Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – THE PLAYERS Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for THE PLAYERS Championship

2018 PLAYERS Championship Fantasy Preview

Jason Day once again proved why drafting proven winners in your DFS line-ups is the best way to go.

He sat T2 at the halfway stage of the Wells Fargo Championship, trailing leader Peter Malnati by one stroke and tied with youngster Aaron Wise on -6. There was a sense of inevitability about what was to follow.

The Aussie surged ahead on Saturday to lead by two going into the final round, and he proved his champion’s status – this is an eleven-time PGA TOUR winner and major champion remember – with a steady final round of 70 to hold off the challenge of Wise and Nick Watney.

Day will have plenty of good vibes heading to this week’s event, the unofficial ‘fifth major’ that is THE PLAYERS Championship from the sumptuous TPC Sawgrass. He has won at a Pete Dye layout before – the 2015 PGA Championship layout at Whistling Straits – and this course designer, known for his occasionally sadistic layouts, is certainly not everybody’s cup of tea….

The formlines of some of the best in the business at Sawgrass – Dustin Johnson (12-28-69-59-WD), Jordan Spieth (MC-MC-MC-4) and Rickie Fowler (60-MC-1-MC-MC) – are testament to that!

A high-quality field will assemble once more in Ponte Vedra, and they will be looking to emulate the surprise win of Si-Woo Kim 12 months ago. The Korean is a fine young talent, but his win in such a prestigious event so early in his career must have come as a shock even to him. But that once again shows the majesty of ultra-competitive golf at these Pete Dye courses!

Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his tee shot on the third hole during…

Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his tee shot on the third hole during the final round of the 2018 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 15, 2018 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Last Week’s Fantasy Results 

Jason Day captures yet another win on TOUR this season, but unfortunately the Aussie flew on our radar.  With Fowler (T21) as our top guy, even six of seven made cuts wasn’t enough to cash us in last week.

Luke List continues to be a dominant player for fantasy and his T9 offered our Premium Members a nice chunk of under rated fantasy points.

Jason Day of Australia reacts following a birdie attempt on the 15th…

Jason Day of Australia reacts following a birdie attempt on the 15th green during the final round of the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 6, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

THE PLAYERS Championship 2018 Field

You probably know the drill here already, but only the cream of the crop will tee it up at Sawgrass this week.

Thomas, Johnson. D, Spieth, McIlroy, Reed, Fowler, Day, Rose, Matsuyama, Garcia….you get the idea.

All in all, there are 14 players in the field who have won in the past eight weeks, including Jon Rahm, making his second appearance at Sawgrass after last year’s missed cut, Bubba Watson, who is without a top-20 finish here in his past ten attempts, and Ian Poulter, who pushed Si-Woo all the way in last year’s renewal.

Justin Thomas tees off on the second hole during the Third Round of…

Justin Thomas tees off on the second hole during the Third Round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Plantation Course on Maui, HI. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

This Week’s Course Preview

If you want a really deep dive into the layout at TPC Sawgrass, the PGA TOUR website has a link to a fascinating hole-by-hole overview with comments from the players.

What makes this stretch so enjoyable (for spectators, if not players!)? It’s a 7,150 yard Par 72, and the perfect advert for the notion that you don’t need to add miles of fairways to challenge the best in the business.

Instead, Sawgrass features plenty of doglegged holes, with rather penal rough punishing anyone who strays from the short stuff. Water is in play on numerous holes, and the Scottish Links style bunkers will gobble up any errant approaches. The Bermuda greens are some of the smallest on Tour.

There will be plenty of clubbing down, lots of irons off the tee, and really there is little advantage to the bombers in the field: a 1-2 of Si-Woo and Poulter last year is testament to that. This is the thinking man’s golf course, with precision approach play and steady chipping/scrambling the key to success.

There are many high points at Sawgrass for TV viewers to enjoy, but clearly the seventeenth is the platform for most of the excitement. The famous island green plays host to the 137-yard Par 3, and while on any normal day the approach wouldn’t faze too many pros the prestige of THE PLAYERS – and the occasional cross winds – do add a layer of complexity to proceedings. That, and the baying spectators sat behind the green hoping for a few splashdowns!

A general view of the 17th hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS…

A general view of the 17th hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on May 14 in Ponte Vedra Beach . Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Weather Forecast for Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

This is Florida in springtime, so you kinda know the game here already.

It’s going to be a lovely week in Ponte Vedra, with lots of sunshine and temperatures hovering in the 82 – 89 degree range. It won’t be stiflingly hot though, with cloud cover breaking up the hot sun.

One of Sawgrass’ best defenses is the wind, which has a habit of squalling around and changing direction even in the space of a single afternoon. The format is typically the same from day to day, with the breeze starting fairly benign in the morning before powering up through the afternoon.

The early wave of players will head out in roughly 5 mph winds, and the late starters will come home in approximately 13 mph.

Last Year’s Results from THE PLAYERS Championship

For someone so young, it was a surprise to see Si-Woo Kim keep his head while around him were losing theirs as the 2017 PLAYERS Championship came to a head.

Heading into the final round, the last pair out were JB Holmes and Kyle Stanley; experienced pros who have won before on the PGA TOUR.

But the pressure of leading a huge tournament clearly took hold, and the jitters set in as Stanley carded 75 and Holmes a disastrous 84 to end their hopes.

Si-Woo showed tremendous maturity to post a final round of 69, and that would prove to be enough with Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen three back on -7.

It just goes to show that youthful ‘naivety’, rather than the battle scars of experience, can be useful as big events come to their conclusion.

As Heard Around the World: Si Woo Kim wins THE PLAYERS

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh With 226 countries and territories broadcasting THE PLAYERS around the world we hear the call in French, Spanish, Latin and Canadian of Si Woo Kim sinking his final putt to win THE PLAYERS Championship 2017 and become the youngest winner in tournament history.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for THE PLAYERS Championship this Week

The DFS sites have acknowledged the importance of THE PLAYERS Championship and gone in hard with a varied slate of lucrative contests. Here’s two of the best for different budgets:

• PGA $700k Fifth Major Classic: The chance to win $100k from a $5 stake doesn’t come along every day, so get stuck into this contest with gusto. The top 105 players cash a minimum of $100.
• PGA $100k Driving Range: There are a number of ‘2x cash minimum’ contests this week, so this $150 buy-in event guarantees a minimum return of $300 for the top 20% of players. First place trousers $15k.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for THE PLAYERS Championship

It could be argued that Si-Woo Kim’s victory 12 months ago is a huge anomaly in the history of this tournament. He had just one top-40 finish to his name in his prior ten starts to lifting the trophy at Sawgrass, although some decent showings on other Pete Dye layouts, including T9 at the CareerBuilder Challenge and T14 at the RBC Heritage, had hinted at future prospects.

The young Korean took a well-worn path to glory, finding plenty of fairways (just under 70%, ranking T15 for Driving Accuracy), and while his irons weren’t quite as hot (62.50% GIR) he did chip and putt well.

We can label Si-Woo’s victory an anomaly because, typically speaking, the best tend to get the job done at Sawgrass. Of the last five winners of this event, three are major champions (Jason Day, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods), one is a prolific Tour winner (Matt Kuchar) and the other (Rickie Fowler), well, we just don’t know what he will achieve in the sport. In time, perhaps Si-Woo will join such esteemed company.

We’ve spoke about the possible correlation between success at Pete Dye layouts and how that translates to form at Sawgrass. Jason Day has won here and at Whistling Straits (PGA Championship 2015), Rory McIlroy has posted three top-10s at Sawgrass and won at two other Dye properties (Kiawah Island and Crooked Stick), while Si-Woo arguably confirmed a link between Sawgrass and Harbour Town Links, host of the RBC Heritage, earlier this year. He lost out in a play-off there, while Matt Kuchar has won at both. Zach Johnson has suffered the indignity of finishing second at both layouts, while Jim Furyk has triumphed at Harbour Town and finished runner-up at Sawgrass.

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win THE PLAYERS Championship

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2017-2018)

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