Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2020 Bermuda Championship
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Bermuda Championship
The Bermuda Championship Fantasy Preview
There’s nothing quite like seeing three young studs of the game going toe-to-toe down the closing stretch of a PGA TOUR event.
And there’s nothing that quite reminds you that these guys are human after all than when they make errors with the finishing line in sight.
You suspect that both Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas woke up this morning kicking themselves that they weren’t able to convert after both holding the lead on Sunday, and that left the door ajar for a local favorite to power home.
Patrick Cantlay has already built an impressive resumé for golf in his home state of California and especially on Poa Annua greens, and it was that combination at Sherwood Country Club that aided the 28-year-old’s quest for a third PGA TOUR title.
He made nine birdies on Sunday to compile a round of 65 and take the clubhouse lead, and when Rahm missed a 19-footer to force a playoff, Cantlay was able to celebrate the fruits of his labor having taken on a new putter an spending countless hours on the practice greens.
When Hoagy Carmichael sang ‘Georgia On My Mind’, he presumably wasn’t thinking of The Masters, but golf lovers will be humming the tune as the battle for the Green Jacket is now just a couple of weeks away.
First up, we have the ultimate test of DFS golfing prowess – trying to compile a winning line-up at the Bermuda Championship.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
Last week we got a little flack for picking Bubba Watson and Russell Henley as our mid-tier picks but what do you know? The two of them both finished T4 and earned some quality fantasy points for us this week.
Unfortunately our horse pick wasn’t Cantlay, but with those two boys and a Lanto Griffin sleeper pick we faired pretty well on the week.
The Bermuda Championship 2020 Field
With the sportsbook favorites listed as Brendon Todd, Henrik Stenson and Will Zalatoris, you kind of get the idea of the field quality for this jaunt to the Atlantic island.
The likes of Danny Willett and Rasmus Hojgaard, who looks to be a supremely exciting prospect from the European Tour, will also tee it up alongside the good and the bang average from the PGA equivalent.
Some interesting entries include Fred Funk and his son Taylor, 50-year-old Paul Stankowski and Bermudan hopefuls Camiko Smith and Anthony Phipps….yep, it really is one of those kinds of weeks.
This Week’s Course Preview
It’s a shame that more big names haven’t made the effort, because Royal Port Golf Club really is a sumptuous slice of real estate.
Playing almost as two courses in one, Robert Trent Jones routed the layout so that nine holes were played along the coast and had that wind swept, almost Linksy feel, while the other nine are slightly more inland and have a traditional parklands vibe to them.
Otherwise, there’s some considerable elevation changes and undulations on this 6,828 yard Par 71, which does play short when its windy and sunny and the surfaces are bone dry – more on that in a moment.
As you may have guessed, the greens are laid to Bermuda and are considerable in size, and only the most wayward will be penalized off the tee too.
With minimal protection from the greenside bunkers, wind is the only defense for Royal Port GC – without it, Brendon Todd’s winning mark of -24 from last year will be in jeopardy.
Weather Forecast for Southhampton, Bermuda
There’s a funky old weather system heading over to Bermuda this week.
Thursday should be pretty benign, with sunny spells between the cloud and wind speeds of around 6mph – no problem.
But then on Friday the fun begins. While cloudy and possibly avoiding any rain, the wind could reach a staggering 22 mph and higher at local level – that is a considerable breeze.
On Saturday the wind will peak at 17 mph and there’s rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, while on Sunday it’s a little but sunnier but that wind is still very much up.
Last Year’s Results for the Bermuda Championship
Rounds of 62 and 63 were the backbone of Brendon Todd ending a five-and-a-half year wait for a second PGA TOUR title – just two weeks prior to his next win at the Mayakoba Classic!
A steady hand with the putter separated Todd – who made a ridiculous 27 birdies during the week – from the field, with Harry Higgs second and some four shots behind.
It could have been oh so very different had Scottie Scheffler capitalized on his opening salvo of 62, but he was unable to really follow that up with anything meaningful, while back-to-back rounds of 65 from Brian Gay looked to have him in the conversation for silverware.
But Todd would not be denied, playing his first eight holes on Sunday in -7 and not making a single bogey until the eighteenth.
Highlights | Round 4 | Bermuda 2019
Check out the best shots of the day from round 4 of the 2019 Bermuda Championship, featuring Brendon Todd, Harry Higgs, Shawn Stefani, and Aaron Wise. SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh The PGA TOUR heads to Bermuda for the inaugural Bermuda Championship – the first alternate field event of the season.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Bermuda Championship this Week
There are two ways to look at the Bermuda Championship this week. Yes, it’s going to be very hard to draft a winning team, simply because the players involved are so inconsistent and/or lacking in form. And yet, that breeds opportunities for DFS gamers who are well-researched and who play the most cost-effective contests.
- PGA $400k Resurgence: There is a feeling of accumulation about this $10 contest, because there are 47,000 entries – plenty of those will stink the place out simply because of how complex this event is to unravel. The winner banks $100k, and the top-100 win a minimum of $150.
- PGA $150k Driver: If you’re feeling particularly brave this week then this single-entry contest will really test the mettle of your roster. But there are rewards – against 832 other teams, you could win $30k for finishing first and a minimum of $500 for storming into the top 90.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Bermuda Championship
Events like the Bermuda Championship are something of a minefield for DFS gamers: do we roster a line-up of ball-strikers and hope they putt well, or do we take on a team of pure putters and hope that their tee-to-green game sets up the necessary birdie opportunities?
In truth, Royal Port GC is set up as something of a second shot golf course, given its expansive fairways and larger-than-average greens, and so this week’s event could become something of a ‘closest the pin’ style challenge – assuming our picks can sink their 6ft and in putts, of course.
You might think that the bombers would thrive on such a short and open track, but Brendon Todd won here in -24 last year and there were also top-10 finishes for the likes of Ryan Armour and Brian Gay – length off the tee is pretty much irrelevant.
Todd, Scheffler, Higgs, former PGA TOUR winner Aaron Wise, multiple time champion Brian Gay….the top five was packed with decent performers who have shown their class – before and/or since, and so maybe trying to draft a roster that combines as many of the leading talents as possible is wise.
Then we have the ‘course fit’ factors to consider, particularly putting on Bermuda and comfortability in the wind, which looks almost certain to blow a zephyr this week. Factor all of these variables into the equation and you won’t be too far away from a half-decent roster.
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Bermuda Championship
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The Bermuda Championship
Top Tier Pick #1:
Will Zalatoris (Odds: 12/1, FPPG: 75.6, GPFP: 62.76 Salary: $10,900)
When you look at the rollcall of winners of some of the alternate and weak field events, a clear pattern emerges.
Take the Puerto Rico Open. In the past four editions, Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland were the winners, while in 2017 and 2019 among the runners-up were Bryson DeChambeau and Daniel Berger.
The point is that the classier operators tend to come to the fore, and given time we might laugh that Will Zalatoris was lowering himself to playing in events like this (not that he has much choice right now!).
His T6 at the U.S. Open confirmed that the 24-year-old is operating on a higher plain than the rest of this field, and subsequent top-10s at the Shriners and Corales Puntacana were proof he has versatility to his game – from the grind of Winged Foot to the free-scoring TPC Summerlin.
Remember, Zalatoris has to finish in the top-10 of events to secure sponsor exemptions and the like, so this isn’t some vacation in the sun – this is serious business.
We wouldn’t be betting Zalatoris at 12/1 – we simply haven’t seen enough of him at the top level, but when looking for a bedrock for your fantasy draft this week he should deliver a high-scoring performance.
Key Stats:
- N/A
Top Tier Pick #2:
Peter Malnati (Odds: 40/1, FPPG: 54.8, GPFP: 43.87 Salary: $9,00)
In a field woefully lacking in form and quality, the back-to-back top-fives of Peter Malnati at the Sanderson Farms and Shriners speak volumes.
They were probably in better company than this – at last on a par – and the great thing with smoot putters like Malnati is that you can generally see their improvement coming. After all, they simply have to strike the ball better from tee-to-green in order to give themselves more chances for the flat stick to thrive.
The 33-year-old has been doing that in abundance of late, and his natural lack of length will not be penalized at Royal Port GC – could a hat-trick of top-five finishes, or better, be incoming?
Key Stats:
- SG: Putting – 1st
- Birdie Average – 22nd
- SG: Approach – 38th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Stewart Cink (Odds: 50/1, FPPG: 66.3, GPFP: 88.50 Salary: $7,900)
To describe Stewart Cink’s win at the Safeway Open as a surprise would be a rather large understatement, but the veteran has since followed up with other impressive showings too.
A T12 at the Sanderson Farms – hampered by a Saturday 72 – showed that Cink is very much back in the groove, and even at the Shriners last time out he opened up 67-63 before fading away over the weekend.
A huge factor at the Bermuda Championship will be the gale that is predicted to blow, but that won’t inconvenience a former British Open winner too much, and maybe Cink has got another PGA TOUR title in his locker at the sprightly age of 47.
Key Stats:
- Total Driving – 15th
- Greens in Regulation – 16th
- Birdie Average – 24th
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Tyler McCumber (Odds: 60/1, FPPG: 51.0, GPFP: 42.87 Salary: $7,300)
The last two times that conditions suited the power-hitting Tyler McCumber he finished solo second and T6 at the Corales Punt Cana and Sanderson Farms respectively, and so the Floridan has to be respected this week.
Most impressive in his showing at the latter was his iron and wedge game, which looked in excellent order and should – assuming a repeat here – stand him in very good stead indeed.
A nomad on the lower-tier Tours, McCumber has won in Canada and Latin America, and not all players thrive outside of American soil – he is somebody who surely can.
Key Stats:
- SG: Off-the-Tee – 23rd
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 30th
- Greens in Regulation – 43rd
Low-Tier Pick:
Rob Oppenheim (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 55.3, GPFP: 44.72 Salary: $7,00)
There’s definitely a theme to Rob Oppenheim’s play – last season, he was T9 in the Puerto Rico Open, T21 in the Sony Open and T24 in the Bermuda, all of which are short, coastal affairs.
The 40-year-old has a habit of appearing on leaderboards in alternate/weak field events too, finishing no lower than T36 in the Safeway Open, Corales Puntacana and Shriners – the latter of which he produced rounds of 64 and 65.
A solid iron player, Oppenheim’s lack of length won’t be too much of a competitive advantage this week, and that should let his approach game shine.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 52nd
- Scrambling – 55th
- Birdie Average – 64th
Sleeper Pick for The Bermuda Championship
Max Homa (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 53.8, GPFP: 43.06 Salary: $7,200)
Top 10s amongst high quality company at the Phoenix Open, Farmers Insurance and Genesis Invitational seem a long way ago now, but as the old saying goes form is temporary, class is permanent.
If Max Homa brings that game to Bermuda then he would stand a tremendous chance of winning, and $7,200 in this field for a player that banked four top-10 finishes in all last term is a steal.
A winner of the 2019 Wells Fargo, and with two other victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, Homa is ahead of the curve in this field and has the ability to bring an end to his recent form here.
Key Stats:
- Driving Distance – 8th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 17th
- Approaches from 50-75 yards – 45th
Alternative Sleeper Pick for The Bermuda Championship
Hudson Swafford (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 54.8, GPFP: 63.56 Salary: $6,800)
While haplessly inconsistent, it’s still amazing to see Hudson Swafford rated a $6,800 chance given that he won in a field of this standard just three starts ago.
He ranks 26th in the PGA TOUR’s Ball-Striking statistic, which shows he is more than just a flash in the pan, and we also have the comfort of knowing that the wind won’t be a concern for a proven champion in these conditions.
It’s a shot in the dark given how quickly Swafford’s form disappears, but he is a PGA TOUR champion and that is good enough for us at this throwaway price.
Key Stats:
- Total Driving – 4th
- SG: Ball Striking – 26th
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 84th
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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