Most-Picked Players: the Memorial Tournament

PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO The depth of the field at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide is a blessing and curse for fantasy gamers. On one hand, the embarrassment of riches eases the decision-making process. Want to save a start here or there? No problem. You could form three or even four worthy rosters without crossover. The downside is that you better connect on a contender or three just to maintain position. It’s within that rub that establishes an expectation to just survive and advance. The ownership dispersion among just the golfers in my Power Rankings is telling. Three household names – Bill Haas, Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson – slot outside the top 20 most-owned. But that club also includes Jason Dufner (24th, 5.7 percent), Ryan Moore (25th, 5.6 percent), defending champion William McGirt (27th, 5.3 percent), Bubba Watson (31st, 3.4 percent) and Zach Johnson (32nd, 3.1 percent). We could keep going, but you get the idea. After the 13.5-percent fall from Hideki Matsuyama at the top to Adam Scott in second, the next noticeable drop-off occurs after Matt Kuchar in 10th at 22.6 percent. Patrick Cantlay is 11th at 14.9 percent. It won’t be long before the 25-year-old is a regular inside the top 10. NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO Weather rarely influences decisions in this format, but it made sense to consider it in advance of last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational where the early-late draw was predicted to have an advantage. Sure enough, that half of the field scored nearly three strokes lower over the first 36 holes. As a result, only three of the 11 golfers who finished inside the top 10 in the tournament, and just eight of the 28 who posted a top 25, came out of the late-early draw. Caught up in the whirlwind, literally, were the top-three most-picked in the One & Done. Both Jason Dufner (first) and Pat Perez (second) missed the cut. Colonial Country Club member Ryan Palmer (third) tied for second-to-last of the 72 who completed 72 holes. Fourth-most-owned overall but most-owned among early-late guys was champion Kevin Kisner. Boom. While there are no such concerns with the weather or wind at Muirfield Village over the first two rounds, it’s still valuable to revisit how things shook out last week. The lesson is that even though enough golfers navigated trouble with success to prove that it’s not an all-or-nothing experience, gamers should never underestimate the impact as long as there’s validity to spark a conversation about it. There’s strong support for my pick, Tony Finau, at the Memorial, but he has work to do after a roller coaster of a 2-over 74 in the opening round. Local resident Jason Day is a surprise inside the top 10 due to an uninspiring track record here. The same could be argued for Rickie Fowler. There’s simply no need to force the issue with either of those guys, much less with anyone in this format. Good to see Patrick Cantlay on board and getting the call. Gamers are rapidly picking up on his value in all formats. As you should. Notables outside the top 10 include Byeong Hun An (11th, 2.9 percent), Dustin Johnson (12th, 2.7 percent), Jordan Spieth (13th, 2.3 percent), Phil Mickelson (22nd, 0.9 percent) and defending champion William McGirt (27th, 0.7 percent).

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