If you’ve ever wanted one of those weeks when you can go off the board without fear of forfeiting the obvious play, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has chauffeured a limo and rolled out the red carpet for you. And by you, I mean us. I’m normally as conservative as it gets in fantasyland and it cost me last season. I abandoned my aggressive nature in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO in 2016-17 in favor of anchoring my season with a strategy that didn’t deliver. It didn’t deliver the previous season, either, but I managed to hang on for a narrow margin of victory. I told a few gamers privately that I don’t know if I learned anything other than that there is no virtue in crawling to the finish line just as much as there is no virtue in galloping through it, just as long as you’re the one breaking the tape. Retain that swing thought for a moment. As we direct our attention to the 72-hole contest at TPC Summerlin, two variables have my attention. First, if there’s a betting favorite, it’s only because the house can’t lose. Resist equating its favorite with an actual favorite for fantasy purposes. It’s coincidence when it happens. Second, the wind is going to blow in the desert. That is not normal. Put the two together and we’re poised for an absolute crapshoot. On the third rail is the reality that you’re unlikely to miss anyone you burn. This promotes as aggressive a strategy as we get in this format. Luke List was my clubhouse leader before reviewing the weather forecast. He’s in my lineup for the Roster game, but he owns one of the highest ball flights on the PGA TOUR. Only Kevin Chappell (No. 1) and J.B. Holmes (No. 2) recorded a higher apex height in 2016-17. List slotted ninth. Gary Woodland was 10th, Jamie Lovemark was 13th and 2015 Shriners champion Smylie Kaufman was 21st. Not surprisingly, all are long off the tee. Distance goes hand in hand with height. It’s going to yield success for multiple golfers at TPC Summerlin, but I can’t condone the philosophy to push all of your chips into any of these guys in a One & Done. Oddly enough, defending champion Rod Pampling owned the second-lowest apex heights last season, but I share that as fact over friction. If there’s a low ball flight that I’d consider endorsing in varying degrees, 2014 champion Ben Martin, 2011 winner Kevin Na, Brian Stuard and Kevin Tway are attractive. However, I can’t get away from the No. 1 in my Power Rankings, Webb Simpson. So much for swinging for the fences, huh? Not only does he keep it nearer solid ground than most, but he’s been a horse at TPC Summerlin. The 32-year-old has also been nails of late. Two-man gamers are going to be enticed by the likes of Lovemark and List, but consider sticking with more experienced tacticians like Kevin Streelman and 2009 champ Martin Laird. Tway is the bold move no matter where you rank early on. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. All are pending golfer commitment. Kevin Chappell … RSM; Valero (defending); St. Jude; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies Luke Donald … Pebble Beach; Honda; Valspar; Heritage Tony Finau … Farmers; Valero; Memorial; Greenbrier; Canadian Charley Hoffman … Genesis; Heritage; Houston; Valero; DEAN & DELUCA; Travelers; Canadian J.B. Holmes … Farmers; Waste Management; Pebble Beach; Genesis; Houston; Wells Fargo; Greenbrier Billy Horschel … RSM; Honda; Arnold Palmer; Valero; St. Jude; TOUR Championship Chris Kirk … RSM; Valero; PLAYERS; DEAN & DELUCA Russell Knox … Mayakoba; Sony; Honda; Heritage; PLAYERS; Dell Technologies Martin Laird … CareerBuilder; Farmers; Waste Management; Genesis; Valero; Barracuda Jamie Lovemark … RSM; Sony; Arnold Palmer Graeme McDowell … Mayakoba; RSM; Pebble Beach; Honda; WGC-Bridgestone William McGirt … Genesis; Heritage; Memorial Ryan Moore … Shriners; Sentry; Waste Management; Genesis; Valspar; Masters; Travelers; John Deere; TOUR Championship Kevin Na … Shriners; Waste Management; Valspar; Arnold Palmer; Heritage; Memorial; John Deere; Wyndham; THE NORTHERN TRUST Scott Piercy … Shriners; Mayakoba; Sony; Houston; John Deere Webb Simpson … Shriners; RSM; Sentry; Sony; CareerBuilder; Waste Management; Genesis; Wells Fargo; Travelers; Greenbrier; Wyndham Kevin Streelman … Shriners; CareerBuilder; Pebble Beach; Wells Fargo; Memorial; Travelers Jimmy Walker … Sentry; Sony; Farmers; Pebble Beach; Genesis; Valero; Greenbrier; Dell Technologies Bubba Watson … Sentry; Waste Management; Genesis; Memorial; Travelers; Greenbrier; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Gary Woodland … Sony; Farmers; Honda; Wells Fargo; Barracuda; Dell Technologies
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