Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

The 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational Fantasy Preview

Although Kuchar (our No. 2 overall pick) couldn’t get it done last Sunday we’re still happy with our picks results last week as we cashed in with a 3rd, T4, and T12 finish and netted a total weekly purse of just shy of $1 million.  In the end three of our seven selections (Kuchar, Knost, and Dustin Johnson) combined for some solid fantasy points and if you were lucky enough to squeeze them all onto your roster, you should be a little richer this week.

Now we’re coming into a three week stretch before the season’s next major and the big story remains the slightly disgruntled Jordan Spieth, who continues to lack confidence after another disappointing finish at last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson.   Last season Jordan was basically an automatic addition to everyone’s fantasy rosters, but that predicability disappeared this year (along with his OWGR No. 1 spot).  We’re not saying steer clear of Spieth in definitely, but you need to do your due diligence and continue to look elsewhere for fantasy points rather than blowing the bank on a guy who is trying to re-figure things out.

On the positive side of things Jordan is a certainly the hometown favorite once again this week and the Texas crowd definitely backs him up as we saw at last week’s Byron Nelson.  Despite being win-less in the State of Texas it continues to be obvious that Jordan loves playing here.

Colonial will mark the final stop in Texas before the boys head to Jack’s place at The Memorial and then eventually finish up in New Orleans before heading out to Oakmont for the U.S. Open.  The only guy in the filed who has completed the Texas Grand Slam is Aussie Adam Scott, and he’ll be back this week along with last year’s winner Chris Kirk.

A lot of eyes will also be on Ryan Palmer this week because of his hometown/member course knowledge despite his missed cut at the Byron Nelson.  The PGA TOUR veteran and Colonial member has three Top 15 finishes at this event.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Our top pick last week (Dustin Johnson) turned out to be a wise selection as DJ finished T12 with a solid week of birdies or better versus the heavily favored Spieth who finished T18 after a rough 74 on Sunday led to him slipping out of contention.  Jordan’s lack of confidence over the last few weeks persuaded us to run with DJ in the top spot and we’re glad we did because Spieth’s bogey-happy final round certainly sent some fantasy players down the ranks.  Despite Palmer and Piercy barely missing the cut, this lineup cashed in last week nicely.

We also had two other players in our Top 5 ‘must-have picks’ finish in the Top 5 including Matt Kuchar, who was putting for birdie on the 72nd hole for a chance to get into the playoff with Garcia and Koepka but just fell short.  In the end we managed to make five of seven cuts and had at least four players in contention to get a W heading into Sunday’s final round (Johnson, Molder, Knost, and Kuchar).

The 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational Field

Be prepared to see a lot of similar faces carry over from the Byron Nelson, including World No. 2 Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Charley Hoffman and Matt Kuchar.

Dustin Johnson won’t be in the field this week and you can expect that the addition of Adam Scott will make fantasy players scratch their heads this week.  Do you take the hometown hero who is due for a win (Spieth) or a past winner (Scott) who has arguably a better game right now and proven success on this track?  We’ll nail down some answers for you in our picks section below.

Overall this week’s field will consist of nine players coming from the OWGR top thirty the top thirty.  Outside of that, veterans like Steve Stricker (who won here in 2009), will return for the second consecutive year.  Ryan Palmer has a slight advantage being a member of Colonial, but that won’t be a deciding factor if we decide to run with him—we saw how well that worked out for Webb Simpson at Quail Hollow a few weeks back (MC).

This Week’s Course Overview

This week Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas will measure in at roughly 7,200 yards and play as par 70.  Like last week, the track will feature just two par 5’s so we’ll once again be putting a premium on Par 4 scoring.

This will mark as Colonial’s eighth decade (that is not a typo) as a PGA TOUR venue, as this Texas crown jewel first opened its doors in 1936.  The course played host to the 1941 U.S. Open and since then has been the longest-running host venue on the PGA TOUR schedule.

As far as scoring strategies go we’ll be sure to highlight what works and what types of players should fare well at Colonial is our Fantasy Notes section below.

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Weather Forecast for Fort Worth, Texas

It looks like a strong chance that Memorial Day Monday may be needed to finish this one as rain and thunderstorms are expected for Thursday and Friday.  Expect temperatures in the high-80s with 90-100% chances of rain for rounds 1 and 2 before the rain breaks away for the weekend.

Keep the messy early-round weather in mind if you’re considering picking player vs. player (round vs. round) No Halftime fantasy match-ups this week (remember to use coupon code “GOLF” for a 10% first-time deposit bonus).

Last Year’s Results from the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Last year Chris Kirk notched his fourth PGA TOUR victory with an epic win at Colonial where he closed with a 4-under-par 66 on Sunday.  His amazing 7-foot par save kept him one stroke ahead of Spieth, Snedeker and Bohn and it was all that he needed to slam the door.

The win however was certainly no walk in the park for Kirk.  After hooking his tee shot at No.18 and failing to hit the green on his approach, Kirk had to scramble and chip it close to save par.  Snedeker had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie but Sneds missed his 12-footer and that was all she wrote for Kirk.

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This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts
  • Thursday (May 26, 2016) – Friday (May 27, 2016) 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday (May 28, 2016) – Sunday (May 29, 2016) 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EST (GC), 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm (CBS)

• Mobile Broadcasts via the PGA TOUR LIVE App
  • Thursday-Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm ET (featured groups), 4:00pm – 7:00 pm (featured holes)

• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1:00 – 7:00pm EST, Saturday-Sunday 1:00 – 6:00 pm ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM)

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational this Week

UPDATE: We recently received notice telling us that as of today DraftKings is now offering weekly European TOUR fantasy games!  This is huge news because it means double the fantasy golf every week, and for all of you who follow the Euro TOUR, you now can get your fix with some affordable games for this week’s BMW Championship.  Keep in mind, the big money games are still here on the PGA TOUR (with the big one coming in just three weeks!) but we sure to see some nice EU action in the coming weeks as well.

• EURO $100K TEE-OFF SPECIAL [$100,000 GUARANTEED]: Here’s a fun way to kick off DK’s new European Tour contests by throw $27 at for a chance to win $10K.  This week’s event is the BMW championship and the total number of players in the fantasy game will be limited to 4,257 so be sure to jump in early.

• $3.5M FANTASY GOLF MILLIONAIRE [$1M TO 1ST]: The season’s next big multi-million dollar contest is just three weeks away and starting to fill up already, so you might as well grab your seat.  Even if you’re not playing DraftKings every week, you should still throw 20 bucks at this one for a shot a a huge payday.  Chances of winning the lotto is about 1 in 50 million, if not more.  Chances of winning a million on DraftKings is about 1 in 100,000 (and with our help even your chances are even better).  So why not?

• NO HALFTIME: The No Halftime contests are heating up this time of year and usually beginning on Wednesday you will start to see some nice match-ups that may entice you to throw your hat in the ring.  If you haven’t tried this new player vs. player format yet now’s the time to get in.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Past editions of this event have proven that driving distance is largely irrelevant at Colonial.  Recent winners like Kirk (2015) and Scott (2014) didn’t even crack the Top 40 in that statistic.  So where did they find their success?  The simple answer is putting.

Colonial is a tough course but it defiantly suits excellent ball strikers.  Ball Striking is measured by computing Total Driving and Greens in Regulation.  Kirk won it with his putting last year and his rankings of second in Strokes Gained Putting and first in Birdies-or-Better were the cornerstones of his victory.

Because Colonial offers only two par 5s (where most PGA TOUR players like to go low), we’ll be putting a premium on Par 4 scoring instead because that is where this tournament will be won or lost.

Here are some of the key fantasy stats we’re looking at in combination with our GPFPs this week.

Stats that are in focus for the DEAN & DELUCA this week:

• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Par 4 Scoring Average
• Greens in Regulation
• Birdie Average
• Ball Striking

For some, the “obvious” horse pick is Spieth this week, but don’t be so quick to jump on the “he’s due” train just yet.  Some will argue that he’s a lock to finally pick up a Texas win this week while others will scoff at his huge price tag.  Want to know what we think?  Let’s dive into this week’s picks and roster suggestions to find out.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 12/1 FPPG: 92.80 GPFP: 116.93 Salary: $11,300): Believe it or not, our decision wasn’t between Spieth and Scott here, but rather Kuchar and Scott.  Experience will show that trending players who have a hot hand earn more fantasy points then streaky and less confident players—regardless of the price tag.  Spieth still needs to take some more baby steps before getting back into the winner’s circle, and we think his primary focus in these Texas events has been some “prep time” for the majors.  In reality, Scott may be using the Texas swing to gear up for the next major as well, but he’s being out-Aussie’d right now by Jason Day in that department.  Regardless, Adam has the all-around package to dominate this golf course.  He won here in 2014 and although that victory marks his only Top 20 finish in four tries at Colonial, he’s a whole different golfer at the present.  Scott looked good at Quail Hollow and Sawgrass and if his putter heats up, he could run away with it.  Here are some key stats to chew on:  Adam currently ranks 1st in Scoring Average, Strokes Gained Total, and Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 71st
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 33rd
• Greens in Regulation: 18th
• Birdie Average: 6th
• Ball Striking: 30th

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

Charley Hoffman (Golficity Odds 20/1 FPPG: 62.00 GPFP: 72.54 Salary: $10,400): Despite an unusual missed cut by Hoffman at Sawgrass, Charley managed to string together four Top 14 finishes including a win, in his last five starts.  To date on the season he has six top 20s and he comes into Colonial with a perfect 7-for-7 record on this track with his best finish being a T10 last year.  He’s a decent putter and although he ranks low on GIR, he can come alive at this venue and he usually has a knack for putting up some nice (and reliable) fantasy points.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 48th
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 64th
• Greens in Regulation: 132nd
• Birdie Average: 87th
• Ball Striking: 139th

* Most Notable Stat: Strokes Gained: Total: 22nd

Chris Kirk (Golficity Odds 28/1 FPPG: 51.63 GPFP: 41.31 Salary: $9,700): We’re not huge fans of picking the previous year’s winner, but this pick is based purely on stats and course knowledge.  Kirk won here last year by one stroke and with that win, he has now successfully made the Top 20 six times in six tries on this track.  Although he missed the cut in his last appearance (Sawgrass) he still comes into a title defense having finished in the Top 13 three times in his last six starts.  We just need his putter to wake up this week and he should easily be a contender heading into the weekend.  Can’t go purely on the stats here because Kirk got off to a rough start this season.  There’s no denying that picking Chris is a gusty move, and if you don’t have the stomach for it you can always opt for our other lower priced option, which was Schwartzel.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 122nd
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 103rd
• Greens in Regulation: 116th
• Birdie Average: 156th
• Ball Striking: 140th

* Most Notable Stat:  Scrambling: 17th

Colt Knost (Golficity Odds 40/1 FPPG: 65.09 GPFP: 52.07 Salary: $8,300): What can you say, the big fella is hot right now.  In fact, this might be the hottest stretch of his entire career.  Get this, on the season Knost is 16-for-17  (how’s that for stamina?) and he comes into Colonial on the heels of T3 and T4 finishes over the last two weeks.  Looking back Colt wasn’t having much success at Colonial with four straight missed cuts from 2011-2014, that was until he notched a T10 here in 2015—and his game is arguably even better in 2016.  His stats are solid right now and he has laser like accuracy off the tee so why not ride the Knost train while its going 100 mph.  Best of all, you might be able to get Scott, Hoffman, and Knost on the same roster—we’ll show you how below.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 14th
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 42nd
• Greens in Regulation: 67th
• Birdie Average: 111th
• Ball Striking: 80th

* Most Notable Stat: Driving Accuracy: 2nd

Boo Weekley (Golficity Odds 75/1 FPPG: 55.24 GPFP: 44.19 Salary: $7,400): Weekley got off to a rough start in 2016 but has righted the ship nicely and proved so with a recent T16 at TPC Sawgrass despite it being his only Top 30 in his last ten starts.  Simply put, Boo can provide some solid fantasy points for your roster at this salary range.  He’s won here before (2013) and he was even able to beat up the track in 2015 with his opening round 64.  The putter might hurt him, but all around Boo is a solid ball striker and comes equipped with a solid ‘off-the-tee’ game.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 120th
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 142nd
• Greens in Regulation: 61st
• Birdie Average: 68th
• Ball Striking: 29th

* Most Notable Stat: Ball Striking: 29th

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Bryce Molder (Golficity Odds 80/1 FPPG: 57.14 GPFP: 45.71 Salary: $7,100): Bryce continues to stay hot and has been coming through week after week as a low priced sleeper option.  His putter is the main reason he’s back up on the board this week for us.  Molder comes in with an eight event made cut streak and in every one of his last five starts he’s been able to notch a T12 finish or better.  Getting down to brass tax, Bryce is deadly accurate off of the tee and his putter just may be the hottest in the field this week.

• Strokes Gained: Putting: 13th
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 42nd
• Greens in Regulation: 174th
• Birdie Average: 106th
• Ball Striking: 171st

* Most Notable Stat:  Strokes Gained: Putting: 13th

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational

Emiliano Grillo (Golficity Odds 100/1 FPPG: 62.36 GPFP: 49.89 Salary: $6,700): When navigating the waters of the 6,000 dollar-range players, you have to make sure their stats match up.  Here’s what we know about Grillo:  He hasn’t played a competitive round on the PGA TOUR since his missed cut at TPC Sawgrass not long ago.  He’s incredibly accurate off of the tee (7th in Driving Distance) and ranks 1st on TOUR in Total Driving.  He’s also a heck a ball striker and already owns a victory this season.  Emiliano is a bit of a gamble (as with any sleeper) but you have to love a sub $7,000 player with a FPPG of 62.

• Strokes Gained: Putting:  178th
• Par 4 Scoring Average: 42nd
• Greens in Regulation: 31st
• Birdie Average: 29th
• Ball Striking: 8th

* Most Notable Stat: Total Driving: 1st

Sample DraftKings Lineup With Scott

Sample DraftKings Lineup Without Scott

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Last Week’s Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the AT&T Byron Nelson

• Dustin Johnson (Golficity Odds 10/1): T12 ($138,700)
• Matt Kuchar (Golficity Odds 20/1): 3rd ($496,400)
• Ryan Palmer (Golficity Odds 30/1): MC
• Scott Piercy (Golficity Odds 40/1): MC
• Colt Knost (Golficity Odds 60/1) T4 ($264,265)

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the AT&T Byron Nelson

• Bryce Molder (Golficity Odds 65/1): T24 ($54,020)

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win the AT&T Byron Nelson

• Andrew Loupe (Golficity Odds 120/1): T82 ($12,775)

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD (2015-2016)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”10.05%” bar_text=”19 out of 189 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”23.28%” bar_text=”44 out of 189 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”29.63%” bar_text=”8 out of 27 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”18.52%” bar_text=”5 out of 27 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”71.95″ bar_text=”136 out of 189 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

Remember to visit our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational with other Premium Members.

Looking for fantasy golf picks for this week’s BMW PGA Championship?  We’ve got them here.

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Cover Photo via Instagram