Fantasy Insider: Fantasy golf advice for THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

Even if you’re a weekly gamer, reminders never hurt. You’re busy and life gets in the way. Be advised that THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES commences on Thursday at 7:45 a.m. local time in South Korea. Adjusted to the U.S., that’s 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday on the East Coast, 3:45 p.m. on the West Coast and 12:45 p.m. in Hawaii. Most if not all lineup deadlines will align with the start. As the data is gathered in the context of the new fantasy scoring in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, one expectation already has been confirmed. The easier the golf course, the higher the fantasy scoring. After SC Lamas paced all gamers with 798 points at the Safeway Open for which ShotLink was active, ShanksMO led the way at the CIMB Classic with 840 points despite the absence of ShotLink. Now, ShotLink affects only the handful of measured achievements, but it still accounted for roughly 10-15 percent of total scoring at Silverado. Defended by the wind in its debut a year ago, Nine Bridges averaged 1.187 strokes over par – and it’s a par 72. Justin Thomas and Marc Leishman squared off in a playoff after each concluded 72 holes at just 9-under. Whether the wind will play as significant a role this week remains to be seen – it could but it shouldn’t be as bad – but without ShotLink, THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES presents an apples-to-apples comparison to the CIMB Classic. The individual fantasy leaderboard at TPC Kuala Lumpur resembled the actual as Leishman’s 242 points overall placed No. 1. Gary Woodland (236), Kevin Chappell (234), Charles Howell III (227) and Justin Thomas (226) rounded out the top five in fantasy and each finished inside the top 10 in the tournament proper. With fewer par breakers forecast at Nine Bridges, the fantasy leaders aren’t expected to challenge those totals. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES (in alphabetical order): Paul Casey Tyrrell Hatton Brooks Koepka Marc Leishman Hideki Matsuyama Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Austin Cook; Jason Day; Emiliano Grillo; Billy Horschel; Jason Kokrak; Keith Mitchell; Kevin Na; Gary Woodland Driving: Byeong Hun An; Brice Garnett; Emiliano Grillo; Billy Horschel; Charles Howell III; Keith Mitchell; Kyle Stanley; Gary Woodland Power Rankings Wild Card Ian Poulter … Once he was cemented on the Ryder Cup squad, his focus shifted to the competition to which he’ll forever be attached, so his Playoffs fade is forgivable. As he returns to action to warm for the conclusion of the European Tour season, the challenge of Nine Bridges projects to bring the best out of him. Pieced together a well-balanced attack for a T15 last year. Draws Brandt Snedeker … He’s a proven winner in all conditions, but if Nine Bridges challenges as it did in its foray, the short-game artist will factor. He’s all but sold his soul on approach for world-class touch, and that was Justin Thomas’ formula for victory last year. In the last four months, Sneds has a win, a T2 (just two weeks ago at Silverado where he held the 36- and 54-hole leads) and another three top 10s. Si Woo Kim … If the Seoul native carries his strong putting performance that yielded a T10 at TPC Kuala Lumpur to Nine Bridges where putting was at a premium in its first spin, he’s going to contend. If there’s a cause for a pause, it’s that he hasn’t connected top-15 finishes on the PGA TOUR in two years. Billy Horschel … Keep the faith. One sideways round of 73 at TPC Kuala Lumpur (where he finished T33) is acceptable when we’re planning for what’s directly in front of us. He’s making his first appearance at Nine Bridges with four top-three finishes in the last three months. He’ll also be engaged with the quality of the test. Charl Schwartzel … While he doesn’t contend as often as we’d prefer, he still fares well on tough tracks. Shuffle a few shares his way in DFS. He finished T28 here last year, so he knows the course. Stewart Cink Austin Cook Charles Howell III Kevin Na Xander Schauffele Fades Adam Scott … Even if he leads the field in ball-striking, Nine Bridges’ greens proved to be ultra-stingy in last year’s wind. Since putting has been his bane, a 25th-place finish a year ago is as good as reasonably can be expected. Gamers don’t worry too much about his form upon arrival because he’ll ride the pendulum to either side without much fuss, but it still doesn’t help that he enters without a top-45 finish in his last three starts worldwide. Kevin Tway … With a T27 at the CIMB Classic, he afforded himself predictably well in the aftermath of his breakthrough victory at the Safeway Open, but we can’t rule out the influence of that adrenaline. Another week on and the concern for a letdown amplifies. Rafa Cabrera Bello … He rarely lets us down so this is relative as he has just one top-40 finish in his last three starts worldwide. Led last year’s field in greens hit and ranked second in scrambling and still settled for a T11 due to cold putting. With no cut and that mild success, he’s an ideal contrarian in every format. Kevin Chappell … Given his profile as a tee-to-green specialist, the severity of the wind will reveal his value with longer clubs or expose his weakness on the greens. A T10 at the CIMB Classic sets him up as a trap, not to mention that he was just his second top 25 in seven months, but any wind could give him fits with the putter. Alex Noren … First action since going 2-1-0 in his Ryder Cup debut. Perhaps the convincing victory in France will inject life into his game that has sputtered since he won at Le Golf National during the summer. Use this as an opportunity to observe in advance of next week’s WGC in China. Branden Grace Brian Harman Pat Perez Brendan Steele Peter Uihlein Jimmy Walker Returning to Competition None. Notable WDs Andrew Landry … Second consecutive tournament from which he’s withdrawn after the commitment deadline and before it started, but we could see this week’s coming. As a reminder, here’s an excerpt of what he tweeted on Oct. 7: “Looking forward to going home and getting healthy and spending some much needed time with the family.” Power Rankings Recap – CIMB Classic Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T5 2  Ryan Moore  T66 3  Brandt Snedeker  T66 4  Xander Schauffele  25th 5  Cameron Smith  T22 6  Billy Horschel  T33 7  Rafa Cabrera Bello  T50 8  Paul Casey  T13 9  Gary Woodland  T5 10  Keegan Bradley  T19 11  Marc Leishman  Win 12  Danny Lee  T33 13  Kyle Stanley  T13 14  Stewart Cink  T13 15  Kevin Tway  T27 Wild Card  Pat Perez  T63 Sleepers Recap – CIMB Classic Golfer  Result John Catlin  T22 Justin Harding  T43 Tom Hoge  T63 C.T. Pan  T30 Thomas Pieters  T30 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 16 … Ryan Blaum (35) October 17 … Ernie Els (49) October 18 … none October 19 … Louis Oosthuizen (36) October 20 … none October 21 … none October 22 … none

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