Fantasy Golf Predictions

Fantasy Golf Predictions – 2014 Northern Trust Open

Published

12 years ago

February 10, 2014

Fantasy-Golf-Predictions-2014-Northern-Trust-Open

Fantasy Golf Predictions for the 2014 Northern Trust Open Feb 13-16th, 2014

Tournament Preview

This week the TOUR moves about 5 hours (by car) south to the Los Angeles area of California, where the weather looks to be much brighter and warmer at Riviera Country Club than it was at Pebble Beach. All of last week’s picks, including winner Jimmy Walker, Dustin Johnson (T2), Jordan Spieth (T4) and Hunter Mahan (6^th), will be making the trip to compete in this week’s event. With only eight short weeks to go until the Masters, Justin Rose will also finally be making his 2014 PGA TOUR debut. In all, 16 of the top 30 in this week’s world rankings are signed up for the 2014 Northern Trust Open.

Two-time Northern Trust Open winner Fred Couples will even be in the field this week on a sponsor’s invitation, making it his 32nd appearance in the event. He was the 36-hole leader just three years ago, eventually tying for seventh.

We’re confident our fantasy team will stay on a hot streak with this week’s picks.

The Course

Riviera Country Club measures in at a lengthy 7,349 yards and plays as a par 71. The course opened in 1927 and was designed by George Thomas. Thomas contemplated over a dozen possible layouts for the track before deciding on one that remains among the best on TOUR. The infamous par-3 sixth hole is notorious for its bunker in the middle of the green and the No. 10 hole is probably the most drivable par-4 in on TOUR.

Fantasy Golf Predictions - 2014 Northern Trust Open

Photo by TheRivieraCountryClub.com

Weather Forecast for Pacific Palisades, CA (from weather.com)

Round 1: Thursday (Feb 13) 80 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 2: Friday (Feb 14) 81 degrees, 0% chance of rain, mostly sunny.
Round 3: Saturday (Feb 15) 77 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
Round 4: Sunday (Feb 16) 74 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.

2013 Results

John Merrick became the first Los Angeles native to win in his PGA TOUR neighborhood and did so by holding off the fast-charging Charlie Beljan. Merrick overtook the 4th round leader Bill Haas with a final round 2-under 69 and then went on to challenge Beljan (who birdied the final hole of regulation to close with a 67) in a head-to-head playoff. Both players parred the 18th and moved on to the driveable 10th where Beljan’s missed 6-footer to save par, gaving Merrick his first PGA TOUR win.

Notes

FedExCup points leader Jimmy Walker is among seven players of the 2013-14 season entering this week’s tournament at Riviera with already at least one win in the bag. WMPhoenix Open winner Kevin Stadler, is another 2013-14 winner of note who will be in attendance this week.

The field is rich this week with big names like Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, and Bubba Watson. It’s going to be tough to pick the winner this week in such a competitive field, but we think have a solid chance of racking up some serious fantasy earnings this week.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Northern Trust Open

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Northern Trust Open

Jimmy Walker (Golficity Odds 10/1): Right now Walker seems to be at the top of the world, and when someone’s game is that high up, its tough to pick against against them. Although he almost gave that win away last week on the 72^nd hole at Pebble Beach, Walker comes into Riviera calm, cool, and in charge of his FedExCup destiny. Currently ranked 3^rd in strokes gained putting, it’s easy to see how Walker can some noise and chase down another Top 10. The only reason we have him at 10/1 odds because it’s extremely hard to win golf tournaments, let alone two in a row. Regardless, we think Walker will be riding a tidal wave of confidence into Rivieria this week.
Hunter Mahan (Golficity Odds 12/1): Hunter has what it takes to win golf tournaments and his recent play is speaking to that. He’s finished T4 and 6^th in his last two consecutive trips (WM Phoenix and AT&T Pebble Beach) and his game looks like it’s tuning up. The dreary weather and wind at Pebble Beach took his game off track, but with 80-degree sunny skies on the forecast for all 4 days, Hunter can easily heat up and run away with a lead.
Dustin Johnson (Golficity Odds 15/1): DJ’s impressive final round at Pebble Beach earned him a spot on the Top 5 list this week. After taking a 4 week break, Johnson comes into Riviera with a hot hand and a 5 consecutive Top-12s streak. He has also finished in the Top-10 three times on this track and appears to be striking the ball solidly off the tee. DJ’s short game was a little shaky in the first few days at Pebble Beach, but if you’re wise you’ll give him a good look this week.
Webb Simpson (22/1): Webb might just be one of our favorites to win the Masters later this year, and in the mean time we like his chances of grabbing an early one leading up to it. Simpson has six Top-10s in his last seven starts, two Top 15s at Riviera, and a scoring average of 69 on the course. Don’t pick him high but grab him as one of your four if you play PGA TOUR Fantasy or one of your seven in GOLFZING.
Graham DeLaet (Golficity Odds 30/1): Yes, we could have easily gone with Kuchar or Spieth here, but we feel good about Graham this week. In his last two starts, he finished T2 both times and came in no worse than T7 in his last four starts. With Spieth still missing putts and Kuch’s absence since the Hyundai TOC, we not sure how they’ll fare at Riviera. Try Graham here if you need a different choice this week, he may just rack up some serious fantasy dollars here.

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Northern Trust Open

Ryan Moore (Golficity Odds 45/1): Moore looks to be improving with every round in 2014. With four Top-10s including a win this season, Moore seems like a promising choice to win one, if not two, more tournaments this year. He hasn’t had much success to speak of at Riviera, but his game looks sharp enough that he can adapt to this track and play well among this tough field.
Bill Haas (Golficity Odds 50/1): Haas is a solid choice for a sleeper pick this week. Although he won here in 2012 and followed it up with a T3 in 2013, we don’t feel that Haas will be a huge threat to this year’s strong field. We wouldn’t put it past him to get an early hot hand, but his game hasn’t looked sharp in his last two events. Pick him low if your desperate to mix it up.

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