the club waggling golfer. We’re going long on Dufner this week and we feel he has what it takes to make a run in these playoffs.
• Henrik Stenson (Golficity Odds 25/1):  There is no doubt that Stenson is one of the hottest players on TOUR right now.  With two seconds and two thirds in his last four starts, Stenson ranks sixth in fairways hit and second in greens in regulation.  He’s due for a win, and what better time than this week!

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win:

• Keegan Bradley (Golficity Odds 31/1):  Keegan has been looking great on the course lately. With top 20s in his last three starts, including a co-runner-up at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Bradley ranks tenth in adjusted scoring and third in the all-around. He’s 2-for-2 in advancing to East Lake – which is the final round of the FedExCup playoffs.
• Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 40/1): Haas likes to find himself in the top ten more often than not.  The PGA TOUR’s leader in top 10s (nine) has another five top 25s. The 2011 FedExCup champion ranks 10th in greens in regulation, 17th in adjusted scoring and T1 in par-4 scoring.

Last Week’s Fantasy Golf Predictions Results (2013 Wyndham Championship)

• Brandt Snedeker (Golficity Odds 10/1): MC
• Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 18/1): T20
• Zach Johnson (Golficity Odds 22/1): T5
• Webb Simpson (Golficity Odds 30/1):  T11
• Sergio Garcia (Golficity Odds 38/1): T29

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win:

• Tim Clark (Golficity Odds 40/1): T26
• David Toms (Golficity Odds 45/1): T16

(Cover Photo Credit)