RADIO
Phil Mickelson was lining up on the 18th hole for a birdie putt, to force a playoff, when CBS showed a stat saying Mickelson was 23-for-23 on putts within six feet for the tournament. Once that stat was shown, I knew he would miss it. The putt lipped out and Vaughn Taylor won, overcoming a six shot deficit on Sunday.
This week the PGA Tour heads to The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Below you will find my daily fantasy golf lineup picks and starts for DraftKings. If you are playing PGA DFS, then I'm here to help you identify who to insert into your DraftKings lineups, and try to uncover some DFS sleepers for the Northern Trust Open.
The course is a par 71, 7,349 yards long. The 10th hole was one of the hardest under-350-yard holes, not on only on this course, but on the PGA Tour last season. It is a 315-yard par-4 downhill hole. The 8th, 9th, and 12th holes are all par-4s and were ranked in the top 50 most difficult holes last season. The scoring average last year was 4.087. The field this week is smaller than last week, 144. James Hahn is the defending champion. Bubba Watson won in 2014, John Merrick in 2013, and Bill Hass in 2012. Dustin Johnson has finished runner-up in the past two Northern Trust Open's. Let's get to it, good luck RotoBallers.
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PGA Stats To Look At for Daily Fantasy Golf (DFS)
Scrambling: This stat will play a key role in this tournament, as the fairways are narrow and greens are fairly tiny. Hahn was 13th in this category last year. Sang Moon Bae was first and finished T8.
Proximity to Hole: Last year, Hahn was 15th and Johnson was T2. In 2014, Watson was 5th in proximity to hole and won the tournament, Jordan Spieth led in this category finishing T12.
Greens in Regulation: Last year, Hahn finished T28, and the leader, Jim Furyk, finished T14. Two years ago, Watson was T3, while Johnson was the leader and finished 2nd.
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for DraftKings (PGA DFS)
Sergio Garcia ($10,100)
I think Garcia or Schwartzel take it this week. This will be Garcia's first tournament of 2016 on the PGA Tour. He last played on the Europena Tour in the last week of January at the Qatar Masters where he finished T7. He has done well at this tournament in recent years; T4 in 2015, DNP in 2014, T13 in 2013, and T4 in 2012. In his 8 rounds on the PGA Tour this season he ranks 66th in scrambling and T2 in GIR.
Charl Schwartzel ($9,600)
Schwartzel won Tshwane Open by eight strokes on the European Tour this past week, his first tournament of 2016. Last year at this tournament he finished T41, in 2014 he finished T5, and in 2013, T3. This will be his first tournament of 2016 playing on the PGA Tour. I really like him in this tournament. He's only played 8 rounds on the PGA Tour this season, so his stats may be skewered a bit, but they fit this tournament perfectly; T5 in scrambling, 4th in GIR, and 16th in proximity to hole.
Matt Kuchar ($8,600)
He has played twice in 2016, placing T13 at the Sony Open in early January, and T49 at the CareerBuilder in mid-January. He has not played since and has had ample time to rest up for Riviera. Kuch is 67th in scrambling, 41st in GIR, and T27 in proximity to hole.
Andy Sullivan ($8,400)
He is playing this week on a sponsor's innovation. I like Sullivan a lot, as his world golf ranking is 29th. Two weeks ago he finished runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic. In the third week of January he finished T22 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Although he has never played in this tournament, I sure think he will surprise many.
Luke Donald ($7,500)
I will continue to ride with Donald this week. He is 20th in scrambling and T27 in proximity to hole. Lately, Donald hasn't been playing well here; cut last year, T16 in 2013, T56 in 2012, and cut in 2011. But previous to 2011 he played incredible here; 2nd in 2010, T6 in 2009, T3 in 2008, cut in 2007, T12 in 2006, and T13 in 2005. If he can regain his stroke at Riviera from 2005- 2010, you will find yourself a steal.
William McGirt ($7,300)
He was cut at Pebble Beach last week which will make him low-owned this coming week, always a good thing. He is 37th in GIR and T48 in proximity to hole. The past two years at Riviera, McGirt has played very well, placing T14 and T6.
Lucas Glover ($7,000)
Glover is the sleeper of the tournament. He finished T11 last week at Pebble Beach and his stats correlate perfectly for this tournament; 36th in scrambling, 10th in GIR, T57 in proximity to hole. It makes me a little bit nervous that he has been cut at this tournament the past three years, with his best finish coming in 2008 where he finished T22.
Roberto Castro ($6,700)
He had a very strong week at Pebble Beach finishing 8th. He is 85th in scrambling, 16th in GIR, T154 in proximity to hole. The only time he played at this tournament was in 2013 where he was cut.
