Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – 2016 Portugal Masters

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2016 Portugal Masters

The 2016 Portugal Masters Fantasy Preview

The European Tour season is nearing its end and now the players will get the opportunity to head to one of the newer events on the schedule; the Portugal Masters.  The tournament was first established in 2007 and has been played near the southern coast of Portugal at the Victoria Clube de Golfe in Vilamoura.  It is a beautiful Arnold Palmer designed layout which features 7,209 yards of par-72 golf that can be ripe for the picking if you can stay out of the numerous hazards.

Despite its first appearance coming in 2007, the Portugal Masters has had no shortage of quality names topping the leaderboard. Last season it was Andy Sullivan who dominated the field by nine strokes, showing no mercy for his fellow countryman, Chris Wood, who came in as the runner-up while playing alongside Sullivan.  It was his third victory on the European Tour and his score of 23-under matched Lee Westwood (2009) and was two shots short of Steve Webster’s 25-under in the event’s first outing back in 2007.  A win here for Sullivan would be the first back-to-back victory in the tournament’s history as each of the previous nine victors failed to return with a win the following year.

There could definitely be another top name coming out as the winner this week with plenty of talent making their way to Portugal.  Leading the charge is one of the hottest golfers going right now in Alexander Noren.  He has won three times since mid-July; including twice in his last four outings, and is a combined 52 shots under par in his last four tournaments.  Thomas Pieters will also be one of the top dogs as he is joined by Alexander Levy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Andy Sullivan as golfers with better than 20/1 Vegas odds.

With the European Tour being among our newest of choices in the daily fantasy sports landscape, the opportunity for us to learn about some of the best golfers overseas is right now.  There’s still not much coverage of the players and events so this is also a chance to take advantage of those who may not be as interested in digging deeper into the player field.  That said, let’s uncover are some fantasy roster options at different price ranges who could give you an edge over your competitors this week.

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The Portugal Masters Fantasy Picks and Predictions

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The Portugal Masters Fantasy Picks

Nicolas Colsaerts – $9,200 – Colsaerts comes into this week’s event on the heels of a stretch of consistent golf which was kicked off by a visit to Rio for the Olympic Games.  Following his 30^th there, he has gone on to make the next five cuts and is now 19-for-27 (70%) at getting to the weekend on the year.  Many of the other players in this field do not have a wealth of experience at this course, and this is where Colsaerts differs from the rest as he has visited here four times; including each of the past three years.  Since 2013, he has averaged a finish of 11.7 and nearly earned the win in 2014; coming in as the runner-up with a score of 15-under after just two rounds in a rain shortened week.  Colsaerts will be able to use his monster drive (304.7 yards per, 10^th on Tour) to continue getting on greens in regulation (74.5%, 12^th on Tour) and put up a huge effort in Portugal.

Anthony Wall – $8,900 – Wall is not a name known to most if they don’t follow the European Tour closely.  At 41-years-old, the golfer who calls London, England home has amassed 493 starts on the circuit with two wins to his name.  He’s found some success once again in 2016 with a victory at the Paul Lawrie Match Play Championship and since has racked up three top-35 showings in four events.  He is playing by far his best golf of the year and will be visiting Portugal for this tourney for the eighth time.  In his first seven attempts, he has made it into the money six times and finished inside of the top-20 on four occasions.  Last year proved to be his best effort here, taking home a third-place behind 1.605 putts per GIR (2^nd in field) and 27.8 putts per round (best in field).  Wall feels comfortable at this venue and should be a nice addition to any fantasy lineup.

Stephen Gallacher – $8,700 – Continuing the trend of players who may not be at the top of their game, but should turn it around thanks to a tremendous success in Portugal is Gallacher.  He is actually having his worst campaign since 2009, making a mere eight cuts over 18 events, but has made it into the money in each of the last two events and is coming off of a tie for 12^th last week in the British Masters.  Gallacher’s past three visits to the Victoria Clube have resulted in a top-10 with a sixth in 2012, third in 2013, and ninth last season; combining for a score of 35-under-par during the stretch.  His drive remains strong (295.9 yards per, 39^th on Tour) and he has a solid scoring average (71.42, 67^th on Tour), so he should start to see his game get back on track here.

David Horsey – $8,400 – Horsey is in the midst of his best season since 2011, currently sitting in 55^th in the Race to Dubai after 14-of-21 cuts made (67%).  His recent play has proven his best of the 2016 campaign and since the KLM Open in early September he has performed well enough to make five consecutive cuts and finish in the top-12 four times.  In that time he has had rounds of 70 or better in 17-of-19 attempts (89%) and had a top-five at both the KLM and Italian Opens.  Horsey currently ranks in the top-30 in scoring average (70.82, 26^th on Tour), putts per GIR (1.745, 20^th on Tour), and putts per round (28.9, 26^th on Tour) which should give him an edge and allow him to improve on his career-best 41^st at this course back in 2010.

Joakim Lagergren – $7,900 – Lagergren is a 24-year-old out of Sweden who has improved his game over each of his first three seasons on the European Tour.  He owns two top-10 finishes over his 24 events played this year, but is coming on strong since the middle of the summer.  In his past eight events with a cut, he has made it into the money seven times with a fifth at the Made in Denmark and a season-best fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.  The youngster is one of the best putters in the game, ranking eighth in putts per GIR (1.731) and 22^nd in putts per round (28.8).  This course plays well for the players who can wield the flat iron best and combining that skill of his with recent play should bode well for Lagergren.

Chris Hanson – $6,500 – Hanson comes in at an extremely low price this week despite finishing in the top-20 in three of his last five outings.  Driving his price down is certainly a missed cut at both the Porsche European Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but he has been consistent overall with 15 trips to the money in 21 events (71%) and is coming off a round of 69 in the third round of his most recent missed cut.  If you’re looking for a cheap option to give you some salary relief this week, Hanson has a good chance at notching yet another top-20 finish and earning you some great points for close to nothing.

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Cover photo via Instagram