RADIO
What a Phoenix Open that was. I wonder how many watched Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama play all four playoff holes, even though the Super Bowl was kicking off during the playoff. I'll be honest, I was switching back and forth between the Super Bowl and the sudden death playoff. Ricky Fowler completely blew that tournament. He was up by two strokes heading into the 17th hole, where he drove the ball over the green and into the water, resulting in a bogey.
All Fowler had to do was play it safe, and finish par-par and he would have been champion. Matsuyama birdied the 17th and 18th, forcing the playoff, where he won. Matsuyama was one of my picks last week. I finally got a winner! Here's how my other picks fared: Bubba Watson -7, Webb Simpson -7, Brendan Steele -6, William McGirt -5, Kevin Na -5, Anirban Lahiri -4, Jason Bohn -3, Brendon de Jonge even, David Lingmerth missed cut, and Steven Bowditch MC. I had a good week as only two of my picks missed the cut.
This week's tournament will be played in beautiful Pebble Beach, California. This week will be a little bit different. Each golfer will rotate between these three golf courses Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: Pebble Beach Golf Links, par 72, 6,816 yards, Spyglass Hill GC, par 72, 6,953 yards, and Monterey Peninsula Shore Course, par 71, 6,914 yards. The cut will be after Saturday, and on Sunday all remaining golfers will once again play the Pebble Bech GL course. Many celebrities will be at this tournament this week, and amateurs will be playing too. Brandt Snedeker is the defending champion.
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PGA Stats To Look At for DFS
Strokes Gained: Putting- Last year, in this category, Snedeker finished 8th, while the leader in SG:Putting, Nick Watney, was the runner-up.
Greens in Regulation- Snedeker finished T3. The weekly leaders Michael Putnam and Brendon Todd finished T21 and T10th.
Proximity to Hole- Snedeker was T21 and the leader, Jim Furyk, finished T7.
Scrambling - Snedeker led in this category.
PGA DFS Picks for DraftKings
Jordan Spieth ($12,300)
He's second in scrambling, and first in SG:P. Do I even need to explain myself further with this pick? I would be shocked if he wasn't in one of the final three groups on Sunday.
Dustin Johnson ($11,400)
Johnson owns this tournament. He won here in 2009, 2010, and finished runner-up in 2014. Last year he finished T4 at 17-under. He's a birdie machine and someone you want on all your lineups. Let's hope him being 179 in SG:P doesn't hurt him too bad.
Kevin Na ($9,200)
His last three tournaments have been great; T28 at the Sony Open, T3 at the CareerBuilder, and T24 at the Phoenix Open. He's 7th in scrambling, and 35th in GIR. Besides for being cut last year, he has had great history at this tournament. Two years ago he finished T4, 8-under. In 2013 he finished T22, 8-under, and in 2012, T5, 11-under.
Ryan Moore ($8,600)
In his first tournament of the new year, Moore finished T11, 8-under at the Phoenix Open. He is 36th in scrambling and 19th in SG:P. Last time he played at this tournament was in 2012 where he finished T20, 7-under. I expect Moore to continue off of his impressive play last week.
Luke Donald ($7,900)
I met him when he was number one in the world, what a nice guy he is. I hope meeting me wasn't the reason his golf game worsened. Anyways, Donald last played here in 2010 where he finished T16 at 9-under. He is 30th in scrambling, 12th in prox, and 61st in SG:P. His last two tournaments saw him finish 28th, 11-under at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and then was cut at the CareerBuilders Challenge. I think a nice couple weeks off will help Donald rebound.
William McGirt ($7,400)
I'm back on the McGirt bandwagon for the second straight week. He played great last week finishing 24th at 5-under. McGirt is 42nd in GIR, T34 in Prox, 51st in SG:P. Last year at this tournament he finished T21 at 13-under. He was cut in 2014, but in 2013 finished T16 at 9-under.
Jon Curran ($7,300)
This is my big sleeper of the week. He started off the new year by getting cut at Sony Open in Hawaii and CareerBuilder Challenge, but last week, finished T11, 8-under at the Phoenix Open. He is 22nd in scrambling and 5th in SG:P. At this tournament last year he finished T10, 15-under.
Pat Perez ($7,000)
His stats don't line up at all for this tournament, but he's played great here in the past. He finished T4 last year and T7 in 2014. He will be really low owned this week, due to him missing the cut at the Phoenix Open, Farmers Insurance Open, and CareerBuilder Challenge. Here's hoping that Perez finds his form in a tournament he's had success with in the past.
David Toms ($6,900)
He's first in scrambling, T29 in proximity, and 16th in SG:Putting. The last time Toms played here was in 2011 where he was cut. Toms's best finish at this tournament came way back in 2001 where he was 5-under, T27th. He's been cut here in 2002, 2009, and 2011. He was cut at the Phoenix Open, but I have a feeling Toms will fare much better this time around.
Tim Wilkinson ($6,600)
He was playing fairly well until being cut at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago. He is fourth in scrambling, T29 in Prox, and 57th in SG:P. He was cut here last year, but finished T7 at 6-under in 2014.
