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FanDuel Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions – WGC-HSBC Champions

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FanDuel Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions WGC HSBC Champions

2017 WGC-HSBC Champions Fantasy Preview

The first big event of the new season is set to kick off this week as the PGA TOUR keeps its roots in Asia for the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China.

The first World Golf Championship event of the new season is actually the final event of its kind this year, with Dustin Johnson rattling off a pair of victories in the Mexico Championship and Dell Match Play while Hideki Matsuyama was the victor in the Bridgestone Invitational.

Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai has been the chosen venue for this outing from 2005-2011 and again from 2012 to how it is currently. The par-72, 7,261-yard course has shown the propensity to give up plenty of scoring and with many of the top players in the world making the trip; the week should involve some serious fireworks.

Although the top-50 players from the Official World Golf Rankings are the first to be invited to a WGC event, a few big names are missing from the entrants list. Most notably is a quintet of top-10 golfers in No. 2 Jordan Spieth, No. 3 Justin Thomas, No. 6 Rory McIlroy, No. 7 Rickie Fowler, and No. 10 Sergio Garcia; with Thomas and Garcia coming away as the winner’s in their respective PGA and European tour events last week.

Dustin Johnson celebrates his win on the 18th hole during the final…

Dustin Johnson celebrates his win on the 18th hole during the final round at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on February 19, 2017 in Pacific Palisades, California. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Still atop the OWGR and odds this week will be Dustin Johnson. He is a heavy favorite in Shanghai after winning the first pair of WGC tournaments and is joined by only Hideki Matsuyama with 15/1 odds or better. Many will also be keeping their eyes on No. 5 Jon Rahm, No. 8 Jason Day, No. 11 Brooks Koepka, No. 12 Marc Leishman, No. 13 Justin Rose, No. 15 Paul Casey, No. 17 Tyrell Hatton, and No. 33 Ross Fisher who are getting nice chances from the boys in Vegas.

It was Matsuyama who became the first Asian-born player to win a WGC event when he made the trip to Sheshan last year and he did it with general ease behind finishing the final 45 holes bogey free. Amongst some of the best golfers the world has to offer, Matsuyama posted a ridiculous 23-under performance and felt no pressure as the duo of Daniel Berger and Henrik Stenson sat seven shots back in second place. It was the fourth occurrence of the victor hitting at least the 20-under mark in the past five visits to this course.

The only player who has been able to come away triumphant on this immaculate course more than once is Phil Mickelson. He first took home the trophy in 2007, before it was a PGA TOUR sanctioned or WGC affiliated event, and then again in 2009; the first season with the WGC format.

The field is set at 78 players this week, and whenever there is a smaller field, we suggest getting off of the cash games (50/50, double ups) to a degree and focusing on creating a few more tournament lineups. With a smaller field, there is less to choose from and as such, many of the casual DFS players will put together a successful lineup with little to no research.

That said, below are some names that should be a benefit to your roster in Shanghai this week.

WGC-HSBC Champions FanDuel Fantasy Picks

Marc Leishman – $8,700 – Leishman has been unbelievable this past year and we are pretty surprised that seven golfers are priced ahead of him. Over his past 10 events, the Aussie has missed just one cut at the Northern Trust Open and managed to play his way into six top-17 finishes; one of which was a victory at the BMW Championship. His success stemmed from the fourth-best scoring average (69.468) on TOUR while gaining 1.346 total strokes on the field (8th on TOUR).

Leishman nearly started his new season with his fourth career victory at Nine Bridges last week when he took Justin Thomas into a playoff; eventually losing to the FedExCup Champion. Watch out for Leishman to continue his torrid play and add to his two previous top-11 finishes on this course.

Justin Rose – $8,400 – Rose is always a favorite of ours with his elite talent and background of being able to take down events. Between the PGA TOUR and European Tour, Rose has notched 16 victories and finished in the top-four of each major championship; winning the 2013 U.S. Open.

This will be his first start of the new campaign after pulling off a top-10 in each round of the FedExCup playoffs; including a tie for second at the BMW Championship. Over the four events he combined to go 38 shots better than par and hit more than 68% of greens in regulation each time.

Overall, he finished the year in the top-20 of a plethora of key statistics including strokes gained off the tee (0.560, 14th on TOUR), strokes gained around the green (0.376, 12th on TOUR), strokes gained from tee-to-green (1.281, 9th on TOUR), birdie or better percentage (23.26%, 8th on TOUR), and bounce back (27.91%, 2nd on TOUR). Rose seems to elevate his game in this type of small field, high talent events and should be a factor once again.

Justin Rose of England reacts after putting in for a birdie on the…

Justin Rose of England reacts after putting in for a birdie on the 18th hole during the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana on April 26, 2015 in Avondale, Louisiana. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Matt Kuchar – $8,200 – At 39-years-old, Kuchar is still performing at the top of his game and was able to put together a 2016-17 season in which he made 22-of-26 cuts (85%), earned nine top-10s, was the runner-up in the Open Championship, and was part of the winning United States President’s Cup Team. He may not possess the youth or power that many of his counterparts do, but he will rarely make a mistake around the green (0.390 strokes gained, 11th on TOUR) and can bounce back with a scoring hole after a bogey with the best of them (24.54%, 10th on TOUR).

Kuchar made the trek to Shanghai last year and posted a five-under score despite an opening 73 and Sunday 76. It would be surprising to see him make mistakes like that again and we suspect he slips his way into the top-10 this week.

Pat Perez – $7,800 – Although Perez had a very successful career leading up to last season, finishing in the top-90 of the FedExCup standings from 2007 through 2015, no one could have seen a career-year coming for the 41-year-old golfer. He missed a mere three cuts over 25 tournaments (88%) and had a trio of top-three finishes; including his first win since 2009.

If anyone thought it was just a flash in the pan sort of year, they were wrong, as he kicked off the new campaign with his third career victory at the CIMB Classic behind three rounds of 66 or better and did well enough last week to come in a tie for fifth.

Over his first eight rounds of the new season, Perez has hit greens in regulation to the tune of 81.94% (4th on TOUR) and has the best scoring average (68.446). Watch the former Arizona State Sun Devil continue his Asian success in his first visit to Sheshan since 2009.

Francesco Molinari – $7,500 – Molinari was a pretty volatile player towards the end of last season, but if you look back at his overall numbers, they were quite impressive. He played his way into the weekend on 17-of-21 opportunities (81%) and always made sure to bank some nice cash when there; earning a top-25 on 14 of those made cuts. He was one of the best in the game with 0.794 strokes gained approaching the green (3rd on TOUR) and usually was in a great position to score thanks to tagging 70.14% of fairways (6th on TOUR).

Molinari was the winner here back in 2010 when he went 19-under and defeated Lee Westwood by a single stroke and has been back three times since; carding a 23rd or better each time with an impressive sixth last season.

Molinari is not a name that many will play due to much of his success coming on the European Tour, but he should be in position to post some nice scores.

Francesco Molinari of Italy celebrates on the 18th green after…

Francesco Molinari of Italy celebrates on the 18th green after winning the WGC- HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on November 7, 2010 in Shanghai, China. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Matthew Fitzpatrick – $7,000 – With plenty of the stud youngsters electing to sit this tournament out, Fitzpatrick represents a minority of youth that is usually in abundance. The 23-year-old has put together an impressive start to his career with four trophies from the European Tour already sitting in his trophy case and a solid campaign in the United States with four top-25s over 12 starts on the PGA TOUR.

He comes in with a hot hand, first winning the Omega European Masters with a final score of 14-under followed by a trio of top-15s and a combined score of 37 shots better than par in his last three starts. While he hasn’t fully introduced himself to the mainstream golf world yet, he will likely be making a splash soon as he plays off of his success overseas.

Lucas Glover – $6,200 – It had seemed as if Glover was ready to take a backseat to the youth influx on the PGA TOUR after he finished outside of the top-90 in the FedExCup standings each year between 2012 and 2016, but something clicked last year. He earned a paycheck in 21-of-26 starts (81%) and finished in the top-three of a tournament for the first time since he was victorious in 2011.

His success has carried over to the new season as he has already played in three events and placed in the top-30 each time. In the last two weeks, Glover has combined for 5-of-8 rounds in the 60s and placed 15th or better each time. So far he has been a master around the greens with a PGA TOUR-best 1.539 strokes gained and will keep on playing strong in his first time back at Sheshan since 2011 when he came in 20th.

Thorbjorn Olesen – $6,200 – Olesen may be under-owned due to playing almost all of his events on the European Tour where he has made quite a nice living for himself. The 27-year-old has managed to come away with four European Tour titles over his career and has shown he can compete in some bigger events with a top-10 in the Open Championship and Masters as well as three top-20s at this tournament. He has shown consistency across the pond and success in limited PGA TOUR sanctioned events, making him a solid value play that should do well and be low owned here in the coming week.

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