Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – The 2014 McGladrey Classic

Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2014 McGladrey Classic

This Week’s Tournament Preview

The PGA TOUR will head back east after a brief Las Vegas stint where Chris Kirk will look to defend his title at Sea Island Golf Club. Having just won the Deutsche Bank Championship three starts ago, Kirk was in prime position to take home the FedExCup crown until Billy Horschel derailed him in the final two events.

The McGladrey is the last U.S. event before the TOUR begins its Asian swing, eventually returning to the U.S in January.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Last week’s Shriners Hospital for Children Open yielded our picks $503,879 in total fantasy earnings, highlighted by a T4 and another T10. Our salary-cap “sleeper” pick also made the cut and finished T28 to earn a modest $42,160.

With the second event of the year in the books, we currently have an average of $651,000 in weekly earnings and plan on getting back to last year’s weekly average just north of $1.2 million.

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The Field

The field this week will include the defending champion and 2013-2014 FedExCup runner-up Chris Kirk, along with U.S. Ryder Cup players Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson. Kuch and Zach are locals of St. Simons Island and both have respectable track records on this course.

Webb Simpson will return to action after a T4 finish last week rounding out a roster that will comprise of four of the Top 35 ranked players in the World. Lastly, 87 entrants will be making their third start in as many events of the new season as most of the Web.com graduates fight to get off to a roaring start in the early FedExCup race.

The Course

The Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club measures in at a relatively short 7,005 yards and plays as a par 70. This oceanside track sits on the southern tip of St. Simons Island and dates back to 1929 where it originated as a 9-hole track. Bobby Jones once described this place as the best nine holes he’d ever encountered (paraphrasing). Later in 1973, Joe Lee stepped in to designed the “Marshside Nine” and Tom Fazio finally brought the two together in 1999.

The course contains tidal creeks, dunes and salt marshes, and undoubtedly each player will describe in their course preview interviews that course management is key to victory here.

Decent weather is in store for the week and dry course conditions should prevail, so be on the lookout for fast firm greens and a tight, short course.

Photo by SeaIsland.com

Weather Forecast for Sea Island, GA (from weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Oct 23) 71 degrees, 0% chance of rain, sunny.
• Round 2: Saturday (Oct 24) 75 degrees, 0% chance of rain, sunny.
• Round 3: Sunday (Oct 25 ) 75 degrees, 0% chance of rain, sunny.
• Round 4: Monday (Oct 26) 76 degrees, 10% chance of rain, sunny.

2013 Results

It was the Chris Kirk show last year as the young gun became the first Sea Island member to win the McGladrey Classic, where his home field advantage appeared to have helped. Krik shared the lead with Briny Baird up until the 18th where Baird mishit a 4-iron out of a fairway bunker where it eventually trickled into a hazard. Baird was within eyesight of his first victory, but fell short right at the end.

Kirk went on to make par and finished with 4-under 66 which earned him his second PGA TOUR win. Kirk’s birdie on 17 was the key to his victory here where he showed that he truly knows how to dominate this tough course.

Here is wrap-up of Round 4 from last year’s edition of The McGladrey Classic:

Kirk wins The McGladrey Classic: Round 4 Recap

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Media

• Television Broadcasts
  • Thursday – Sunday 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST (Golf Channel)
• Radio Broadcasts
  • Thursday – Sunday, 12:00 pm – 5:00 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

There is no secret recipe this week, other than looking for players who have experience on this course, and short tight courses in general. The only two par 5s will be particularly important for those looking to to score well, as they present the only real legitimate eagle and easy birdie chances out there. Last year, Kirk ranked T2 in par-5 scoring with an average score of 4.25 (six birdies and two pars).

Although it’s a short track, the average score from the field last year was above par at 70.255. With that in mind we’re going after the scramblers and par-5 stats this week.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2014 McGladrey Classic

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The McGladrey Classic

• Webb Simpson (Golficity Odds 7 /1): Webb is the clear favorite this week after finishing T4 in his title defense in Las Vegas last week. In his three starts at Seaside Webb has finished T12 (2010), P2 (2011), and T7 (2013) with a scoring average of 67.167. He seems to know the course well and is certainly riding momentum into this event.
• Matt Kuchar (Golficity Odds 10/1): Kuchar will be another favorite among fantasy players this week and it’s undeniable that Kuch will always catch your eye in a field with a lot of no-namers. This can also be considered a home game for Kuch who is a current Georgia resident and a former Georgia Tech player. He has top 25s in all three starts at this event including his T7 last year and has managed to shoot par or better in all 12 rounds. You have to love those numbers…
• Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 12/1): Haas will kick off his 2014-2015 season here in Georgia with a pretty good tournament track record. He’s also finished T16 or better in his last five starts. Although Haas has the game to win just about anywhere, this is his first crack at Seaside since his 2nd place finish in the inaugural tournament back in 2010.
• Martin Laird (Golficity Odds 22/1): This is Laird’s first appearance at Seaside, but we loved what we saw last week as he co-led the Shriners after 18 holes and stayed in it to finish T18. Not a guy we would bet the farm on but he certainly would make a solid pick on a fantasy roster this week.
• Chris Kirk (Golficity Odds 28/1): So here’s the deal with Kirk: He is a member at Sea Island and knows the track like it was built in his backyard. Although this is his first start of 2014-15, he’s rolling into a home game with the Deutsche Bank Championship trophy in his back pocket and a T4 finish at East Lake right after that. The defending champ will be looking to regain the top spot on the FedExCup leaderboard, which he held up until the end last season, so look for Kirk to make a hard push this week.

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The McGladrey Classic

• Tony Finau Golficity Odds 50/1): Who? Exactly. Tony is a fresh face to the PGA TOUR and is quickly earning a name among the elite. In just his first two starts Tony has already earned a T12 at the Frys.com and a T7 last week at the Shriners. He comes in this week ranked 3rd in Par-5 scoring and can hit the ball a mile. Look for other players in the league your playing in to overlook this less popular, yet solid pick.

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The McGladrey Classic

• Adam Hadwin (Golficity Odds 50/1): It won’t be long before the newly awarded PGA TOUR card player Adam Hadwin makes it to our Top 5 list. Last week he notched a T10 at TPC Summerlin with bogey-free scores all around (63 on Sunday). He’s quickly proving to the PGA TOUR that he’s a name that could soon be on top with other young guns like Kirk, Brendon Todd, and Russell Henley. Keep an eye out for him and pick him as your cheap salary cap player this week.

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Last Week’s Results:  Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Shriners Open

• Ryan Moore (Golficity Odds 8 /1): MC
• Billy Horschel (Golficity Odds 8/1): MC
• Hideki Matsuyama (Golficity Odds 15/1): T10 ($137,433)
• Martin Laird (Golficity Odds 20/1): T18 ($68,014)
• Webb Simpson (Golficity Odds 30/1): T4 ($256,267)

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

• Sang Moon Bae (Golficity Odds 40/1): MC

Last Week’s Results Salary Cap Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the 2014 Shriners Open

•  Ryo Ishikawa (Golficity Odds 60/1): T28 ($42,160)

Fantasy Golf Predictions Stats to Date: 2014-2015 Season

• Tournaments Played YTD: 2
• Total Fantasy Dollars: $1,302,874 (Average = $651,437).
• Total Top 10s: 5 out of 14 players picked (35.71%).
• Total Top 3s: 2 out of 14 players picked (14.29%).
• Total Missed Cuts: 3 out of 14 players picked (78.6% made the cut).

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

(Cover Photo Credit)