Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks Odds & Predictions – SBS Tournament of Champions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the SBS Tournament of Champions
2017 SBS Tournament of Champions Fantasy Preview
We’re wishing a happy New Year to all of our readers, and what a way to see in 2017 with this week’s SBS Tournament of Champions event from the stunning Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii.
This will be an early opportunity for some of the world’s best, including Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth, to strut their stuff in an invitation-only event for, you guessed it, PGA TOUR event winners in 2016. Let’s face it, Hawaii is a pretty nice place to spend the first week of the year and fantasy golf fans everywhere are happy to see the big DFS contests return after the break.
With a decent period of rest and recuperation under their belts, this 32-man field will enjoy a beautiful locale for their first appearance of 2017.
Last PGA TOUR Event’s Fantasy Results from the Hero World Challenge
Despite it being a limited field, the Hero World Challenge still played out on DFS and big money was made on the back of Hideki Matsuyama. Despite Spieth (T6) being our ace pick over Hideki, it showed us one bit of useful information. This Japanese superstar is going to be a fantasy stud this season, so be on look out for lots of fantasy points out of him.
In total, we had three of our seven players finish in the Top 6 including Fowler’s T3. This week we approach another limited field which will require a lot of Top 5 finishes in order to cash in.
Don’ Forget! You can now utilize our “Sort Within Field” Tool to locate players you need in any salary range with unique stats. Here’s an example of players priced between $7,500-$7,900 who average over 300 yards per drive so far this season.
Be sure to use this and our GPFP analysis to gain an edge by helping you pick those “toss-ups” between two or three players.
The 2017 SBS Tournament of Champions Field
The select 32 invited to take part in this year’s Tournament of Champions are, as always, champions, having lifted the trophy at the qualifying events throughout 2016. Hence the rather eclectic field with the likes of Matsuyama and DJ rubbing shoulders with Vaughn Taylor and Greg Chalmers.
The field could have been even stronger – a veritable ‘who’s who’ of world golf – but the withdrawals of big names like McIlroy, Stenson, Scott and Garcia, amongst others, have put rest to that.
Even so, four of the top six in the FedExCup rankings are in town, plus Fall Season winners Cody Gribble and MacKenzie Hughes. Three of the last four winners here – DJ, Patrick Reed and the reigning champion Jordan Spieth – will do battle for the not-unsubstantial pay check.
This Week’s Course Preview
The Plantation course at Kapalua is unique in its Par 73 status – the only track of such measure on the Tour, and so yes: it’s long (7,452 yards to be precise). But it doesn’t actually play all that long, as a list of winners including Spieth and Zach Johnson testifies, and that’s perhaps due to the forgiving rough and breezy conditions that typically inform this event.
Designed by Coore and Crenshaw in 1991, this is one of the most recently established tracks on the Tour, and already it has made a name for itself with its relative ease. Spieth (-30) and 2003 champ Ernie Els (-31) exemplify exactly what is possible here when striking the ball well.
The most eye-catching features are the expansive elevation changes and severely sloping fairways that can turn nice tee-shots bad in the blink of an eye. Not to worry though, as the shallow rough is described as non-penal in nature.
The Bermuda greens will run at around 10 on the stimp so may the best short-stick merchant win, and that winning score will largely be dictated by the ferocity of the island winds.
Weather Forecast for Kapalua, Maui
We’re expecting rain in the build-up to the first tee on Thursday, and the unsettled picture continues on the opening day with 40% precipitation, 82% humidity and winds of up to 12mph.
Things should clearly nicely in time for the weekend however, with temperatures around the 69˚F mark. Wind speeds are anticipated around the 13mph – add a few extra at local level, and so conditions are likely to be testing without ruining what should be an excellent four days of golf.
Last Year’s Results from the SBS Tournament of Champions
Absolutely immaculate: that’s the best way to describe Jordan Spieth’s form here 12 months ago when he won with an outstanding mark of -30; some eight shots clear of second-placed Patrick Reed.
It was pretty much the Spieth and Reed show from the start, with Fabian Gomez, Bubba Watson and Danny Lee showing well without kicking on.
Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker would eventually finish tied for third on -21, with renowned wind players such as Gomez, Padraig Harrington, and Rickie Fowler also in the money. Dustin Johnson and Jason Day made up the rest of the top ten finishers.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcDp5VQhI_k[/embedyt]
This Week’s Broadcast Schedule
- Television Broadcasts
- Thursday-Friday: 1:30pm EST – 4:30pm EST (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 12:00pm EST – 2:30pm EST (Golf Channel)
- Sunday: 11:00am EST – 1:00pm EST (Golf Channel)
- Mobile Broadcasts:
- NA
- RADIO: (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com)
- NA
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the SBS Tournament of Champions this Week
All eyes turn back to DraftKings, who have shaken off the post-Christmas malaise quickly to host a number of contests this week. The 32-man field can be a turn off for some DFS managers, but a healthy slate of competitions should attract plenty of interest.
- PGA $150K Dogleg: Golf is back! So says the slogan for this contest, which features a $15k top prize for a $33 entry. Just over 5000 entries will be accepted, with the multi-entry mark set at 150.
- PGA $30k Hybrid: A mere $3 entry fee ensures players can duke it out for the $1,500 top prize, and with the top 1650 finishers doubling their money this is a fun way to start the 2017 campaign.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the SBS Tournament of Champions
This is one of those rare beasts where we have to eschew general logic. The Plantation Course is a super-long track and yet three of the last five winners are Spieth, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker; outstanding short game gurus and putters, but not noted for their length off the tee. So for one week only, we are going to have to suspend our disbelief.
This is confirmed by the statistical roll-call from the 2016 edition. Of the first ten home only Brooks Koepka ranked inside the top ten for driving distance, and just look at this key statistic for an insight: none of Spieth, Reed, Koepka, Snedeker, or Fowler ranked outside the top ten for driving accuracy. Basically, what occurs off the tee here at Kapalua has proven to be practically irrelevant.
So where are marginal gains at Kapalua? That’s easy: around the green. Spieth and Reed ranked in the top three for scrambling with the former also ranking first for each of the putting metrics. On this Plantation course, it is how you finish – rather than start – your holes that counts.
Wind is a factor here as it is for most island tracks, and it is no coincidence to see the success of former winners at Kapalua at other wind-affected stretches. The Sony Open, in particular, catches the eye as a correlation, with Johnson, Els, Jim Furyk, and Vijay Singh all winning both. Fabian Gomez won the Sony in 2016 and finished sixth here last year, so there is clearly a trend to be followed.
Those that know their geography will also note that Spieth and Reed are both Texans, and as such two players comfortable in breezy conditions. That has to be our key angle in this week.
Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the SBS Tournament of Champions
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Cover Photo via Instagram
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