RADIO
Here at RotoBaller, we are always searching for ways to give our readers the best fantasy sports content possible. With that goal in mind, we are very proud to announce the addition of a weekly PGA “One and Done” column. In this feature, our golf staff of Joe Nicely, Spencer Aguiar and Gianni Magliocco will provide their weekly golf picks every Wednesday. The purpose of this article is to present you with alternative options to consider and hopefully make your selection a much easier process weekly. With that plan in mind, let's get started!
Last week's Charles Schwab Challenge was a difficult one for most OAD players. Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm all missed the cut, while players such as Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose struggled mightily to get anything going. However, it was Paul Casey's withdrawal after the first round that sent shockwaves throughout the industry and once again affected our leader.
To simply label Gianni's recent run as being boom-or-bust isn't even giving it the full credit it deserves. Three victories to go along with three withdrawals have highlighted the past two months, but despite his extreme volatility, it is becoming difficult for Joe or myself to catch his nearly eight million dollar total. With almost three-fifths of the season already completed, the time to make our last-ditch effort is now, so without further ado, let's take a look at who the guys will be trying to ride to victory at the Memorial.
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2019 Memorial
For an in-depth breakdown of the top DraftKings and Fanduel plays, check out Joe Nicely's weekly Horse For The Course that highlights the best fits for the week's course.
And you can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week.
Muirfield Village
7,392 Yards - Par 72 - Greens Bentgrass
For the second straight week, the PGA Tour will roll out an Invitational event. One hundred twenty players are set to tee it up at Muirfield Village, and the field is one of the best you will see in a non-major/WGC tournament. Led by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, 32 of the top 50 players in the world will be giving the Ohio venue their best shot.
Muirfield Village is a Nicklaus-designed course that is lengthy when you look at the overall yardage. Forced layups throughout the property even further emphasize the distance, but with some of the widest fairways on tour, players will be able to bomb and gouge in spots. Thirteen water hazards and 73 bunkers are littered throughout the grounds, and the green side sand traps are some of the deadliest on tour.
The Bentgrass greens are lightning quick, and the Memorial consistently ranks inside the bottom-five of all PGA stops in scrambling percentage. Six par-fours range between 450-500 yards and each of those holes plays over par. The four par-fives are where golfers can make a move, and they are reachable to everyone in the field. At the end of the day, approach play will be the most critical statistic, highlighted by the ability to control proximity with a long iron in hand. The last six winners have won the tournament at 10-under par or better, so despite inserting potential hiccup spots throughout the way, the scoring isn't extraordinarily hard.
One and Done Selections
Joe Nicely - Patrick Cantlay
Alternate - Matt Kuchar
Last week was a tough one for several people in both DFS and OAD formats. I was fortunate to dodge the landmines with my selection of Jordan Spieth. He managed to play well enough to log a T8, but I was slightly disappointed with the finish after he entered the final round just a few shots off the lead. With the pure insanity that was the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, I suppose I should be pleased with Spieth’s outing.
This week we head to Ohio for The Memorial, the tournament that Jack Nicklaus hosts annually at his beloved Muirfield Village. The golf course and field are both of the highest quality. While some of the elite options that will be teeing it up aren’t available to me (Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy), I consider myself fairly lucky to have young Patrick Cantlay still at my disposal in our little OAD contest.
Cantlay is an up-and-comer that has made his presence well known in 2019. He logged a top-10 finish at Augusta National and a T3 in his most recent outing at the PGA Championship. The 27-year-old’s game is ready for prime time and I’m excited to see what he can do on this Muirfield Village layout that was designed with ball strikers in mind. Cantlay logged a solo-fourth finish in last year’s Memorial and a big victory feels almost inevitable at some point this season. - Joe Nicely
Yearly Earnings - $5,811,407
Yearly Cuts Made - 16/19
Spencer Aguiar - Adam Scott
Alternate - Jason Day
Over four million dollars is a respectable total, but I assume most readers aren't tuning in to see my selection. Gianni and Joe are crushing the competition, and I have taken the role of a marker in these articles, similar to how Jeff Knox gets to fill-in and play Augusta every year when an odd amount of players make the cut.
My chances are beyond slim to catch up at this point, and it makes matters even worse that I don't have Xander Schauffele at my disposal. He was the direction I would have taken this weekend, but I was forced to go back to the drawing board after already using him at the WGC-Mexico Championship. Ten of the top-15 players in the world are entered into the Memorial, but only Bryson DeChambeau is a possibility that I haven't used. While he is the defending champion, his current game doesn't provide me with much confidence that he will magically turn things around.
After some deliberation of how I wanted to approach this week, I have decided to roll out Adam Scott. The Aussie has quietly put together four straight top-35 results at the Memorial and enters the week having gained strokes putting in 10 of his past 12 events. As we all know by now, putting has been Scott's undoing since the anchoring ban was put into place a few seasons ago, but the 38-year-old appears to have found something on the greens by leaving the flagstick in the hole. I believe Scott has an outside shot to capture the title this weekend at Muirfield Village and am willing to take a gamble that my fellow UNLV product can help get me back into this contest. -Spencer Aguiar
Yearly Earnings - $4,127,336
Yearly Cuts Made - 18/19
Gianni Magliocco - Hideki Matsuyama
Alternate - Keegan Bradley
Fourth in strokes gained total over the last five years at Muirfield, Hideki Matsuyama ticks all the right boxes for this week and should go well. Three top-15 finishes in that period, including a victory on his debut here, Matsuyama has the game tee to green to handle the test that is always provided at this event.
The putting is, of course, an issue, but I'm quietly confident he can get himself into the mix on Sunday without needing to hole an inordinate amount of putts so long as his long game is as sharp as it usually is.
Third in strokes gained tee to green, fourth in ball striking and first for approach play over his last 50 rounds, Matsuyama is a safe pick and should manage a strong finish. - Gianni Magliocco
Yearly Earnings - $7,824,045
Yearly Cuts Made - 15/19
Running Totals
|
Joe Nicely |
Spencer Aguiar |
Gianni Magliocco |
|
|
Sony Open |
Gary Woodland $11,520 |
Justin Thomas $99,200 |
Kevin Kisner $12,864 |
|
Desert Classic |
Jon Rahm $212,400 |
Jon Rahm $212,400 |
Patrick Cantlay $159,300 |
|
Farmers Insurance |
Marc Leishman $21,158 |
Patrick Cantlay $0 |
Charles Howell III $79,804 |
|
Waste Management |
Hideki Matsuyama $113,600 |
Webb Simpson $76,917 |
Justin Thomas $482,800 |
|
Pebble Beach |
Chez Reavie $31,160 |
Phil Mickelson $1,368,000 |
Phil Mickelson $1,368,000 |
|
Genesis Open |
Xander Schauffele $100,788 |
Hideki Matsuyama $177,600 |
Dustin Johnson $177,600 |
|
WGC Mexico Championship |
Justin Thomas $201,000 |
Xander Schauffele $128,000 |
Tommy Fleetwood $103,750 |
|
Honda Classic |
Adam Scott $0 |
Gary Woodland $25,346 |
Adam Scott $0 |
|
Arnold Palmer |
Rory McIlroy $294,613 |
Justin Rose $19,474 |
Jason Day $0 |
|
Players Championship |
Sergio Garcia $125,000 |
Tiger Woods $77,625 |
Rory McIlroy $2,250,000 |
|
Valspar Championship |
Patrick Reed $0 |
Sergio Garcia $15,209 |
Henrik Stenson $54,270 |
|
WGC-Match Play |
Ian Poulter $108,429 |
Haotong Li $167,000 |
Francesco Molinari $712,000 |
|
Valero Texas Open |
Tony Finau $16,275 |
Rickie Fowler $112,500 |
Tony Finau $16,275 |
|
Masters |
Tiger Woods $2,070,000 |
Bubba Watson $225,400 |
Rickie Fowler $310,500 |
|
RBC Heritage |
Byeong Hun An $0 |
Matt Kuchar $745,200 |
Brandt Snedeker $17,342 |
|
Wells Fargo Championship |
Rickie Fowler $311,063 |
Tony Finau $17,064 |
Webb Simpson $99,540 |
|
Bryon Nelson |
Keith Mitchell $17,301 |
Brooks Koepka $379,200 |
Tony Romo $0 |
|
PGA Championship |
Brooks Koepka $1,980,000 |
Rory McIlroy $264,395 |
Brooks Koepka $1,980,000 |
|
Charles Schwab |
Jordan Spieth $197,100 |
Francesco Molinari $16,819 |
Paul Casey $0 |
