Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – 2015 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2015 TOUR Championship

The 2015 TOUR Championship Fantasy Preview

Last week we picked Jason Day to head up our DraftKings roster over Rory and Jordan and it (once again) paid huge dividends, but this week’s TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola will represent yet another significant challenge as the season’s 30 remaining players all show a legitimate shot at winning at East Lake.

The now No. 1 player in the world Jason Day will join Spieth, Fowler, Stenson, and Watson as the Top 5 players heading to East Lake, all with a chance to win the FedExCup with a win on Sunday.  All other players who sit outside the Top 5 can still win the cup but they’ll need a little help from the rest of the field for that to happen.

Keep in mind that the points have reset going into the final event, giving everyone a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup this week and we’ll break down some of those scenarios in more detail below.

The President’s Cup will be next on deck after this week’s TOUR Championship followed by the 2015 Fall Season which kicks off on October 12th at the Frys.com Open.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

It’s always unfortunate when a fantasy pick withdraws due to injury during a round in a non-cut event and Jim Furyk did just that last week much to our dismay – and believe it or not it was his first WD in two decades.  The good news is that our Horse Pick of the Week was Jason Day as we urged our Premium Members to make sure he was on their rosters.

Despite the unexpected Furyk withdrawl with our top two picks finishing 1st and 10th (Stenson), we managed to close the week with almost $2 million in fantasy earnings and yet another winner to add to our list.

With 41 tournaments in the books and just one more to go for the “regular” season (before the fall season kicks off on Oct 15, 2015), we have now successfully picked the winner in 14 events (34.15%) and currently average $1.151 million in fantasy earnings per week.

Everyone knows that the big events are where it really counts and this season we picked the winner in all four majors and so far we’re 2-for-3 in the FedExCup Playoffs.  If Stenson only didn’t hit that ball in the water on his 69th hole at the DB Championship we’d still be perfect going into East Lake!

The Field

The field in Atlanta this week will consist of the best 30 players (according to FedExCup points) currently on TOUR – although it could be just 29 if Furyk decides to sit out due to his wrist injury.  The key this this week is to focus on who will win the event at East Lake and not the FedExCup, after all, daily fantasy golf leagues don’t care about that.  So, with that that said, we need to dissect this field of 30 (or 29) and determine our best Horse Pick and sleepers to bank you the most points at the TOUR Championship.

For all you golf nuts out there, here are all the scenarios for this week’s TOUR Championship showing who can win the FedExCup and how they can do it, courtesy of PGATOUR.com.

The smaller field means a lot less variation in fantasy rosters out there so remember that you’ll have to be spot-on if you want to win this week.

The Course

East Lake Golf Club will measure in at roughly 7,300 yards this week and play as a par 70.  This Donald Ross design was the childhood course of Bobby Jones who went on to win the Grand Slam in 1930.

Other notable events held at East Lake besides all of the FedExCup finales were the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup.

In 1998 the PGA TOUR brought forward the concept of the FedExCup playoffs and selected East Lake to host the TOUR Championship for the first time in 1998 before eventually making it the annual host in 2004.

The eve of the #TourChampionship is looking pretty good. @playofffinale #fedexcup pic.twitter.com/K6zW6ddymH

— East Lake Golf Club (@eastlakegc) September 20, 2015

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Weather Forecast for Atlanta, GA

It’s going to be a wet and soft finish to the season as forecasts indicate rain and wind from Friday through Sunday.  The Wednesday practice round and Thursday opening round will be sunny and pleasant but the rest of the week will be grey, dark, and wet.

Look for slow, soft conditions from tee to green this week if the long-range forecast holds true.

Last Year’s Results from the TOUR Championship

Billy Horschel, after a disappointing choke at the DB championship in 2014, followed up his impressive bounce back win at the BMW with a huge victory at the TOUR Championship.  Billy overcame the charging McIlroy and Furyk to win the single biggest prize in all of sports.

Horschel held the 54-hole lead with McIlroy, but quickly moved ahead with some early birdies on Sunday (and a double bogey by Rory on 6).  Rory continued make even more bogeys on the back nine and Horschel’s focus shifted to fending off Jim Furyk by nailing down a birdie at 15 and long par putt at 16.

In the end, Billy’s 2-under 68 was enough to get the job done.

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kPnhyHr3cw&end=141&width=742&height=419&centervid=1[/embedyt]

This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Thursday – Friday: 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm EST (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday: 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST (NBC)
  • Sunday: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EST (Golf Channel)
  • Sunday: 1:30 pm – 6:00 pm EST (NBC)
• Radio Broadcasts (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
  • Thursday – Friday: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST
  • Saturday – Sunday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm EST
• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the TOUR Championship this Week

It may be the last event of the season but there’s still plenty of fantasy golf left to be played.  Many of you might be wrapping up season-long leagues this week but for those of you who want to get in late we suggest checking out this week’s “daily” leagues like this one:

• The PGA $150K FAIRWAY [$150,000 Guaranteed]: For $27 bucks you can join an intimate field of (max) 6,337 players for a serious chance at the $20,000 first prize.  If out of your six picks you can grab the winner and a few other Top 5 finishers, odds are you’ll win some nice coin.

As we mentioned, the PGA TOUR will only take a short three weeks break after this week before returning back to action and we’ll be right back at it with our picks for the 2015 Frys.com Open in October.  Here’s to the wrap around season!

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the TOUR Championship

And then there were 30…

So whats the plan this week?  Do you pick Day with his $12,500 price tag and then fill up the rest of your roster with guys like Sang Moon-Bae and Jimmy Walker?  Of course those three guys have what it takes to win but the fact is that all 30 of the players in this week’s field have what it takes to win so picks won’t be a walk in the park this time around.

We’re not entirely surprised to see many deciding to bench Day this week in a salary-cap trade off for a hand full of mid-tier players.  Whether that’s your plan this week or not there’s certainly no denying that you’ll need a solid strategy going into to this limited field non-cut event.

To make this week’s number crunching a bit easier we’ll breakdown the field and offer our Top 5 picks to win, including your must have Horse Pick and Sleeper Picks and even show you a few DraftKings rosters suggestions to help you separate yourself from the pack.  Remember, you’re picking the winner at East Lake and not the FedExCup Champion this week.

As a bonus this week we want to offer you a special discount coupon for 30% new full year memberships of 30% off.  Simply use coupon code EASTLAKE at checkout to lock in a full year of Golficity Premium Fantasy Access now and cruise all the way through next year’s 2016 TOUR Championship.

Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the TOUR Championship

Jason Day (Golficity Odds 3/2 FPPG: 95.71 GPFP: 123.47 Salary:$12,500): This pick comes without any hesitation and that’s saying a lot considering how we normally steer clear of guys when then reach the World No.1 spot for the very first time.  But how can you not place Day on your roster this week as your horse pick?  He’s the hottest player on TOUR and has taken fantasy golf by a landslide, and perhaps best of all, Day doesn’t look to be cooling off anytime soon.  We picked Day in 4 out of his 5 wins this year and we’re pretty confident we’ll be picking his 6th this week at East Like.  On top of his streaking performance Jason also has a T6 finish here in 2011 and a T4 last year.

Spieth’s hopes for Player of the Year are on the line this week and Rory looks to be getting back into a groove, but if we had to take one of the three this week, its Jay Day, all Day, every Day at this point.

• GIR Rank: 6th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 5th
• Putting Average: 2nd
• Scrambling: 2nd

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 1st

Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 8/1 FPPG: 73.05 GPFP: 92.04 Salary:$10,300): We started to lean towards Stenson here but the sore wrist scares us a bit even though he still forced his way through Conway Farms to notch an impressive T10.  Fowler on the other hand has finally shown signs of fantasy life after following up his win in Boston with a T4 finish last week.  The once labeled “most overrated” player now has a legitimate chance to win the coveted FedExCup with a win this week and is certainly one of the favorites to do so.  If his putting is on this week, look out for Rickie.

• GIR Rank: 105th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 27th
• Putting Average: 10th
• Scrambling: 56th

* Most Notable Stat: All-Around Ranking: 7th

Bubba Watson (Golficity Odds 10/1 FPPG: 85.80 GPFP: NA Salary: $8,700): We love Bubba’s $8,700 salary this week and we like even more how he falls in the Top 5 in FedExCup points coming into a course near where he calls home.  Most fantasy players will be touting Dustin Johnson in this salary range this week due to Watson’s history at East Lake but we’re going to ignore that.  He’s coming off of a T10 at the BMW which marked his career-high nineth top 10s on the season.  He has a Top 5 finish at East Lake in 2012 but nothing better than a T10 in a total of five starts here.  Like Day and Fowler, Bubba can win the Cup with a win in East Lake and we like having that fire power behind him.

• GIR Rank: 13th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 1st
• Putting Average: 58th
• Scrambling: 45th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 1st

Hideki Matsuyama (Golficity Odds 18/1 FPPG: 77.17 GPFP: 92.60 Salary:$8,000): Matsuyama came alive last week with a T7 at Conway Farms giving him Top 25s in all three playoff events so far.  He comes into Atlanta with some great playoff stats including sitting at 3rd in birdies or better and 7th in adjusted scoring over the course of the last three events.  Hideki is a solid play in the $8,000 space as a mid-tier player this week and has a great shot of winning this week.

• GIR Rank: 20th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 6th
• Putting Average: 26th
• Scrambling: 25th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained Total: 6th

Paul Casey (Golficity Odds 28/1 FPPG: 66.50 GPFP: 67.83 Salary:$7,600): Casey looks to be the strongest selection in the $7500-$7900 level this week for DraftKings as he comes into East Lake (where he finished T4 in 2010) after a hot round at the BMW where he co-led in GIR.  Could he win the event?  Of course; and like we said, any of these top 30 guys could, but we see Casey as a guy with a solid Top 5 finish earning your team some quality fantasy points this week.  He finds greens and is stellar with this ability to strike the ball but his putter can be his own worst enemy this week.

• GIR Rank: 4th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green:  9th
• Putting Average: 109th
• Scrambling: 154th

* Most Notable Stat: Ball Striking: 5th

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the TOUR Championship

Daniel Berger (Golficity Odds 40/1 FPPG: 57.85 GPFP: 71.73  Salary: $7,200): Berger and Kisner are essentially toss ups this week but after last week’s performance, you have to insert this guy as your sleeper pick.  He comes in as the only rookie left in the race to the FedExCup and has strung together a T12 at Boston and solo second at the BMW last week.  He’s certainly trending at the very right time and he has a legitimate shot to win the FedExCup from his comfortable 9th place slot.

• GIR Rank: 31st
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 35th
• Putting Average: 120th
• Scrambling: 48th

* Most Notable Stat: Ball Striking: 15th

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the TOUR Championship

Kevin Kisner (Golficity Odds: 50/1 FPPG: 50.88 GPFP: 40.64  Salary:$7,200): Analysts have been preaching how Kisner is great on Bermuda grass, but that’s not sufficient enough for us.  Rather, we’re on the Kisner train because he’s got what it takes to win just about anywhere right now and is a solid sleeper pick in this price range.  He didn’t have an impressive showing last week with a T41 at Conway Farms but showed signs of life with a six-birdie 66 on Sunday.  Kisner is excellent in scrambling and knows how to score.  If his game is on look for Kevin to come in with a top 1o or better this week.

• GIR Rank: 86th
• Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green: 42nd
• Putting Average: 90th
• Scrambling: 10th

* Most Notable Stat:  Scrambling: 10th

Roster Suggestion With Jason Day

Roster Suggestion Without Jason Day

Last Week’s Fantasy Results for the BMW Championship

• Jason Day: WINNER ($1,485,000)
• Henrik Stenson: T10 ($206,250)
• Jim Furyk: WD ($0)
• Kevin Kisner: T41 ($31,350)
• Justin Thomas: T13 ($145,750)

Last Week’s Sleeper Pick to Win the BMW Championship

• Russell Knox: T45 ($26,400)

Last Week’s Salary Cap Sleeper Pick to Win the BMW Championship

• Zac Blair: T53 ($18,920)

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD Stats

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”13.58%” bar_text=”39 out of 287 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”25.08%” bar_text=”72 out of 287 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”34.14%” bar_text=”14 out of 41 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”36.58%” bar_text=”15 out of 41 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”81.18%” bar_text=”233 out of 287 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Major Winners Picked” percent=”100%” bar_text=”4 out of 4 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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

Cover Photo via @dubsole on Instagram