Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Shriners Hospitals of Children Open

The 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Fantasy Preview

This week’s event in Las Vegas will contain 34 of the top 35 Web.com Tour graduates but will feature a few of the PGA TOUR’s big names as well.  The field at TPC Summerlin is ripe for another break-out star to add their name to the first-time winner list just as rising star Emiliano Grillo did last week.  Grillo was featured in our recent 2016 rookie rundown as potential early contender for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the YEAR this season and last week’s victory looks to be heading him in that direction right out of the gate.

Ben Martin is your returning champion this week and will try his best to become the just second player to win back-to-back titles in this event, a feat previously achieved by only Jim Furyk in 1998 and 1999.

Kevin Na is among six Las Vegas residents in the field looking to win again after a late surge last Sunday at the Frys.com where he managed a strong runner-up finish.

A handful of President’s Cup stars including Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker will join Bowditch, Koepka, and Snedeker as the headline names among the field in Nevada for the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

A photo posted by Shriners Open (@shrinersopen) on Oct 18, 2015 at 1:42pm PDT

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

The 2015 Frys.com Open proved to be a solid start to the new wrap-around 2015-2016 season as we opted to bench the heavy favorite Rory McIlory in favor of Justin Rose as our Horse Pick of the week.  The gutsy decision banked us about 23 additional fantasy points as Rose’s T6 brought in a healthy 96 fantasy points versus McIlroy’s 73.5 fantasy points off a weaker T26 showing.  There’s no doubt that the Rose pick-up helped give our Premium Members a boost in their DraftKings and other daily fantasy league payouts last weekend. Fantasy superstar Justin Thomas also finished with an impressive T3 bringing in 98 fantasy which helped round out our two Top 10 finishes on the week resulting in  total of $705,249 in weekly earnings against only one missed cut.

The Field

As we mentioned in our preview above,  OWGR No.5 Rickie Fowler will make his first start of the season at this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and will be joined by former event champ Kevin Na and a handful of other Top 35 ranked golfers. Fowler and Walker made a nice splash on Day 1 of the President’s Cup as partners and we all know how well Walker eats up these fall season events. Again, like last week, fantasy players won’t have much to work with in terms of the “obvious” picks so we’ll have to dive deep into the list of recent Web.com Tour graduates a little deeper to comes up with some solid mid-tier and sleeper picks.

The Course

TPC Summerlin measures in at a lengthy 7,255 yards and will play as a par 71 this week.  This famous PGA TOUR stop sits nestled in the dry Nevada desert as an early 90’s collaboration between designers Bobby Weed and Fuzzy Zoeller. With so many challenging risk/reward shots (like the drivable par-4 15th), along with some challenging closing holes, there is no doubt that this one could get exciting coming down the stretch on Sunday. In all, and if played wisely, TPC Summerlin is very scorable as evidenced by defending Champion Ben Martin’s 62 in Round 3 last year. [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gmhR0T7CZQ&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

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Weather Forecast for Las Vegas, NV

Not much to report here this week regarding weather, after all, it’s Las Vegas so expect nothing but sunny skies and 75-80 degree temperatures all week.

Last Year’s Results from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Last year Ben Martin came up big in Round 3 firing a clutch 62 which catapulted him to a 54-hole lead which he held onto through Sunday to grasp the win over Kevin Streelman.  It was the combination of two late birdies and an eagle that helped Martin slam the door on Streelman as he went on to win his first PGA TOUR event.

The recap video of last year’s event is full of nothing but eagles and birdies which tells you that this course yields some low scores, and we can expect to see more of the same this week.

The 46-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th to regain the lead was the nail in the coffin for Martin, eventually forcing Streelman to knocked birdie No.18 if he wanted to force a playoff.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2xCAu7OWAM&end=154&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

 This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Thursday – Sunday: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST (Golf Channel)
• Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
  • Thursday – Friday: 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
  • Saturday – Sunday: 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this Week

While most “annual” fantasy leagues won’t fully kick-in until the 2016 season get’s into full swing in January, there are still plenty of options to play in “daily” fantasy golf leagues on DraftKings, StarsDraft, and Fantasy Feud, just to name a few.  That said, here’s our favorite contest for this week’s Shriners Open.

• PGA $120K FAIRWAY [$120,000 GUARANTEED]: This week we like $27 dollar entry event with your chances to win a bit higher than most weeks due to the lack of premier players in the field.  The game consists of only 5,070 fantasy players and a cool $20,000 goes to first place with payouts up to $1,000 down to 5th place.

Most other sites don’t have payouts this great, but you still have time to join full year fantasy leagues like PGATOUR Fantasy or Golfradar for a free chance at some cool prizes.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

This week’s picks should be a little on the easier side.  You have an easy track (with a few challenges) and a handful of superstars among a field of Web.com graduates.  Salary Cap leagues will prevent you for stocking your team with all the high value players so unfortunately you can’t pick Fowler, Walker, and Na and still have any room left on your roster.

The key this week will be to bet the farm on one or two marquee players and then really do your homework on the PGA TOUR’s newcomers to find a few rising stars.  If you can catch lightning in a bottle from a breakout performance like Emiliano Grillo in last week’s Frys.com Open you’ll be set for a nice payout this week.

In our picks segment below we’ll show you a few of our favorites this week in each price tier as well as identify a few sample DraftKings rosters that will help you best allocate your limited salary cap funds.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Frys.com Open

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Note: All player stats below include 2015 season performances, new season stats will be available in the next few weeks for 2015-2016.  Players missing from this week’s predictive fantasy stats (GPFP) have not yet competed yet in the new season and therefore have not yet been factored into our predictive algorithms.

Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 6/1 FPPG: 73.10 GPFP: NA Salary:$12,200): For obvious reasons Fowler is the top choice just about everywhere you look this week.  Coming off of his hottest season to date Rickie should be able to feast on this field at a course and suits his game quite nicely.  His last appearance here was in 2010 when he finished T22 but keep in mind that performance was in the pre-Butch Harmon era and he has come a very long way since then.  The streaking Fowler has three wins, a second, and a T4 worldwide in last five months and he’s not likely to stop there.  Don’t worry, we’ll give you an alternate DraftKings roster without Rickie in case you can’t squeeze him on your lineup due to his lofty salary.

• GIR Rank: 106th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 26th
• Putting Average: 12th
• Scrambling: 47th

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 8th

Emiliano Grillo (Golficity Odds 10/1 FPPG: 70.50 GPFP: NA Salary:$10,200): Grillo’s stock (and hype) is hot right now and could make a new 52-week high this week with another great outing.  Slated as an early Rookie of the Year contender, Grillo is fresh off of his Web.com Championship victory and even fresher off his win to kick off his PGA TOUR debut season at last week’s Frys.com Open.  Fantasy players can be a bit skeptical about picking a “no-namer,” but if you’ve been following the Web.com Tour these past few month you know exactly what Grillo is capable of.  Of course winning 3-straight events is not likely, but given that Emiliano comes into TPC Summerlin beaming with confidence there’s no doubt in our mind that he could rack up some solid fantasy points to give you an edge this week.

Note: Grillo is a rookie and has no stats from last season on the PGA TOUR.  He won over a $1 million so far this year with just one event in the books, so perhaps his bank account is his most notable stat at the moment.

• GIR Rank:  N/A
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: N/A
• Putting Average: N/A
• Scrambling: N/A

* Most Notable Stat: N/A

Jimmy Walker (Golficity Odds 16/1 FPPG: 72.4 GPFP: NA Salary: $9,900): Lately we’ve lost some trust in Jimmy but its something about the Fall that seems to fire this guy up so we’re not going to count him out just yet.  He had a decent run in Korea a couple weeks ago and he could be just the horse for the course you need this week.  Walker has top 15s in each of his last three appearances here including a T4 last year when he knocked down a 62 in round three.  Look for Jimmy to be squarely back in the spotlight come Sunday afternoon.

• GIR Rank: 101st
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 79th
• Putting Average: 26th
• Scrambling: 124th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained Putting: 2nd

Russell Knox (Golficity Odds 26/1 FPPG: 60.10 GPFP: 50.47 Salary:$8,700): We wanted to grab Webb Simpson in the number 4 spot this week but his use of the short putter is something we’re not quite ready to gamble on.  Knox is another “Course Horse” with a scoring average under 68 for his 12 rounds played there at TPC Summerlin.  Keep in mind that Russell shared the 36-hole lead here last year but came up short to finish 3rd in the end.  One key to his success at the Shriner’s was his ability to led the field in par-4 scoring.  If he can dial that back in again this week we’re in for a real treat from Knox.

• GIR Rank: N/A
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: N/A
• Putting Average: N/A
• Scrambling: N/A

* Most Notable Stat: N/A

Will Wilcox (Golficity Odds 40/1 FPPG: 66.20 GPFP: NA Salary:$8,200): Wilcox made a comeback last week at Silverado following his knee injury and played pretty well out the gate as he finished with an impressive T10.  His stats were also quite impressive last week as he ranked T2 in par-4 scoring, which tells us he’s feeling well and is largely unaffected by any lingering issues from his surgery.  Wilcox had four Top 10s last year including a second place finish and strung together a career year in 2015.  At $8,200 his ability and experience make for a solid pickup this week.

• GIR Rank: N/A
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: N/A
• Putting Average: N/A
• Scrambling: N/A

* Most Notable Stat: N/A

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Ben Martin (Golficity Odds 50/1 FPPG: 61.50 GPFP: NA Salary:$7,500): Martin earned his first PGA TOUR victory at TPC Summerlin last year where he dominated the field with his third round 62.  Confidence is the intangible edge we often look for in a potential break-out performance so if you’re looking for a sleeper pick who has the ability to outlast this field for a low price, Ben could be your guy.

• GIR Rank: N/A
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: N/A
• Putting Average: N/A
• Scrambling: N/A

* Most Notable Stat: N/A

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Pat Perez (Golficity Odds 66/1 FPPG: 68.40 GPFP: NA Salary:$6,600): Pat Perez cut his hair?  Say it ain’t so!  Will the fresh new cut hurt or help his chances?  All kidding asside Perez was a pretty solid fantasy weapon and a bargain to boot with a low price tag week in and week out.  Pat is a grinder who isn’t shy about posting his hard workout routines on social media.  We like Perez this week and believe that the experience he brings against this young field makes him a serious bargain again at just $6,600.

• GIR Rank: N/A
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: N/A
• Putting Average: N/A
• Scrambling: N/A

* Most Notable Stat: N/A

Sample DraftKings Roster with Fowler

Sample DraftKings Roster with Grillo

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Frys.com Open

• Justin Rose (Golficity Odds 6/1): T6 ($194,250)
• Hideki Matsuyama (Golficity Odds 12/1):   T17 ($73,333)
• Justin Thomas (Golficity Odds 18/1):  T3 ($312,000)
• Brook Koepka (Golficity Odds 22/1): T41 ($21,000)
• Daniel Berger (Golficity Odds 28/1):  T17 ($73,333)

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Frys.com Open

• Robert Streb (Golficity Odds 44/1):  MC

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the Frys.com Open

• Tony Finau (Golficity Odds 60/1):  T32 ($31,333)

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD (2015-2016)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”14.29%” bar_text=”1 out of 7 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”28.57%” bar_text=”2 out of 7 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 1 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 1 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”85.71%” bar_text=”6 out of 7 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Major Winners Picked (TBD)” percent=”0%” bar_text=”0 out of 0 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with other Premium Members.

Cover Photo via Mark Richardson on Flickr