Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2014 Wyndham Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2014 Wyndham Championship

This Week’s Tournament Preview

It’s the final push for players to earn extra FedExCup points before the playoffs commence in Paramus, NJ at the 2014 Barclays next week. Only the players who fall within the top 125 in total points will be eligible to compete in this playoff opening event.

There is certainly no doubt that Rory McIlroy is the clear favorite to win the FedExCup this year, one of the few feats (other than a green jacket) still missing from his resume.

Some notable players who are teetering on the bubble include Steve Stricker (122) who will sit this event out, and Paul Casey (124th).

It is pretty clear that Tiger Woods will miss the playoffs this year with his continued ailments and poor play and it comes as no surprise that he has elected not to play at the Wyndham this week. At this point, Tiger’s primary focus will be rest and rehab his back to get ready for a possible Ryder Cup nod.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

With our our pick Rory taking home the Wanamaker Trophy last Sunday, we have now successfully predicted nine winners in thirty-two tournaments this year. Our fantasy selections for the PGA Championship yielded a total fantasy earnings of $2.112 million with only one  player being lost to the cut line (Keegan Bradley).

McIlroy’s win also marks our second successful major selection of the year (2-for-4: 50%) and Rory’s previous week’s win notched us up to going 2-for-3 in 2014 WGC events (66.7%). Thanks Rors!

Now have our eyes set on the five remaining tournaments of the season and we’re feeling good about picking a few more winners before the season is up.

The Field

It should come as no surprise that most players sitting comfortably inside the top 125 (in FedExCup points) will take a break this week to prep for the playoffs, while most of those on the bubble will tee it up to earn some final points.

Defending champion Patrick Reed, 2012 FedExCup winner Brandt Snedeker, and Webb Simpson are the notable names leading the field this week. Overall, the field will include just five of the current top 30 in the FedExCup points, and will be rounded out mostly by players within 80-161 points range.

There is no doubt that fantasy picks will be a challenge this week with so many of the lesser known players looking to climb the leaderboards, but these lower profile tournments can also make for excellent opportunities to catch opponents sleeping and jump ahead in fantasy leagues. That said, be on the lookout for more than one sleeper pick to earn the bulk of your fantasy points this week.

The Course

Sedgefield Country Club measures in at 7,127 yards and plays as a par 70. The greens are not as big as Valhalla, in fact, they rank as some of the smallest putting surfaces on TOUR. With that in mind we’ll put a heavy emphasis on GIR and scrambling this week when making our weekly picks.

The course was ranked the hardest of five par 70s that average under par with a course score average of 69.972. Not many GIRs are recorded here, in fact, last year the field hit only 66.81% of the greens in regulation which was a tournament low.

For these reasons we’ll be looking for pin-seekers and GIR masters in our picks this week.

Photo by sedgefieldcc.org

Weather Forecast for Greensboro, NC (from weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Aug 14) 83 degrees, 10% chance of rain, mostly sunny.
• Round 2: Friday (Aug 15) 85 degrees, 0% chance of rain, sunny.
• Round 3: Saturday (Aug 16) 85 degrees, 10% chance of rain, mostly sunny.
• Round 4: Sunday (Aug 17) 85 degrees, 20% chance of rain, mostly sunny.

2013 Results

Patrick Reed emerged on the scene with his breakout win beating fellow rookie Jordan Spieth in a playoff hole after shooting 66 on the final day. Jordan’s closing 65 put him in contention which was helped along by a 25-foot par putt on the first extra hole that extended the playoff.

Reed quickly answered back with a powerful uphill 7-iron from underneath a tree branch that he was able to put just seven feet from the cup. Reed went on to win the tournament with his wife Justine along for the ride as his caddie for the event. Patrick would go on to win a few more in the newly structured wrap-around season.

For more, here is wrap-up of Round four from last year’s edition of The Wyndham Championship:

No Title

In the final round of the Wyndham Championship from Sedgefield Country Club, Patrick Reed bests Jordan Spieth after two playoff holes to win his first PGA TOUR title. . SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh Welcome to the official YouTube channel of the PGA TOUR.

Media

• Television Broadcasts
  • Thursday-Friday, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday – Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST (TNT)
  • Saturday – Sunday, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST (CBS)
• Radio Broadcasts
  • Thursday-Sunday, 12:00 pm – 7:00 p.m. EST (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
• Mobile Broadcasts
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra app for iPhone and iPad.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes

As mentioned in the course preview, Sedgefield is not a walk in the park course by any means.  The challenging greens present a threat to the remaining players fighting to make it to New Jersey next week.

What Patrick Reed did last year was unheard of on this course, and before you jump all over the defending champ, see what we think about Reed and his “iffy” play as of late below.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2014 Wyndham Championship

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Wyndham Championship

• Hideki Matsuyama (Golficity Odds 12/1): Not many saw this coming, but Matsuyama has quietly made himself a strong favorite this week. He currently has eight straight cuts made and placed 15th in his debut here last year. Matsuyama’s GIR percentage works against him a bit here, but he’s our guy this week to get the job done.
• Brandt Snedeker (Golficity Odds 16/1): The game is beginning to come back alive for Snedeker. The 2012 FedExCup Champ has top 15s at Firestone and Valhalla with a total of six top 25s in last seven starts. Looking back, Sneds also claims two top 10s at Sedgefield. Undoubtedly Snedeker knows that he can still catch the eye of Ryder cup Captain Tom Watson for a possible captains pick if he can put together a strong showing in these last few weeks. Perhaps most importantly, we think he stands out in this field less saturated with big name players.
• Patrick Reed (Golficity Odds 18/1): The defending champ has been very inconsistent since his early season tear. Now a Ryder Cup roster member, Reed will be looking to defend his title at the site of his breakthrough win. We like his chances this week and think he can rake in some quality fantasy points, but we wouldn’t take him in the number one slot.
• Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 25/1): Despite his inability to get the job done lately, Haas ranks 24th on TOUR in GIR percentage and sits comfortably in 25th on the FedExCup points list. He also has three top 20s at Sedgefield to his name, but tread lightly, and don’t pick him as your go-to this week. Use Haas only if you have room for him on your roster.
• Carl Petterson (Golficity Odds 33/1): Petterson is the type of player that can silently take over a leaderboard, despite his recent inconstancy. He currently has enough points to get to the Barclays but hovers around the 90th spot which can put him in jeopardy for round two. Petterson is also the all-time earnings leader at Sedgefield after winning the first edition in 2008 and notching two T4s since. We think Carl has the game for this track, and at a low price point he could certainly bring a smile to your face this week. If that’s not enough, he also co-owns course record  with a 61.

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the 2014 Wyndham Championship

• Ernie Els (Golficity Odds 50/1): He’s a pricey sleeper pick, but a sleeper pick indeed. Most won’t see this coming even though he put on a performance last Sunday during Round four of the PGA. Els entered the field late after tying for seventh at Valhalla with a closing 65. This also comes after a T12 in Canada and T26 in Akron, so we’re convinced that old Ernie is beginning a playoff campaign early. He could easily give fantasy owners a boost with a potential Top 10 finish.

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the 2014 Wyndham Championship

• Justin Hicks (Golficity Odds 75/1): Although not especially cheap in salary cap leagues, he’s a name not many may be thinking of this week (but they should). Hicks comes into this event after consecutive career-best finishes which includes a solo third at the RBC Canadian Open and a solo second at the Barracuda Championship. At just 43rd on the FedExCup list, this guy is gunning for the spotlight this week and could make some serious fantasy noise. Did we mention he ranks second on TOUR in GIR percentage…that stat alone is enough to put him on your team this week.

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Last Week’s Results:  Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 PGA Championship

• Rory McIlroy (Golficity Odds 3/1): WINNER ($1,850,000)
• Justin Rose (Golficity Odds 7/1): T24 ($85,000)
• Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 10/1): T15 ($127,889)
• Keegan Bradley (Golficity Odds 12/1): MC
• Sergio Garcia (Golficity Odds 18/1): T36 ($45,520)

Last Week’s Results: Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 PGA Championship

• Ryan Moore (Golficity Odds 25/1): T41 ($32,000)

Last Week’s Results Salary Cap Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the 2014 PGA Championship

• Marc Leishman (Golficity Odds 50/1): T47 ($24,792)

Fantasy Golf Predictions Stats: Season to Date

• Total Fantasy Dollars: $39,881,554 (Weekly average = $1,246,298)
• Total Top 10s: 78 out of 224 players picked (34.82%).
• Total Top 3s: 24 out of 224 players picked (10.71%).
• Total Missed Cuts: Only 31 out of 224 players picked (86.16% made the cut).
• Total Major Winners Picked: 2 out of 4 (50%)
• Total WGC Event Winners Picked: 2 out of 3 (66.67%)

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2014 Wyndham Championship with other Premium Members.

(Cover Photo Credit)