Day: November 7, 2017

Fantasy Insider: OHL Classic at MayakobaFantasy Insider: OHL Classic at Mayakoba

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017| 23:17

I’ll open this week’s introduction with another. The band is back together again! If you missed it throughout the week of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the fantasy section has a new contributor: Mike Glasscott. If you were familiar with my eight-year run at Rotoworld through 2015, you already know Glass. He was the lead columnist during the second half of my tenure. We had a great time arguing, er, generating thoughtful and helpful commentary, so we hope to bring some of that experience to you here, like it or not. Glass has assumed the reins of The Confidence Factor and he’s the main man for the brand-new Emergency 9, which is a nightly recap of fantasy-relevant nuggets after every day of a tournament. I’ll sit in from time to time as we bring to you wall-to-wall fantasy coverage throughout every week. Shifting our attention to the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, it leads off the final fortnight of the fall during which ShotLink is not utilized. This means that bonus points for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO are equal to one-half what your starters in the final round earn. Since rationing starts isn’t a concern in Segment 1, there’s no need to toy with saving anyone who you even remotely consider to be a threat to win. Elsewhere, there’s a misconception that to read my public tweets, you have to register for Twitter. In fact, the microblogging platform acts as any regular website. So, non-users can see when I tweet field changes, links to all of my work and anything else of relevance to games. To engage, view at-replies and perform other functions, registration is required. This means that you can also read Glass’ Twitter page, at your own risk, of course. Look for him as @MikeGlasscott. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (in alphabetical order): Kevin Chappell Rickie Fowler Chesson Hadley Zach Johnson Pat Perez Gary Woodland You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Charley Hoffman; Sung Kang; Luke List; Graeme McDowell Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Charley Hoffman … It’s either a blessing or a curse that he’s the Wild Card in consecutive weeks, but after a T18 in his backyard in Vegas where his motivation was entirely selfless, he makes the most sense in this position again. He has only one top-30 finish in five straight trips to El Camaleón, but the outlier was a victory in 2014. And anyone paying attention in the last several months knows that he’s flirted with winning time and again, only to fall short. He makes sense in any format this week. DFSers have limited options among the top tier, while he sets up as a defensive tactic for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO gamers. Draws Ryan Moore … If there was anything to glean from last week’s T51 in Vegas, it was that he’s OK. He eschewed the entire three-week stint in Asia, including the CIMB Classic where he’s a two-time champ. Now slated to make his second appearance at El Camaleón (T23, 2013) with enough recent form to warrant a complementary role in DFS. Sung Kang … Perfect DFS plug-in. Since a 3-for-3 open to the season that included a T3 at the CIMB Classic, he added a co-runner-up finish at the K.J. Choi Invitational two weeks ago. Already his fifth start at Mayakoba where he’s cashed three times. Johnson Wagner … Cheap DFS option given his affinity for and success at El Camaleón. Overall, he’s 4-for-6 with a win (2011) and a pair of top 20s. Jordan Niebrugge … Still unproven at this level, but the upstart made noise on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada this year. With that experience in tow and everything to gain this week, he projects to reward the risky in the DFS crowd. Scott Brown (DFS) Patton Kizzire (DFS) Nick Taylor (DFS) Jhonattan Vegas (all) Fades Russell Knox … He’ll snap out of his funk at some point and El Camaleón might rank first on the most likely of sites for that to happen – he chased a playoff loss here in 2015 with a solo third last year – but he has trap written all over him this week. Zero top 25s in his last eight starts and only one stretching back to late April. Patrick Reed … As one who has unintentionally drifted into an apologist, an accidental role in the world of only the most skeptical, I’m with you this week. El Camaleón will spotlight his short game, but gamers aren’t keen to rely on that for value. It’s definitely not rewarded in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. And because he’s not among the proficient tee-to-green performers, he’s an easy no-play. Alex Cejka … He treated his season-long investors to a close call at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, but it was made possible by a devil-may-care 63 in the finale. That’s one way to approach closing out a tournament, but it’s not a sustainable formula. What’s more, he’s never carved out a reliable groove in which to trust. It might be a slightest different story if he was a horse for a course in Mexico, but he’s gone five consecutive rounds at El Camaleón without signing for a red number. John Huh … The 2012 champ has added three top 30s since but he’s been in a slump virtually all year. He’ll appreciate this week’s opportunity, but DFSers need to give him some time. Cameron Champ … The exceptionally long hitter is making his pro debut on a course that benefits shorter knockers. That serves as the analytical explanation that walks in lockstep with the respect for all that is new to his life. Aaron Baddeley Harris English Emiliano Grillo J.J. Spaun                                                                                                                                          Returning to Competition Mac Hughes … Alert your commissioners about the contraction of his first name. He’s back in action after a month off to become a father for the first time. If the Nappy Factor kicks in, it might be tough to tell as he’s been a relatively reliable source of value since breaking through as a rookie last fall. Give him a week to normalize (and sleep), but also beware that he’ll be defending his only PGA TOUR title at next week’s RSM Classic as that will be unlike anything he’s ever experienced. J.J. Henry … With a 7-for-7 record at El Camaleón that includes four top 25s and a scoring average of 69.14, some DFSers will take the plunge. However, if there’s a time to step away from the allure of that course history, this is it. In his last start, he withdrew during his third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship with a sore back. Bronson Burgoon … He’ll try again this week. He walked off the Country Club of Jackson during his second round two weeks ago with discomfort in his back, and then withdrew early from the Shriners. The 30-year-old entered the season with considerable promise after an impressive flourish to conclude the 2017 Web.com Tour season. He then hung up a T17 at the Safeway. Consider as a flier in DFS at Mayakoba where he placed T25 in his only prior appearance in 2015. Notables WDs Webb Simpson … Was poised to seek redemption after closing with 74 last year to finish T24. He sat fifth and just four strokes off the lead entering the final round. Overall form has been terrific all year and especially consistent of late. Billy Horschel … Withdrew prior to his second round of last week’s Shriners with a sore left shoulder. Plans to get back after it in a month at the QBE Shootout. Scott Piercy … Most likely would have generated considerable interest in every format what with a T16 (2014) and T4 (2016) in his last two appearances. He’s also popped the top on 2017-18 with three straight paydays, although a T32 in his hometown of Las Vegas was disappointing. Ollie Schniederjans … To the dismay of DFSers everywhere, but we’ll be turning to the 24-year-old again and often. He opened the season with a set of three top 25s. Henrik Stenson … A rib injury forces him to miss this week’s Nedbank Challenge. While originally expected to sit out until the Hero World Challenge in three weeks, he hasn’t ruled out lacing up for the next week’s DP World Tour Championship. Power Rankings Recap – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Webb Simpson  T20 2  Tony Finau  T16 3  Patrick Cantlay  Win 4  Luke List  T20 5  Ryan Moore  T51 6  Smylie Kaufman  MC 7  Jamie Lovemark  MC 8  Kevin Streelman  67th 9  Nick Taylor  T32 10  Scott Piercy  T32 11  Chesson Hadley  T4 12  William McGirt  T10 13  Shawn Stefani  T68 14  Austin Cook  T20 15  Anirban Lahiri  T51 Wild Card  Charley Hoffman  T18 Sleepers Recap – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Golfer  Result Martin Laird  MC Tom Lovelady  MC Cameron Tringale  MC Tyrone Van Aswegen  MC Aaron Wise  T32 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR November 7 … none November 8 … Troy Matteson (38); Francesco Molinari (35) November 9 … David Duval (46); Ted Potter, Jr. (34); Nicholas Lindheim (33) November 10 … Ethan Tracy (28); Jon Rahm (23) November 11 … Robert Garrigus (40); Joel Dahmen (30) November 12 … Lucas Glover (38); Chez Reavie (36); Jason Day (30); C.T. Pan (26) November 13 … none

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Confidence Factor: OHL Classic at MayakobaConfidence Factor: OHL Classic at Mayakoba

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017| 23:11

This week, the TOUR heads south of the border, Mexico way, to the El Camaleon Golf Club at the Mayakoba Resort in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. This will be the 11th-consecutive season on this track but just the fifth event contested in November. The event debuted in 2007 on the calendar in late February but moved to the wrap-around season beginning in 2013. Harris English didn’t seem to mind the change from spring to fall as he set a new tournament record (21-under-par, 263). As shown by the winning scores the last four seasons (-21, -17, -18 and -21 last year), going low and making birdies at El Camaleon is paramount to contending.         TALES OF THE TAPE As highlighted above, none of the last three champs are going to be carded the next time they stop for a cold one at the turn. These savvy veterans lit up the Paspalum greens and rolled in plenty of birdies. Hoffman circled 21 of them, the least of the recent winners, in 2014. The following season, McDowell led the field with a whopping 27 birdies (Fantasy Extra: Brice Garnett was second with 26). Last year Perez “only” made 21, good enough for T8, but he also made an eagle and suffered only four bogeys for the week. It’s obvious when that many birdies are required par-four scoring should stand out. All three checked inside the top 10 in that category on the road to victory. Over the last three years, the top 28 have TOTALLED 11 rounds over par on the weekend. The top 12 last year posted ONE round above 70 for the week! It’s time to make birdies, avoid bogeys and keep up with the veterans! El Camaleon, according the official scorecard, doesn’t make it past 7,000 yards this week and contains three par fives. As Rob Bolton pointed out in his Power Rankings, the par-three holes are not very difficult. In fact, three are 155 yards or shorter with No. 10 being the outlier at 200 yards. The Paspalum greens run true and won’t run any hotter than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter. This means go-time on the greens and one of the reasons plenty of birdies are posted. (Fantasy Extra: Paspalum greens are also used at the Puerto Rico Open and CIMB Classic). Pat Perez remarked last year after his win that if the line was right, the ball was going in. With average green sizes just over 7,000 square feet on this Greg Norman design, there is plenty of target to hit. The experience player will know when to take his medicine or when to attack. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 25 in each statistic on the 2016-17 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.   * – Finished inside the top 10 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba since 2013. Greens in Regulation Rank  Golfer 5  Ryan Armour 11  J.J. Henry 12  *Gary Woodland 14  *Luke List 18  Stewart Cink 24  Jim Herman Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank  Golfer 5  Rickie Fowler 6  Anirban Lahiri 10  Matt Every 11  Camilo Villegas 14  Sam Saunders 18  *Charley Hoffman 22  *Luke List 25  Tom Hoge Par Breakers Rank  Golfer 4  Rickie Fowler 9  *Luke List 14  Anirban Lahiri 16  *Charley Hoffman 20  Sam Saunders 21  *Stewart Cink 26  *Rory Sabbatini Rounds in the 60’s Rank  Golfer 10  *Luke List 12  *Pat Perez 13  Patrick Reed 16  *Chez Reavie 18  *Charley Hoffman 20  Sung Kang 25  *Charles Howell, III The tournament scoring record has been set and equaled in the last four editions of this event. I’m looking for the pros who aren’t afraid to take it low, make bushels of birdies and that are crafty enough to keep it between the yellow lines. It won’t hurt to find players who have thrived on seaside settings (Pebble Beach, Harbour Town, Puerto Rico, Waialae are few that come to mind) in the past. If the ball is not required to travel a long way, the field of 132 will open up. With the rough barely reaching two inches and the wind not howling like last week, we could see the shootout that we were expecting in Las Vegas at TPC Summerlin. The weather looks mild and the winds temperate but that can always change, so double-check before lineups are set. If the wind picks up, count on those who have been here before and understand how to navigate those conditions. NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation. CONFIDENCE MEN Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. BUILDING CONFIDENCE Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF COMFORT Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.

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Barber takes flightBarber takes flight

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017| 22:59

Blayne Barber had two goals. He didn’t want to pass out. He didn’t want to have to dip into that canister of barf bags by his seat, either. “The people that (do these) throw up pretty regularly,â€� Barber explains. “So they have everything situated right there for you.â€� Turns out, he’s got a strong stomach. And Barber accomplished both goals that day in September when he went flying with the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s acrobatic flight demonstration team. “It’s something I will never forget,â€� he says. Barber has always been interested in flying. His grandfather, Joe Shearer, served 27 years in the U.S. Air Force and Naval Reserve, retiring in 1975 as an E9 Master Sergeant. He enjoyed building and flying remote control airplanes, and Barber learned to love it, too. “I grew up being fascinated by airplanes and fighter planes,â€� he says. “I’ve seen the Thunderbirds (the Air Force’s demonstration squad) in person multiple times growing up and I think it’s just kind of something like, man that would be so cool to do. “I don’t really know if I actually thought I would ever get the chance. So to do that was definitely a dream fulfilled.â€� And as an added bonus, Shearer was on hand at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, to see his grandson take off. “He never had the opportunity to fly in a fighter jet because he was more in civil engineering and kind of did stuff on the ground moreso,â€� Barber says. “so he was living vicariously through me a little bit.â€� Barber found out he was going to be able to go up in a VIP flight about two weeks before it happened. He admits he was pretty stressed in the days leading up to the one-in-a-lifetime experience. He was anxious and didn’t sleep well. “I knew it was going to be really intense but I didn’t know what to expect,â€� Barber says. “So I can definitely say I was nervous.â€� The pre-flight briefing probably wasn’t all that reassuring, either. The F/A-18 Hornet that he would be flying in was, after all, an active military aircraft that was about to all but defy gravity with Barber strapped into the back seat. “You go through what happens in the event the jet goes down and your ejection seat deploys and your parachute goes out,â€� Barber recalls. “And here are probably three or four different gauges that if you click them something bad’s going to happen — and they are right there around me in the back seat.â€� Once he got up in the air, though, Barber was hooked. He didn’t flinch when the plane flew upside down. Ditto for when it pulled up and headed straight into the air. The full loops and barrel and aileron rolls were icing on the cake. “It was just very physically intense.â€� Barber says. “… I never had too much motion sickness problems so I wasn’t super concerned about throwing up. But obviously, I’ve never been twirled around in the air at 10,000 feet. So, I didn’t know what to expect on that front. “Just the G forces and the force that is exerts on your body is the most intense thing. When we got done, I just felt like I had worked out. It’s very taxing.â€� The jet cruised at between 400-500 miles an hour. At one point, the plane even broke the sound barrier, which means it was flying in excess of 767 mph. “That was pretty cool,â€� Barber says. Throughout the flight, the pilot was in constant communication with Barber, making him feel comfortable about what was about to happen and explaining maneuver the plane was about to attempt. And let’s face it, Barber wouldn’t have been up there if he wasn’t keen on the experience. “He was like, are you ready to do this and I’d say, yes,â€� Barber says. “… He wasn’t going to go up there and just try to make me miserable which I appreciated. “He was explaining avionics and different things that were probably above my head but it made me feel like I was understanding everything that was happening more. It was neat that he kept me engaged.â€� Barber says he would go on another flight in a “heartbeatâ€� although he’s not sure that fun is the right word to describe the experience. “If you’re OK with an adrenaline rush and some crazy movement, then, yes (it is),â€� Barber says. The sheer power of the jet was almost overwhelming at times. “When you’re flying on a commercial airline you can only move so fast because it’s so heavy and there are so many people,â€� Barber says. “So just to feel that much intensity and to be able to change direction or change speed so quickly was really cool.â€� And what about the next time he steps into plane to head to a PGA TOUR stop? Will flying with the Blue Angels make the jaunt to places like San Diego or Phoenix or San Antonio seem like a breeze? “It will probably just make it boring,â€� Barber says.

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