Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – The Wells Fargo Championship
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Wells Fargo Championship
2018 Wells Fargo Championship Fantasy Preview
The pomposity and showmanship of team golf events isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but the enjoyable Zurich Classic’s format is one that Scott Piercy would like to roll up and take around with him.
The 39-year-old would have won tons more events but for one very obvious weakness: Strokes Gained: Tee to Green rank = 12th, Strokes Gained: Putting rank = 172nd.
The foursome part of the Zurich Classic is right up his street then. Piercy could knock his approaches close and Billy Horschel, in-form and feeling good about his game, could putt them home.
It was a formula that guided the duo to a one-shot win over the rather more laidback pairing of Jason Dufner and Pat Perez.
These team events are a nice distraction sometimes – even if the DFS sites haven’t figured out a way to set up contests for them yet, but it’s good to be back into the business of the PGA TOUR for the foreseeable future.
And what a month or so we have in store: this week we head to North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship, next week we have the unofficial ‘fifth major’ at TPC Sawgrass; THE PLAYERS Championship. And then we follow that with the last two legs of the Texas Swing with the AT&T Byron Nelson and the Forth Worth Invitational (formerly the Dean & Deluca).
Business is picking up with the next major, the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, just seven weeks away.
Tiger Woods of the United States waits on the first fairway with…
Tiger Woods of the United States waits on the first fairway with caddie Joe LaCava during the final round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2018 in Augusta,… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
With no DFS action for the team-play Zurich, our only picks last week were for the Volvo China Open which took place on the European Tour. Alexander took home the top prize as one of our top picks Jorge Campillo finished T3. Overall not much to report with the lack of fantasy last week; but some good action should spark back up this week with Tiger back in a stacked field, so get your deposits ready!
https://www.gettyimages.com/license/952703532
The Wells Fargo Championship 2018 Field
Justin Thomas returns to the scene of his first major win this week, with Quail Hollow the host venue for the PGA Championship last autumn.
He will be up against a strong field with Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods returning to the fold for their first start since The Masters – the latter making his first appearance at Quail Hollow since 2012.
Brooks Koepka, the reigning US Open champion, makes his first strokeplay start since injuring his wrist; he and Marc Turnesa missed the cut in the Zurich Classic last week.
Brian Harman will look to defend the title he won at Eagle Point last year, while Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama will be looking to build on top-10 finishes here 12 months ago.
All in all, there are 14 of the world’s top 25 in town, plus the (former) best amateur on the planet in Joaquin Niemann.
Patrick Reed plays his shot from the 16th tee during the second round…
Patrick Reed plays his shot from the 16th tee during the second round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana on April 27, 2018 in Avondale, Louisiana. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
This Week’s Course Preview
Quail Hollow is so well respected on Tour that it was selected to host last year’s PGA Championship, and it is not hard to see why.
Complex enough to provide an excellent challenge, but not too difficult in that the game becomes a real grind, Quail Hollow is protected by its prodigious length: typically 7,560 yards for its Par 72, the layout was actually lengthened for the PGA Championship. Short hitters need not apply.
Designed by George Cobb – the man responsible for Augusta National’s Par 3 course and East Lake (home to the TOUR Championship), among others – and re-worked by Tom Fazio, Quail Hollow used to be heavily tree-lined although is less so these days after a number of trees were removed.
This is an undulating, parklands style layout, and in 2014 the greens were changed from Bentgrass to Bermuda.
The course contains one of the most devilish concluding trio of holes in golf. The ‘Green Mile’, as it is aptly named, features a 500+ yard Par 4 with water in play off the tee and on approach (sixteenth), a Par 3 which features an approach onto an island green that must carry some 200 yards of water (seventeen), and a closing Par 4 with water running the entire length of the left-hand side of the hole and a sloped green with hazards left, right and at the back.
If you’re going to win this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, you will have to survive this golfing gauntlet!
Jason Day in action during Sunday play at Quail Hollow Club. Robert…
Jason Day in action during Sunday play at Quail Hollow Club. Robert Beck TK4 ) Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Weather Forecast for Charlotte, North Carolina
Thursday through Saturday have a nice symmetry to them as far as the early forecast is concerned.
Quite cool at dawn, the temperatures improve throughout the day as the sun comes out, with the mercury touching 30°. Wind speeds are fairly routine too, with an absolute top speed of 12 mph expected.
Sunday, according to the early forecast, could be a slightly trickier day for the players. There are heavy showers in the forecast, although the breeze should remain manageable and the temperatures relatively mild at 74 degrees.
Last Year’s Results from the Wells Fargo Championship
It’s one thing knowing you need a birdie at the last to win your second PGA TOUR title, and quite another to go out there and make it happen.
But that’s exactly what Brian Harman did 12 months ago at Eagle Point, ramming home a 28-footer at the last to win by one stroke from Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez.
It was Masters champion, Patrick Reed, who led the field heading into Sunday’s final round – there a 75 saw him drop out of the top-10 places, while Jon Rahm and Alex Noren, who trailed Reed by one, could not capitalize when posting 71 and 77 respectively.
And so it was left to Harman to complete the job, with DJ and Perez in a tie for second and Rahm back in solo fourth.
Brian Harman wins 2017 Wells Fargo Championship
Brian Harman wins the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Wells Fargo Championship this Week
After a week off for the DFS games-makers, it’s back to work with a bang courtesy of a slate of lucrative contests. Gamers can scratch the fantasy itch in style!
- PGA $3.5M Fantasy Millionaire: What better way to leap back into golf DFS with this millionaire-maker contest….not bad for a $20 buy in! There are some handy consolation prizes too, with the top 40 players earning at least $1000.
- PGA $200k Fore: If you’re on a tighter budget then this $4 buy-in contest has a top prize of $4k up for grabs, with the top 100 players earning a minimum of $100.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Wells Fargo Championship
The key to taming Quail Hollow is length off the tee, and lots of it. Nobody could accuse former winners like Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and JB Holmes of being short hitters, and even the likes of Lucas Glover, Sean O’Hair and James Hahn – also former champions here – are sneaky long. The removal of a number of trees has aided the cause of the bombers.
Dropping bombs off the tee generally comes with missed fairways, so a decent recovery game and powers of scrambling are ideal, and as ever you aren’t going to win a tournament like this with a decent field unless you gain some strokes on the greens.
There is something about this south eastern corner of the US that seems to deliver repeat performers too. Three Kentuckians – Justin Thomas, JB Holmes and Joey Sindelar, a South Carolinan (Lucas Glover), a Texan (Sean O’Hair), a Louisianan (David Toms) and a Floridian (Rickie Fowler) have all won here, and perhaps it should come as no surprise that there seems to be a correlation between this event and the Houston Open; Holmes, Vijay Singh and Anthony Kim have won both, while the likes of Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and D.A. Points have had chances to win both.
Otherwise, there isn’t a huge amount that links the most recent Quail Hollow winners: Thomas, James Hahn, McIlroy, Holmes and Derek Ernst. This is just one of those weeks where if every aspect of a golf game is working well then magic things can happen.
[membership level=”0″]
Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Wells Fargo Championship
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 Wells Fargo Championship
*Please note that some players may not have registered enough events this early into the 2017-2018 season to have an accurate GPFP.
Top Tier Pick #1:
Rickie Fowler (Odds: 12/1, FPPG: 82.7, GPFP: 94.22 Salary: $11,100)
It’s no secret that much of Rickie Fowler’s best work comes on the south/eastern coast of the US.
He’s a former winner here, has won twice in his home state of Florida and, if we want to stretch the notion to breaking point, has won further up the east coast in Boston for the Deutsche Bank Championship. Last time out Fowler was solo second at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
There is a risk of Rick not quite living up to expectation; it’s something his backers have had to put up with over the years, but his course form – 5-4-38-MC-1-16-6 – at least hints at some consistency around these parts.
He’s long and straight off the tee, which obviously helps around here, and if he makes as many short to mid-range putts as he did at Augusta then Fowler might just have found something a week prior to a return to one of his favorites at TPC Sawgrass.
Key Stats:
- Scrambling – 13th
- SG: Approach – 34th
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 36th
Top-Tier Pick #2:
Hideki Matsuyama (Odds: 25/1, FPPG: 75.2, GPFP: 92.48 Salary: $9,400)
We’re going in with a top-heavy line-up this week – a high risk, high reward strategy – but it’s for a good cause. Hideki Matsuyama at this kind of price is an absolute steal.
The Japanese ace has not had the best of seasons, but he has been hampered by injuries and we’re simply not willing to write off a guy who has won seven times worldwide in barely 18 months.
Matsuyama isn’t the best off the tee by any means, but Quail Hollow is largely forgiving and will allow his masterful short game to shine. An improving formline of 38-20-11-5 since 2014 is an indictment of that fact.
The 26-year-old showed at The Masters that he is a force to be reckoned; a T19 finish, with three rounds of par or better, after making just one prior strokeplay start in three months shows just how good this young man is.
Key Stats:
- SG: Around-the-Green – 2nd
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 16th
- SG: Approach-the-Green – 20th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Daniel Berger (Odds: 66/1, FPPG: 68.3, GPFP: 54.64 Salary: $8,000)
Berger is in among that friendship group – let’s call them the ‘Young Americans’ – which features the likes of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
That named trio have achieved some fantastic feats in golf at such a young age, and yet Berger really is trailing behind as far as silverware is concerned; surprising given that he was considered their equal for quite some time.
You sense he’s on the cusp of something having finished T11 twice and T14 twice this term, and maybe a decent run at a course that should suit will be his time and place.
A pair of top-fives at our correlating event, the Houston Open, set the scene, as do a respectable pair of top-15s at another George Cobb layout in the TOUR Championship. A best of T17 at Quail Hollow suggests there is grounds for improvement here, too.
Key Stats:
- Total Driving – 20th
- SG: Putting – 34th
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 58th
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Luke List (Odds: 70/1, FPPG: 69.3, GPFP: 85.87 Salary: $7,400)
When do we jettison a player in the form of his life?
Luke List has contended at the Honda Classic, Arnold Palmer Invitational and RBC Heritage in the past few months alone, and many expected that first PGA TOUR victory to follow at the Texas Open.
He missed the cut.
Perhaps a downturn was inevitable given that we have never seen this level of performance from him on a consistent basis, but one thing we do know: despite his two missed cuts at Quail Hollow, this course should suit his game.
He’s long off the tee (albeit a little wild), but the 33-year-old has a better short game than most give him credit for. At this kind of price, he has to be worth a punt.
Key Stats:
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 6th
- SG: Off-the-Tee – 8th
- SG: Around-the-Green – 11th
Low-Tier Pick:
Grayson Murray (Odds: 110/1, FPPG: 65.8, GPFP: 52.66 Salary: $6,900)
Murray has two professional wins to his name in as many years, and so any event that lets his main strength shine (length off the tee) while negating his glaring weakness (driving accuracy) holds appeal.
Even for somebody that is so wild off the tee, there is a fantastic consistency to Murray’s game. He’s only missed 3/14 cuts, and in those starts has an impressive top-25 finish rate of 50%.
But it’s taking his game to the next level that will bring the North Carolinan his second PGA TOUR victory, and you wonder if a return to home soil might just be the catalyst – he was T6 here after 54 holes in the PGA Championship last year after all.
Key Stats:
- Approaches from > 200 yards – 17th
- Driving Distance – 22nd
- Putting Average – 22nd
Sleeper Pick for the Wells Fargo Championship
Sam Burns (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 63.6, GPFP: 64.85 Salary: $7,500)
This hugely impressive 21-year-old picked up his first Web.com Tour win earlier in April in Georgia, and as there’s a definite link between south coast form and success at Quail Hollow we’ll also note that Burns is a Louisianan by birth who has become a Texan by residence.
Even at such a young age Burns is ticking boxes. Professional victory? Check. Top ten in a PGA TOUR event? Check. Playing your final round with Tiger Woods? Check.
He finished T8 at the Honda Classic and had Tiger for company – a real measure of this young man’s character that he was able to compile a 68 in such illustrious company. He followed up with T12 at the Valspar Championship a week later, too.
Long off the tee and an excellent putter, if Burns can work out the bit in the middle who knows how far he can go!
Key Stats:
- Average Driving Distance – 310.5yds
- Greens in Regulation – 71.08%
- Putts Per GIR – 1.74
Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Wells Fargo Championship
Trey Mullinax (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 64.2, GPFP: 722.49 Salary: $6,800)
Mullinax had his first taste of contending in a PGA TOUR event last time out, eventually finishing T2 at the Texas Open following an outstanding third round of 62.
That was another layout where he could let his bombs fly, and the longest hitter on Your – statistically – may eye up this Quail Hollow layout with equal enthusiasm.
Ignoring the Zurich Classic, Mullinax’s formline reads 2-22-8 – not bad at all for a 150/1 ‘no hoper’ – and as an Alabaman he ticks our ‘south eastern studs’ box.
Key Stats:
- Driving Distance – 1st
- SG: Putting – 59th
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 73rd
This Week’s Sample DraftKings Lineup
Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only. Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.
[/membership]
Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2017-2018)
Remember to visit our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the Wells Fargo Championship with other Premium Members.
Cover Photo via Instagram
What’s Really Going on with LIV Golf?
Blind Ranking The Most Iconic Masters Moments
FIRST LOOK: Titleist Unveils New Vokey WedgeWorks Grind Lineup
New Shot Scope LM1: The Best Budget Launch Monitor Under $200?
Did LIV Golf Finally Get its Big Breakthrough?
Blind Ranking The Most Iconic Masters Moments
What’s Really Going on with LIV Golf?
We Played This Old Golf Course Where Thomas Edison Was A Member
Are You MEASURING Your Golf Swing Correctly? (This Can Help)
Zach Johnson Explains Why He Didn’t Pick Bryson DeChambeau for the Ryder Cup
Justin Thomas FIRES Coach before Ryder Cup…Who’s Next?
