Ah, that new season smell. Gotta love it. It also indicates a fresh start in all full-season fantasy games. This includes PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. In direct response to gamer experience and reaction, a new, simpler scoring system debuts at this week’s Safeway Open. Gone are most of the shot values and FedExCup bonus points. Instead, fantasy scoring largely will be determined by actual scoring with various bonuses applied. Every hole score is given a value. A par is worth 2 points, a birdie is 4 points, eagle is 6 points and albatrosses and condors are 8 points. Bogeys are worth zero, while double bogeys and worse subtract 1 point. Under-par rounds yield 1 point. Aggregate scores of 65 and lower are good for 3 points, while 60s and lower are worth 10. All field-low aggregate scores for each round net 10 points. Regardless of how many golfers may tie for low round, all golfers who sign for the second-lowest score in the same round are rewarded with 5 points. ShotLink will be used to award 5 points for hole-outs off the green from 100 yards and longer, 3 points for hole-outs off the green from inside 100 yards, 1 point for drives of 300 yards and longer that come to rest in the fairway, and 1 point for holed putts from 20 feet and longer. (To review every component of the game, read the Rules at FantasyGolf.PGATOUR.com.) Using Safeway’s two-time defending champion Brendan Steele as an example, if the new scoring system was in place last year, he would have totaled 212 fantasy points for the tournament. Comparing the extremes, his field-low-tying, 7-under 65 in the opening round would have been worth 71 points, while his third-round, even-par 72 scored at just 40. Steele’s hole-by-hole scores totaled 174 points, or roughly 82 percent of his overall. Seventeen of his drives qualified for the 1-point bonus, worth eight percent. Naturally, low scores with lots of circles on the scorecard will be of greatest value, but tournament finish won’t have as great of an impact. And while a good round will land from 55-60 points, which means that overall fantasy scoring will be lower and sustain competitive balance, absorbing zeroes will penalize just as they did in the previous iteration. Thus, the primary objective remains to have four golfers contributing in every round. The contenders will separate themselves from the also-rans in the long-term. Meanwhile, all of my weekly staples are ready for the season. The Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions and Rookie Ranking are current. Navigate to the FANTASY page or via the MENU at the top for each. You’ll also find my annual full-membership fantasy ranking that includes all kinds of important pieces of information to assist gamers and commissioners. This year’s guide includes 245 golfers. The printable Cheat Sheet will be ready on Wednesday. Finally, debuting on Twitter on Wednesday is a new fantasy show starring yours truly. We’re targeting 2:00 p.m. ET. In addition to answering gamers’ questions, assisting with lineup decisions and responding to anything else on your mind, I’ll be discussing a handful of topics that have my attention right now. The show will launch from Twitter.com/PGATOUR. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the Safeway Open (in alphabetical order): Patrick Cantlay Emiliano Grillo Adam Hadwin Ryan Moore Joaquin Niemann Brendan Steele You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Anders Albertson; Bronson Burgoon; Cameron Davis; Sungjae Im; Martin Laird; Phil Mickelson Driving: Bronson Burgoon; Cameron Davis; Martin Laird; Hunter Mahan; Patrick Rodgers; Harold Varner III Power Rankings Wild Card Chez Reavie … With a 4-for-4 record at Silverado that includes top 25s in the last three editions of the tournament, he presents as a no-brainer. However, uncharacteristically inconsistent form pervaded his second half of 2017-18, so there’s reason to second-guess his projection. Given the renewal of a season, his tee-to-green proficiency and his greenside touch when he’s misfiring on top of repeated success on this course, history here wins the argument. Draws Chris Kirk … Perfect for the new fantasy scoring in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. He concluded 2017-18 with 12 consecutive cuts made and owns a 3-for-3 record at Silverado with a T8 in 2016. Bronson Burgoon … Sat T11 after three rounds at Silverado last year, but his backpedal of a 74 left him at T17. It was among a series of performances by recent Web.com Tour graduates who maintained a high level of execution in the season opener. It’s not out of the question to consider his return trip to fall into a similar vein as he opened his debut in the FedExCup Playoffs with a T11 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. It was his sixth top 20 of 2017-18. He finished the season at sixth in total driving, 54th in GIR and T17 in par-5 scoring. Brett Drewitt … If you’re keen on a flier in DFS, look no further than the Aussie. The one-time PGA TOUR member (2016-17) entered the open qualifier on a whim and co-medaled with a bogey-free 65 at Coyote Creek Golf Club in San José. He was in the area after dropping his parents off at the airport, who came to the U.S. for his wedding last week. The 27-year-old went 3-for-4 in the Web.com Tour Finals, so he’s warm. Fades Sangmoon Bae … The first winner at Silverado in 2014 didn’t return until last year due to his military obligation in South Korea. He missed the cut with two over-par scores. In his last start on the Web.com Tour, he won in Boise. It secured at worst a spot in the reshuffle this season, but he still has 10 starts on a Major Medical Extension to retain status in that category. No doubt his confidence has never been higher since returning to competition, but his recent connection with success is too much too soon for conservative gamers. Beau Hossler … Because the 23-year-old isn’t going to let us down most of the time, this is as relative as it likely will be rare. Despite logging a fantastic first season on the PGA TOUR in 2017-18 in which he missed only four cuts, Silverado wasn’t his cup of tea en route to a 74th-place finish in his debut. On paper, he offers several attractive angles, but he’s still learning which sites suit him best. It would be rushing to judgment to label him as streaky so soon in his career, but he closed out the season without a top 30 in his last five starts. Danny Willett … Making his debut at the Safeway Open, but the bigger news is that he’s renewed his PGA TOUR membership for 2018-19. The 2016 Masters champ had to sit out last season for failing to fulfill the membership minimum of 15 starts in 2016-17, but he’s sending the earliest message possible that it won’t be an issue again. He’s flashed some form in recent months, but he’s far from the world-beater we observed before he slipped on the green jacket. Injuries derailed his progress. Sam Burns … As he embarks on his PGA TOUR career officially, tiptoe into him at first. He was incredibly hot and cold during the Web.com Tour season and failed to factor in all of his last four starts. Now, that bodes well for the long-term because he’s already learned how to ride a wave, but it’s dangerous for weekly gamers. Returning to Competition Bud Cauley … Suffice it to say that this is a welcome surprise. When he had to shut it down due to multiple injuries suffered in a car crash four months ago, it was anyone’s guess as to when he’d be physically ready to compete again. He’s fully exempt for finishing inside the top 125 of the FedExCup, so he can play as often as he wants without worrying about status and long-range planning. Despite this good news and a T7 in last year’s Safeway, give him the opportunity shake off the rust and fall back into the routine. Luke Donald … Committed to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, it’ll be his first action since the RBC Heritage in April. He’s rested a sore back that first flared a year ago at this time. Equipped with 15 starts via a Major Medical Extension on the PGA TOUR, his restart in Europe gives us a free look at his form. He’s also expected to play in next week’s Sky Sport British Masters in England. Notable WDs None Power Rankings Recap – TOUR Championship Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Justin Rose T4 2 Justin Thomas T7 3 Brooks Koepka T26 4 Tony Finau T15 5 Rory McIlroy T7 6 Dustin Johnson 3rd 7 Bubba Watson 29th 8 Billy Horschel 2nd 9 Bryson DeChambeau 19th 10 Webb Simpson T4 11 Francesco Molinari T21 12 Tommy Fleetwood T11 13 Rickie Fowler T7 14 Hideki Matsuyama T4 15 Xander Schauffele T7 16 Jason Day 18th 17 Paul Casey T11 18 Tiger Woods Win 19 Phil Mickelson 30th 20 Kevin Na 25th 21 Gary Woodland T11 22 Keegan Bradley T26 23 Patrick Reed 28th 24 Cameron Smith 20th 25 Kyle Stanley T15 26 Marc Leishman T21 27 Aaron Wise T15 28 Patrick Cantlay T21 29 Jon Rahm T11 30 Patton Kizzire T21 Power Rankings Recap – FedExCup Playoffs Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Justin Thomas 7th 2 Justin Rose 1st 3 Jason Day 16th 4 Tiger Woods 2nd 5 Jon Rahm 23rd 6 Dustin Johnson 4th 7 Jordan Spieth 31st 8 Tommy Fleetwood 19th 9 Patrick Reed 22nd 10 Webb Simpson 11th 11 Brandt Snedeker 40th 12 Paul Casey 25th 13 Tony Finau 6th 14 Brooks Koepka 9th 15 Patrick Cantlay 20th 16 Francesco Molinari T17 17 Xander Schauffele 15th 18 Rory McIlroy T13 19 Gary Woodland 26th 20 Kyle Stanley 27th 21 Kevin Kisner 47th 22 Marc Leishman 29th 23 Beau Hossler 46th 24 Phil Mickelson 21st 25 Bryson DeChambeau 3rd 26 Bubba Watson 10th 27 Kevin Na 28th 28 Rafa Cabrera Bello 41st 29 Austin Cook 38th 30 Chesson Hadley 44th Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 2 … George McNeill (43); Zack Sucher (32) October 3 … Danny Willett (31) October 4 … none October 5 … Kelly Kraft (30) October 6 … none October 7 … none October 8 … none
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