RADIO
Abraham Ancer Finishes T29 At Sony Open
1/16:Abraham Ancer produced a solid display at last week’s Sony Open, finishing the event T29. Ancer’s result could have been much better had it not been for a frustrating week on the greens. The Mexican dropped 1.7 strokes to the field with the flat-stick over the four days of action. Ancer will now turn his attention to the Desert Classic where he has failed to finish better than T76 in his two previous visits to the event.Source: PGA Tour
Charles Howell III Continues Impressive Play
1/16:Charles Howell III produced some excellent golf on his way to a T8 finish at last week’s Sony Open. Howell has now recorded back-to-back top-20 finishes on his opening two starts to the year. Howell’s work with the flat-stick was particularly impressive last week, and the American gained over five strokes over the field on the greens. Howell will tee it up this week at the Desert Classic. In his last three trips to this event, Howell has finished inside the top-20 each time.Source: PGA Tour
Charl Schwartzel Making First Start Of Year At Desert Classic
1/16:Charl Schwartzel will tee it up for the first time this year at the Desert Classic this week. Schwartzel struggled mightily in the second half of 2018, missing the cut in four of the eight events he played in since June. The South African will hope that he can re-find his form this week, at an event which he has not appeared in previously. Over the last 24 rounds, Schwartzel sits a lowly 134th in this week’s field for strokes gained total.Source: PGA Tour
Charley Hoffman To Tee It Up For First Time In 2019
1/16:Charley Hoffman will make his first start of the year when he tees it up this week at the Desert Classic. Hoffman failed to record a top-10 finish in 2018, which was a big surprise, and the Californian will be looking to end that streak this week. The American has just one top-20 finish in his last eight starts on the PGA Tour, and over his previous 24 rounds, Hoffman sits 124th in this week’s field for strokes gained total. Hoffman finished runner-up at this week’s event back in 2015.Source: PGA Tour
Kevin Kisner Stumbles At Sony Open
1/16:Kevin Kisner failed to shine at last week’s Sony Open. Kisner squeezed inside the cut-line to make the weekend, but was unable to shake off the rust and ended his week with a disappointing round of three over par to finish T69. Around the greens was Kisner’s downfall at the Sony Open, where the American dropped over five strokes to the field. Kisner will be in action this week at the Desert Classic. He has made six trips to this event in his career but has yet to finish inside the top-20 of the event.Source: PGA Tour
Brian Harman Continues To Struggle
1/16:Brian Harman continued his dismal run of form, missing the cut at last week’s Sony Open. Harman’s entire game was off last week, but surprisingly it was his putting that did the most damage to him over the two days of action. Harman lost over four strokes to the field with the flat-stick last week, and he will now look for a much better performance when he tees it up this week at the Desert Classic. Harman has finished inside the top-20 of the Desert Classic in each of his last three appearances.Source: PGA Tour
Jon Rahm Ready To Defend Title
1/16:Jon Rahm will make his second start of the year this Thursday at the Desert Classic. The Spaniard will be defending his title from last year, which he won in a tight playoff against Andrew Landry. Rahm enters the event in good form, having finished inside the top-25 in each of his last four events. The Spaniard is the betting favorite this week, but over his previous 24 rounds, Rahm is only eight in this week’s field for strokes gained total.Source: PGA Tour
Joaquin Niemann Rested and Recharged
1/15:It was a whirlwind rookie season for Joaquin Niemann in 2018. The young phenom took the PGA Tour by storm last year, racking up four top-10's in just 13 starts. However, Niemann appeared to run out of steam as 2018 wrapped up and finished just T60 at Mayakoba and T65 at the RSM Classic. The 20-year-old hasn't played since November and should be well-rested when he heads to La Quinta for this week's Desert Classic. It will be Niemann's first career start in the 60-year-old event. He carries tremendous DFS upside and should be in GPP consideration this week. Source: PGA Tour
Daniel Berger Returning From Wrist Injury This Week
1/15:Daniel Berger will be making his first start of 2019 at this week's Desert Classic. It will be Berger's first start since the Dell Technologies Championship. The 25-year-old has been sidelined since September with a wrist injury. The 2018 season was Berger's worst as a professional. The two-time PGA Tour winner only managed one top-10 finish all year. Berger will attempt to get his comeback underway in La Quinta this week. He last played the Desert Classic in 2015, when he missed the cut. A wait-and-see approach is probably prudent when considering Berger for DFS lineups. Source: PGA Tour
Patrick Cantlay Looks To Join Golf's Elite In 2019
1/15:Patrick Cantlay will make his first start of 2019 at this week's Desert Classic. The 26-year-old had a breakout season in 2018, finishing 20th in the FedEx Cup season standings. He didn't slow down in the swing season, racking up a T7 at the WGC-HSBC Champions and a second-place finish at the Shriners Open during the fall. Cantlay's 2019 campaign begins this week in La Quinta, California. With a tee-to-green game that ranked 10th on the PGA Tour last season, it wouldn't be surprising to see Cantlay become one of golf's elite players this year. This will be his first career start in the Desert Classic, but he remains a top DFS option this week. Source: PGA Tour
Sungjae Im Looks To Stay Hot In Desert Classic
1/15:Sungjae Im is set to make his first career start in the Desert Classic this week. Im was a dominant force on the Web.com Tour last season and earned a PGA Tour card for 2019. He's off to a fast start. The young man from South Korea scored a T16 finish at last week's Sony Open. His strong showing was powered by a spectacular second-round 64 at Waialae Country Club. Im's prowess off the tee should serve him well in the Desert Classic. The talented rookie is an under-the-radar DFS option this week and has tournament-winning upside. Source: PGA Tour
Justin Rose Starts 2019 At Desert Classic
1/15:Justin Rose is set to get his 2019 season underway at this week's Desert Classic. It will be Rose's first start in the U.S. since his FedEx Cup triumph in September. The Englishman hasn't played in the Desert Classic event since 2010. He continued his dominant ways during the swing season by racking up a top-five finish in the WGC-HSBC Champions, a win on the European Tour, and a third-place finish in the Hero World Challenge. Rose deserves DFS consideration every time he tees it up and that is especially the case this week against a less-than-elite field. Source: PGA Tour
Phil Mickelson Set For First Start Of 2019
1/15:Phil Mickelson is set to tee it up in this week's Desert Classic. It will be his first start of 2019. Mickelson elected to skip both the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open that were held in Hawaii. The 48-year-old has publicly stated that he will be scaling back his schedule this season. Mickelson is a two-time winner of the Desert Classic and has continued to play well here during the latter portion of his career, logging a T3 in 2016. "Lefty" should be well-rested after a long break and it wouldn't be surprising to see him play well this week. He's in the DFS conversation as a GPP target. Source: PGA Tour
Paul Casey Misses Cut At Sony Open
1/14:Paul Casey turned in a disappointing performance last week, missing the cut at the Sony Open. The normally reliable Casey didn't play horrible, but rounds of 72 and 68 left him at even par through 36 holes, two strokes short of the cut line. The Englishman was held back by a balky putter and lost over three strokes putting to the field in his two rounds. DFS regulars shouldn't read too much into this outing. Casey sometimes struggles on the greens, but will continue to be a reliable fantasy option this season. Source: PGA Tour
Scott Piercy Has Solid Outing At Sony
1/14:Scott Piercy had another solid performance in the Sony Open, logging a T33 at Waialae Country Club. Piercy has played well on the Hawaiian course throughout his career and this week was no different. He was propelled by back-to-back rounds of 66 on Friday and Saturday after a disappointing 71 in the opening round. However, a final-round 69 failed to move him up in the standings. Piercy was very sharp with his irons, but struggled badly with the flatstick. He finished a disastrous 105th in the Sony field in strokes gained putting. Piercy will tee it up in the upcoming Desert Classic, a tournament where he finished tied for sixth last season. Source: PGA Tour
