Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2019 TOUR Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the TOUR Championship

2019 TOUR Championship Fantasy Preview

You hadn’t forgotten about Justin Thomas, had you?

Okay, so his 2019 campaign has not been stellar by his own incredible standards, but JT has well and truly forced his way into the reckoning with a dominant victory in the BMW Championship last week.

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He won by three from Patrick Cantlay – aided by a spectacular third round of 61 – to land the trophy and also finish in first place in the FedExCup standings.

Right, eyes down and look in, because you’re going to need to know how the revised TOUR Championship works.

The PGA TOUR has changed the nature of the traditional season curtain call by reflecting the final FedExCup standings (after the BMW Championship) into a stroke handicap at East Lake.

So, prior to a ball being hit this week, the leaderboard looks something like this:

Thomas -10; P. Cantlay -8; B. Koepka -7; P. Reed -6; R. McIlroy -5; J. Rahm, M. Kuchar, X. Schauffele, A. Ancer -4; G. Woodland, T. Finau, A. Scott, D. Johnson, H. Matsuyama -3; P. Casey, J. Rose, B. Snedeker, R. Fowler, K. Kisner -2; M. Leishman, T. Fleetwood, C. Conners, S. Im, C. Reavie -1; B. DeChambeau, L.Oosthuizen, C. Howell III, L. Glover, J. Kokrak Evens.

Whoever wins the TOUR Championship, with traditional strokeplay scoring factored into this leaderboard, also wins the FedExCup.

It’s not a format that suits everyone, but at least it makes a tad exciting, with say seven or eight players having a legitimate claim of winning the lot.

As far as our daily fantasy gaming is concerned, nothing in essence changes. The scoring system is still the same, both in terms of points for birdies etc and in terms of bonuses for finishing position.

On DraftKings, for example, Justin Thomas is priced at $15,500 and then the rest re largely priced on their current position in the standings, right down to poor old Charles Howell III at $5,000.

Clearly, there’s an extra element of strategy needed to take care of business at East Lake this week!

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Not a bad week overall for our squad, having four of our main picks hit the Top 11 including Cantlay (2), Rahm (T5), Connors (T7), and Im (T11).   

Now we narrow down to 30 in the field, and our goal this week is to get all 7 players … well, inside the Top 7! Let’s close this things out strong.

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And don’t forget, the first event of the fall season kicks off on Sept 12th at The Greenbrier. 

The 2019 TOUR Championship Field

With some high-profile absentees from the field this week, there isn’t a huge amount of history around regarding the FedExCup and/or those who have enjoyed glory at East Lake.

Only four men left in the field – Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and Brandt Snedeker – have previously won the FedExCup, while there is only a quartet of players who have triumphed at East Lake: McIlroy, Snedeker, Xander Schauffele and Adam Scott.

New ground could be trodden by any number of the 30 in the field here then, although you suspect that only those within five shots of the lead – Thomas, McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka – have a realistic shot of returning from Atlanta, Georgia with the silverware and the paycheck.

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This Week’s Course Preview

As one of the oldest courses on the PGA TOUR rotation, it is perhaps fitting that East Lake plays host to arguably the most important regular season event on the circuit.

Built in 1904, this Par 70 layout has been tweaked from time to time by the likes of Donald Ross, George Cobb and Rees Jones, and today it still has the feel of a ‘championship’ golf course.

By that, we mean that victory won’t come easy this week – the winner will have to grind out a score, but at the same time we’re not talking old-school US Open complexity either.

When the FedExCup finale made East Lake its permanent home in 2007, the layout was toughened further to ensure it was up to the demands of hosting the best players in the business.

A switch to Bermuda on the greens has also upped the ante as far as difficulty is concerned; in the space of a decade the winning mark has decreased from Tiger’s -23 in 2007 to -12 when Schauffele took the spoils ten years later.

Another factor keeping scores low is that Par 70 classification, with just two Par 5s for the players to exploit. One of those is the closing hole too, and it is by no means an assured birdie or better.

At 7,385 yards, this is a long golf course too, with several 450+ yard Par 4s to keep the field honest.

There are trees lining the fairways, and while not Medinah levels these could still be a factor. Water is in play on six holes too, but generally speaking there isn’t too much danger off the tee with average width fairways lined by agreeable enough rough.

The primary defense are the greens, which run slick (when they’re not wet!) and feature various tiers and shelves as well as fiercely mown run-off areas. Find the right part of the green on approach….or else.

East Lake is your archetypal second shot golf course, and our winner this week will certainly have earned their corn.

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Weather Forecast for Atlanta, GA

Rain, rain and more rain: that’s the vibe this week.

Fire up your weather prediction app of your choice and you will see it laid bare: scattered thunderstorms and rainfall for all four days of this event.

Indeed, there’s little else to say: temperatures will range from 82°F to 89°F, with the wind at a modest 7-8 mph.

In soft conditions, East Lake should play a whole bunch easier.

Last Year’s Results from the TOUR Championship

Confirmation of Tiger Woods’ renaissance as an elite-level golfer was signed, sealed and delivered at the Masters this year, and yet somehow it was his triumph at the TOUR Championship 12 months ago that will live long in the memory.

The scenes on the 72nd hole, where it seemed the whole of Atlanta had gathered to watch the big cat get back into the winner’s circle, were incredible – proof positive that this sport has the ability to thrill even as its unique character continues to change.

Woods played his final round in 72, but it was enough – plenty in fact – to secure a two-shot victory over Billy Horschel and complete one of sport’s most unlikely comebacks.

He led from the get-go, by and large, with an opening 66 seeing him just one shot shy of Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland on Thursday.

Woods and Justin Rose put their feet down to lead by two after 36 holes, and it was the former who would press on with a mesmeric 65 in round three.

As anticipation mounted, the only person who didn’t seem to be nervous was Tiger himself, as in testing conditions he played the front nine in -1 to allay any fears that the huge crowds would not get the result they wanted.

A calm and measured five on the last was enough to bring the house down.

Tiger Woods wins TOUR Championship for 80th victory on PGA TOUR 2018

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2018 TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club, Tiger Woods shoots a final-round 71 to claim his 80th win on the PGA TOUR, his first since 2013.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the TOUR Championship this Week

So here we are: our last chance to win some big bucks this season. Remember the unique rules this week, but don’t be afraid to enter some of the major cash events as we all embark on this new TOUR Championship learning curve.

• PGA $800k Drive-the-Green: The big money contest comes in the form of this $5 extravaganza, where the winner will cop a handsome $200k. There’s lots of really handy consolation prizes too, so the worst case scenario is that you go into the Fall with a handy bankroll to play with.
• PGA $100k Driver: A single-entry contest, with these unique rules, will really require you to use your grey matter in working out who are the value plays this week, but this risky tournament offers a top prize of $20k with the top 25% of players doubling their money, so it’s a case of risk-and-reward too.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the TOUR Championship

For the first time, motivation could be a key factor at East Lake.

If you are one of the guys sitting at level par – a cool ten shots behind Thomas – what is making you want to really grind it out this week? Yes, there’s increased prize money for each place you finish up the leaderboard, but none of these guys are short of a buck or two.

Even if East Lake plays soft and more receptive than normal due to the rain, realistically you would say only those down to -4 can win the darn thing – the rest of the field will have to pray that everyone above them has a serious off-day or two.

So we need to be focusing our attention on those towards the head of the leaderboard, whom we can handicap nicely based on their recent trends, form on Bermuda and ability to graft out a score when only a pair of Par 5s – and not easy ones at that – are available.

Ordinarily, East Lake provides a stern test of short game, given how quick the greens are and the challenges they provide in simply holding your ball on them, let alone finding the right quadrant to putt from.

But with plenty of rain around in Atlanta, that task could be made somewhat easy, and instead we should be focusing on those capable of hitting long irons to die for.

And, naturally, we need to be drafting players that have that ‘major’ class about them. Because, let’s face it, this may not be a major event in name, but the prestige and prize money on offer certainly gives it that sort of vibe.

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

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

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