Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, & Predictions – The Wyndham Championship
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Wyndham Championship
2018 Wyndham Championship Fantasy Preview
For a guy who has admitted golf doesn’t excite him all that much, Brooks Koepka certainly found his mojo in time for the Majors.
Almost ridiculously, three of Koepka’s four PGA titles are majors, as his relative stroll to glory at last week’s PGA Championship joins those two US Open victories in the can. The 28-year-old is, simply, the man for the big occasion.
He held his nerve amidst a classic Tiger charge, too. In a performance reminiscent of his dominant heyday, the big cat fired in a succession of birdies as the Bellerive crowd cheered him towards the unlikeliest of victories.
Brooks Koepka of the United States walks on the 18th hole during the…
Brooks Koepka of the United States walks on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on August 12, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
A wayward drive on seventeen ended those hopes, but once again added fuel to the fire that Tiger will win again, soon enough, on the PGA TOUR.
We’re into one of the most crucial weeks of the season, in some respects. The Wyndham Championship is the last chance that the players have to crash into the FedExCup top-125 standings, and book their spot in the curtain-call series of events in the upcoming weeks.
It may be a weak field that descends on Sedgefield CC – most of the big guns will take the week off ahead of the Northern Trust next week, but there will still be plenty of high stakes knee-knocking golf to enjoy nonetheless.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
Our ‘Top-Tier 2′ pick last week was Brooks Koepka, and for a very good reason. Coming into the event as one of our clear favorites with the bombing ability off the tee, ol’ Brooks was undervalued to say the least, sitting at a cheap $9,600 on DraftKings.
His win offered DFS players a whopping 129.5 fantasy points, and certainly the boost needed to cash in.
Brooks Kopeka’s name sits at the top of the final scoreboard after…
Brooks Kopeka’s name sits at the top of the final scoreboard after the final round of the 100th PGA Championship at the Bellerive Country Club on August 12, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
The winning recipe looks like it would have been Koepka, Tiger, Adam Scott … that is if you had enough trust in the dormant Aussie who hasn’t won a major since the 2013 Masters. Adam was only $7,600 on the salary list and ended up pouring in 97 fantasy points.
With the win, Koepka marks our 5th winner picked on the PGA TOUR this season.
The 2018 Wyndham Championship Field
As mentioned, this isn’t a high-class field and only two of the FedExCup top-30 – local boys Webb Simpson and Chesson Hadley – make the trip.
Henrik Stenson will attempt to defend his crown, while the young stud Joaquin Niemann once again gets the call up. Despite having plenty of FedExCup points in the bank, due to his status as a recently turned pro he actually needs to win at Sedgefield to confirm his place in the season finale.
Hideki Matsuyama was also an eleventh-hour addition to the field. Sat in 88th in the standings, his hand may have been forced with points to defend.
The so-called ‘bubble boys,’ i.e. those on the fringes of the top-125, include Sergio Garcia (131st), Shane Lowry (139th), Steve Stricker (141st) and Graeme McDowell (143rd). They will need a strong week to book their place in the Northern Trust.
Sergio Garcia of Spain plays his shot from the 16th tee during the…
Sergio Garcia of Spain plays his shot from the 16th tee during the second round of the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on August 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
This Week’s Course Preview
The Donald Ross design at Sedgefield Country Club is a largely nondescript affair, although his trademark small greens offer an insight into which kinds of players might thrive in Greensboro.
Playing at 7,127 yards for its Par 70, Sedgefield is a fairly tight off the tee too, so finding the right areas off the peg is key as you approach these tiny Bermuda greens. They typically slope from back to front and run quickly at about 12 on the stimp, and it’s no surprise that those who have a strong four days with the putter tend to get the job done here.
Stenson hit a variety of clubs off the tee last year and still left mid to short irons in, and so there is no real advantage to drafting bombers; indeed, wayward drives will be gobbled up by thick rough, which presents a real challenge getting back onto the greens in regulation.
This is an easy layout having said that, with the last four winning scores here reading -22, -21, -17 and -17. It’s noticeable that the scoring has gotten better as the switch from Bentgrass to Bermuda came in 2012, with Si-Woo Kim, the 2016 champion, carding a round of 60.
Henrik Stenson and Kevin Na walk the 18th hole during the final round…
Henrik Stenson and Kevin Na walk the 18th hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 20, 2017 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Weather Forecast for Greensboro, NC
It’s a game of two halves this week in Greensboro, with Monday though Friday looking warm, dry and with plenty of sunny spells.
It’s the weekend where the forecasters are a little more uncertain. Saturday’s prediction is for ‘scattered thunderstorms,’ which look likely to head in around lunchtime. Oddly, the chance of rain never goes above 50% throughout the day, but it would be fair to expect a shower or two at some point.
And there’s a similar feel on Sunday too, with those scattered thunderstorms expected to move in at some point during the afternoon.
Last Year’s Results from The Wyndham Championship
The Wyndham Championship throws up a trend that may benefit those who can have a bet in-running: each of the last ten winners was placed inside the top-10 on the leaderboard at the halfway stage.
Henrik Stenson continued that theme last year. He was neatly placed heading into the weekend and then put his foot on the gas, closing out 66-64 to fire -10 on the weekend and win from one stroke from Ollie Schneiderjans, who also finished fast.
Local favorite Webb Simpson was four back on -18, while the trio of Ryan Armour, Kevin Na and Rory Sabbatini were tied in fourth on -17.
Highlights | Round 4 | Wyndham
SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2017 Wyndham Championship, Henrik Stenson pours in a clutch putt on the 71st hole to secure his sixth career win on the PGA TOUR. The Wyndham Championship takes place at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for The Wyndham Championship this Week
The big bucks of major week may be behind us, but there’s still plenty to play for this week with some intriguing and lucrative contests.
- PGA $425k Champ Series Club Twirl: There’s $100k for the winner here, and most importantly the other payouts are more generous than is often the case too. The top 25% of players will earn $70 (for a $44 entry), while the top 110 will take home a $250 bounty.
- PGA $40k Albatross: This feels like one of those weeks where even the big spenders won’t have a huge advantage, such is the difficulty of picking a winning roster. So, maximise your advantage in a single entry contest like this, where you could win $4k from a $12 entry.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for The Wyndham Championship
The Wyndham Championship throws up such an array of different champions it can be hard to know where to start our search this week!
Sam Snead and Davis Love III have both won this tournament in their fifties, and yet five of the last nine winners were all picking up their maiden PGA TOUR title. It would seem that age is just a number at Sedgefield.
And the number of outsiders and long-shots that have won here in recent times is extraordinary: four of the last five champions were priced at 100/1 or greater with the sportsbooks.
Why is that? Sedgefield certainly isn’t a difficult course, and so there’s not the usual ‘cream rising to the top’ feel that you see at more complex layouts. The switch to Bermuda greens arguably helps many in the field too.
The recipe judging by the stats of recent winners is find the fairways (length is irrelevant), approach well with mid to short irons and putt like a demon; both Stenson and Si-Woo Kim ranked second for Putting Average in their victorious efforts.
Arguably the key stat is Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders: there are only two Par 5s, but with a winning score of late teens or early twenties under par, clearly headway must be made on the standard holes too.
As for correlating courses, Donald Ross layouts are few and far between on Tour. His East Lake stretch hosts the FedExCup curtain call that is the Tour Championship, and Oak Hills hosted the PGA Championship in 2013.
Other points of interest may be the Wells Fargo, which is also played in North Carolina, and oddly the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. That’s a resort-style layout, so there’s no obvious similarities, although former Wyndham champions Webb Simpson, Si-Woo Kim and Luke Donald have all finished second at Harbour Town too.
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win The Wyndham Championship
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The Wyndham Championship
Top Tier Pick #1:
Webb Simpson (Odds: 16/1, FPPG: 68.3, GPFP: 79.93 Salary: $11,600)
It’s strange to see Webb Simpson listed as a favorite for an event with the sportsbooks, and it’s even stranger drafting him at such a price.
But his victory at THE PLAYERS Championship feels like a halcyon moment for the 33-year-old – in some ways it was even bigger than his US Open win given that it came after the anchored putting ban which put his game back light-years.
That form has continued since with three major top-10s at the US Open (T10), British Open (T12) and PGA Championship (T19), so a return to his favorite course on the rotation couldn’t come at a better time.
A North Carolinan by birth, Simpson won here at Sedgefield in 2011 and has picked up three top-10s in his last four visits, so all of the trends point towards him going rather well on home soil this week.
Key Stats:
- SG: Putting – 12th
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 15th
- SG: Approach – 18th
Top-Tier Pick #2:
Daniel Berger (Odds: 35/1, FPPG: 62.1, GPFP: 79.93 Salary: $9,300)
It hasn’t quite happened for Daniel Berger in 2018, who despite playing well (16/20 cuts made, eight top-25s) has only recorded one top-10 finish.
But that came at the US Open earlier in the summer, and in his last outing a T12 in the PGA Championship – after a below-par opening round of 73 – hints at far more to come.
Perhaps the 25-year-old can finish the season with a bang?
It’s certainly possible, especially as his ball striking was in such fine working order at Bellerive. He ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and second for Approach, and in that kind of form he should be there or thereabouts in North Carolina this week.
A class act at his very best, Berger will be desperate to sign off 2018 with a win.
Key Stats:
- Total Driving – 24th
- SG: Approach – 26th
- Approaches from 125-150 yards – 29th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Chesson Hadley (Odds: 70/1, FPPG: 65.6, GPFP: 71.98 Salary: $7,600)
There have been times this season where Hadley has been backed at half this price, and so taking him on home soil is a no-brainer.
The North Carolinan has shown his chops on home soil before, winning (and also finishing second) in the Web.com Tour’s Rex Hospital Open in the state, and notching a top-20 in the Wells Fargo Championship earlier in the year.
A brilliant iron player and a decent putter, Hadley’s game rests almost solely on how he fares off the tee; if he can just smooth out those (very) rough edges off the peg, it’s hard to see how he won’t win another PGA TOUR title in the near future.
Key Stats:
- SG: Approach – 7th
- Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders – 17th
- SG: Putting – 22nd
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Ryan Armour (Odds: 110/1, FPPG: 57.6, GPFP: 46.06 Salary: $7,100)
He may have missed three cuts on the bounce, but we’re not too worried about Ryan Armour’s form.
He won’t have been exposed to Links golf all that often so a missed weekend in the British Open is no big deal, and he missed out again at the Canadian Open and the PGA Championship on the number and by two strokes respectively.
A trip to a layout where his precise driving will be rewarded gives the Sanderson Farms Championship winner ample opportunity to return to form, and lest we forget prior to that trio of missed weekends he was solo second in the Quicken Loans National.
Rounds of 61 and 64 here at Sedgefield last year whet the appetite somewhat!
Key Stats:
- Driving Accuracy – 3rd
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 51st
- Greens in Regulation – 70th
Low-Tier Pick:
Padraig Harrington (Odds: 250/1, FPPG: 43.7, GPFP: 34.92 Salary: $6,300)
Really, with an absolute bargain basement pick like this, you’re looking for your man to make the cut. You can’t expect much more for $6,300!
The Irishman hasn’t been in the best of form of late, and indeed he missed the cut at the PGA Championship last week.
But let’s look at the positives: he missed out on the number at +1, and he ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 14th for SG: Tee to Green. So those are green shoots of recovery.
As mentioned, old dogs can have their day at Sedgefield and so can those long odds outsiders, so perhaps it’s worth chancing a senior pro with 26 wins to his name worldwide.
Key Stats:
- SG: Around the Green – 40th
- Putts per Round – 42nd
- Approaches from 100-125 yards – 102nd
Sleeper Pick for The Wyndham Championship
William McGirt (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 56.4, GPFP: 57.52 Salary: $7,500)
Making birdies will be the name of the game this week with winning scores regularly ending up in the late teens or early twenties under par. That’s an area in which McGirt has excelled lately.
He has finished T12 at the Barbasol Championship (-17), T29 at the Canadian Open (-11) and solo sixth at the Barracuda Championship, where birdied and eagles fire you up the leaderboard in the modified stableford format.
So all is good from that perspective for McGirt, a North Carolinan by birth who has since crossed the border into the south. In his current form, he should enjoy a return to his old stomping ground.
Key Stats:
- SG: Putting – 52nd
- Par 4 Scoring Average – 73rd
- Greens in Regulation – 75th
Alternative Sleeper Pick for The Wyndham Championship
Whee Kim (Odds: 80/1, FPPG: 53.1, GPFP: 45.67 Salary: $7,400)
2018 has been a halcyon year for Whee Kim so far, with a win in Korea back in June backed by three top-10 returns on the PGA circuit.
The most recent of those came at the Canadian Open, where he contended very nicely before the outstanding Dustin Johnson consigned the Korean to a share of second.
And despite missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Kim still comes away in credit: his second round of 67 was excellent.
All good careers start with a breakthrough ‘eureka’ moment, perhaps Kim’s comes this week in North Carolina.
Key Stats:
- Approaches from 125-150 yards – 16th
- Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders – 16th
- SG: Putting – 19th
This Week’s Sample DraftKings Lineup
Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only. Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.
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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2017-2018)
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