Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2020 Shriners Hospital for Children Open
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open
The Shriners Hospital for Children Open Fantasy Preview
Just when you thought that bulking up to 240lbs was the secret to winning golf tournaments, along comes Sergio Garcia to show that closing your eyes when you putt is the key.
To be fair, the Spaniard’s backers had been closing their eyes every time he was on the greens in recent times, but credit to Garcia for trying something new and reaping the reward – he won the Sanderson Farms Championship to end a three-year wait for a trophy on the PGA TOUR.
So why the closed eyes? Garcia didn’t say too much on the subject, but it’s clear that he is looking for some feel on the greens and wants to trust his stroke – whether the eyes-wide-shut method will work for everyone remains to be seen, but by gaining +0.71 strokes with his putter the 40-year-old did just enough to frank an outstanding show of ball striking.
It’s been a bonkers few weeks on the PGA TOUR with some rather unlikely winners coming to the party, but when you look at the field for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this week it’s clear that business is starting to pick back up.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
Last week simply wasn’t our week. No other way to slice it.
We haven’t had Sergio on our radar all year and then all of a sudden…boom, he’s tournament winner. Goes to show you unpredictable this game can be.
Our best finish last week as Stallings, an Alt-Sleeper pick with a low price tag who ended up T6.
The Shriners Hospital for Children Open 2020 Field
Bryson DeChambeau will make his long-awaited return to action – his first since winning the U.S. Open.
A former Shriners champion, it will be interesting to see how Bryson 2.0 tackles TPC Summerlin, and he’s unlikely to have things all his own way with a quality field including Collin Morikawa, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay also battling for honors.
There’s a really interesting supporting cast too. Louis Oosthuizen and Hideki Matsuyama continue to play well without winning – they’ll be hoping their luck turns in Nevada, while Matthew Wolff has been close to adding another PGA TOUR title to his collection of late.
Kevin Na is our defending champion – he’s won the Shriners twice now, while names like Casey, Im, Day, Fowler and Kuchar let us know we’re in for a high-quality affair this week.
This Week’s Course Preview
We’re in the Nevada desert this week, and already one word springs to mind: wind.
There will be a breeze whipping up at TPC Summerlin, particularly over the weekend, and that’s important because otherwise this layout is there for the taking.
The brainchild of Bobby Weed, with Fuzzy Zoller on advisory duty, TPC Summerlin is a 7,255 yard Par 71 that plays at around 2,700 ft above sea level – that adds around 5% to shot distance, so not a huge factor but certainly worthy of consideration.
Wind aside, there really isn’t much to trouble the players this week. The fairways are wide open – pretty much unmissable for most, to be honest – but this isn’t a bomb fest as such because Kevin Na and Rd Pampling’ names are etched onto the trophy.
The huge Bentgrass green complexes take some missing too, and so its perhaps no surprise that Na racked up a winning mark of -23 here a year ago.
However, the field won’t be able to rest on their laurels as they head down the closing stretch. From fifteen through to the clubhouse there’s a drivable Par 4, a risk-and-reward Par 5 – to lay up or not to lay up?, a Par 3 guarded by plenty of water and a tough enough Par 4 to close that can reward the brave souls who take it on.
That can help to create a grandstand finish with plenty of leaderboard changes heading into the business end!
Weather Forecast for Las Vegas, NV
With rain as rare as hen’s teeth in this part of the world, you won’t be shocked to hear that it’s going to be a very pleasant and sunny week in Summerlin.
The mercury could hit 89°F on Thursday, and while it cools from there don’t expect the temperatures to drop below 77°F.
As for that wind….Thursday and Friday look set to shuttle between 9-10 mph, but the weekend looks slightly more eventful at 13 mph and more. It’s not a hurricane, by any means, but it may just affect shot selection and the like.
Last Year’s Results for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open
A former winner at TPC Summerlin, Kevin Na had good memories of the layout heading into last year’s edition of the Shriners and boy, did he make it count.
He set a new PGA TOUR record for feet made with the putter – a handsome 558-feet to be precise, to just edge out Patrick Cantlay in a playoff.
You can call it luck or you can call it skill, but time and time again Na would drain a long one to keep the field at bay and put the pressure on others – even after making a triple bogey as he looked to close out on Sunday.
But in the end, the relentless nature of his putting would prove too much for Cantlay, who three-putted the second play-off hole to hand Na what was, at the time, his third win in little over a year.
Highlights | Round 4 | Shriners 2019
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Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open this Week
It’s a better week as far as the quality of the field is concerned, and there’s a marked improvement in what the major DFS sites have in store for players too as far as their contests are concerned.
- PGA $400k Resurgence: It’s a case of ones and zeros for this week’s power play contest with this Resurgence game serving up a top prize of $100k for your $10 entry. You’ll be up against 47k players, but there’s payouts for the top 9,880.
- PGA $200k Club Twirl: Here’s an appetizing contest in which a $44 entry will net you a shot at the $50k top prize – a small field of 5,300 ramps up the excitement further.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open
On wide open, characterless golf courses, it is hard to gain an advantage anywhere other than on the greens.
Finding fairways and greens in regulation is almost a given at TPC Summerlin, and so you have to hit approaches relentlessly to four-foot or closer if you can’t putt or you have to drain some longer-distance efforts – like Na – if you are slightly more errant with your irons.
Really, the order of the day at TPC Summerlin is birdies, and lots of them. It may need 25 or more to post a winning total, and so it’s highly unlikely – but not impossible – that somebody out of form is going to roll up this week and outscore the field.
Don’t get too hung up on the altitude thing nor the speed of these Bentgrass greens – even given how dry they are in the desert, they are only mid-paced rather than electrically fast.
The last three champions of this event have been Na, Bryson and Cantlay, so we are seeing a trend for class acts getting the job done, and so we’re expecting a high grade player who has a fine week with the flat stick to prevail at the Shriners this week.
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Shriners Hospital for Children Open
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The Shriners Hospital for Children Open
Top Tier Pick:
Patrick Cantlay (Odds: 18/1, FPPG: 74.4, GPFP: 59.52 Salary: $10,400)
Let’s face it: TPC Summerlin cannot be ‘Bryson proofed’, and so we wait with baited breath to see how the former winner at this stretch fares with his new physique.
He’s a very obvious candidate this week, but with chalk plays there is always a sense that if their putter doesn’t fire, are they worth the bet or the rostering? If is a big word in DFS golf and there’s a lot of money on the line when drafting Bryson this week.
There is risk attached to Patrick Cantlay too given that he hasn’t been that active in recent times, but his record at this layout – 2-2-1 – will have him frothing at the mouth for a return to a happy hunting ground.
It may take a classy performance to down the best players in the mix this week, and you would have to surmise that Cantlay has the game to win this and many more events in the future – quite probably on Bentgrass, which already seems to be the Californian’s best surface.
There are no weaknesses in his game and he makes plenty of birdies too, so save yourself a few dollars by taking Cantlay over Bryson and hoping for the best!
Key Stats (2019-20):
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 12th
- Birdie Average – 20th
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 21st
Top-Tier Pick #2:
Matthew Wolff (Odds: 25/1, FPPG: 63.9, GPFP: 51.14 Salary: $9,600)
Since the resumption of golf, Matthew Wolff has finished solo second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and in the top-five of both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship – both of which he had opportunities to win.
That’s outstanding form, and he seems almost destined to follow up his win at the 3M Open in 2019 sooner rather than later.
TPC Summerlin seems a perfect. The large greens mean that his GIR percentage will be high and that will negate the sole weakness in his game – that rather clunky chipping/pitching stroke.
His prodigious length off the tee and reliable putting will always give Wolff a shot – those are skills that travel well in the modern game, and few in attendance this week are striking the ball as well as he is right now.
Key Stats (2019-20):
- Driving Distance – 9th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 57th
- SG: Putting – 74th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Joaquin Niemann (Odds: 66/1, FPPG: 60.0, GPFP: 48.02 Salary: $8,100)
A metaphorical year ago at the Shriners 2019, we drafted Joaquin Niemann to our roster despite his problems on the green – more in hope rather than expectation. A missed cut was another harsh lesson that DFS golf seems to have a habit of throwing your way.
Fast forward 12 months, and the Chilean’s hard work in practice appears to be paying dividends – he ranked sixth for Strokes Gained: Putting at the US Open, and while the relevance of that will known more widely in weeks to come, it is certainly a huge leap forward on paper.
Why? Because Niemann is elite with irons in hand and he’s pretty solid off the tee too, and so if he can complete the jigsaw with a competent short game then magic could follow.
A winner of the Greenbrier Classic and T3 at the BMW Championship – both played on Bentgrass, could all of the elements of the winning equation be about to fall into place for Niemann?
Key Stats (2019-20):
- SG: Approach – 15th
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 26th
- Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders – 31st
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Lanto Griffin (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 63.7, GPFP: 50.93 Salary: $7,300)
What a season 2019-20 was for Lanto Griffin.
There 21 cuts made from 27 starts, 14 top-25s, four top-10s and, of course, his maiden PGA TOUR win at the Houston Open.
The Californian has started where he means to go on this term, making the cut at the devilish Winged Foot, and you suspect he will enjoy a return to a layout where he finished T18 last year.
At 32, the penny has dropped rather late for Griffin in his professional career, but his performances in the past year suggest he is more than ready to make up for lost time.
Key Stats (2019-20):
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 27th
- SG: Putting – 39th
- SG: Tee-to-Green – 72nd
Low-Tier Pick:
Maverick McNealy (Odds: 180/1, FPPG: 64.1, GPFP: 51.28 Salary: $6,900)
Nobody made more birdies than Maverick McNealy at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and nobody putted better – literally, he ranked first for Strokes Gained: Putting.
In of themselves, no stats don’t mean a great deal but we suspect the 24-year-old will enjoy himself around TPC Summerlin – a golf course so forgiving that his wayward nature from tee-to-green will not be so badly exposed.
Born and raised in Stanford and now residing in Nevada, it’s no great surprise that McNealy putts well on Bentgrass and it’s no coincidence that two of his best performances last season came in the west – T5 at Pebble Beach and solo 15th at the Farmers.
Key Stats (2019-20):
- SG: Putting – 9th
- Birdie Average – 29th
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 54th
Sleeper Pick for The Shriners Hospital for Children Open
Russell Henley (Odds: 70/1, FPPG: 60.3, GPFP: 48.20 Salary: $8,400)
Followers of the PGA TOUR of a certain age will remember when Russell Henley was one of the most reliable putters around.
That fired him to three wins on the Tour between 2013-2017, and so it was something of a surprise when this department of his game fell through the floor thereafter.
Perhaps, however, there are signs of a return. He isn’t back to his best with the flat stick by any means, but three top 10s in his last seven starts – Workday Charity Open, Wyndham Championship and the Northern Trust – show that he is at least making some.
In truth, that form has been powered by excellent approach play, and if his recent brilliance with iron and wedge in hand can be matched by his old-school putting ability then all of a sudden Henley becomes a contender once more.
Key Stats (2019-20):
- SG: Approach – 3rd
- Greens in Regulation – 5th
- Scoring Average – 27th
Alternative Sleeper Pick for The Shriners Hospital for Children Open
Patrick Rodgers (Odds: 150/1, FPPG: 61.9, GPFP: 57.52 Salary: $6,800)
Drafting a player a week after a missed cut does, by definition, require a leap of faith.
And yet, bizarrely, Patrick Rodgers may just have walked away from the Country Club of Jackson in good spirits after a stellar second round. He gained +3.62 strokes on the field from tee to green, including +3.17 on approach, to deliver one of his best ball-striking rounds in quite some time.
Hopefully – there’s that word again – he takes that precision to TPC Summerlin, because if he does and his putter is running as smooth as it normally does, Rodgers can make the weekend and reward those who kept the faith in his undoubted ability.
Key Stats (2019/20):
- SG: Putting – 11th
- Driving Distance – 18th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 37th
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.
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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2020-2021)
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