Since ShotLink will be measuring performance only at PGA WEST’s Stadium Course for this week’s CareerBuilder Challenge, the full array of fantasy scoring will not be in play in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO. Only actual scoring will apply before bonus points are rewarded for your starters in the final round. This also will be the case at next week’s Farmers Insurance Open, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 8-11 and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on March 22-25. All are contributing events in Segment 2. Because of the fantasy scoring, how the Stadium Course stacks up against the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club isn’t as impactful, but it’s not irrelevant, either. Note the scoring averages of each in the two years the three courses have co-hosted the tournament: 2016 68.936 = Tournament Course 69.148 = La Quinta 70.818 = Stadium Course (final round = 70.614) 2017 69.635 = La Quinta 70.744 = Tournament Course 71.588 = Stadium Course (final round = 71.299) NOTE: Only the Stadium Course is used for the final round of the tournament. The Tournament Course experienced the greatest change in last year’s inclement conditions. Although wind on Friday this week could even the Tournament Course and La Quinta overall, the forecast projects a return to the kinds of three-round averages logged in 2016. Our approach is simple. Since lower rounds correlate directly to higher fantasy scores, even modestly this week, consider building a lineup that consists of two golfers in each rotation. This leaves you with two golfers on both the Tournament Course and La Quinta in each of the first three rounds. Of course, if you commit to this plan, you’ll be burning one start on each of your six and in a low-scoring affair. So, if you’re inclined to resist, consider playing the Stadium Course on Thursday when the weather is expected to be the most favorable. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the CareerBuilder Challenge (in alphabetical order): Bud Cauley Jason Dufner Brian Harman Jon Rahm Chez Reavie Webb Simpson You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Tom Hoge; David Lingmerth; Luke List; Phil Mickelson; Patrick Reed; Brendan Steele Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Kevin Kisner … It’ll surprise those who think he’s the biggest snub in the Power Rankings that last year’s T25 in his only top-45 finish in five tries in this tournament. He was bouncing off a T4 at Waialae at the time, so it made sense that he sustained form. The rub is that shootouts favor the random, so even the biggest chips on the board are neutralized. Without better evidence that this is a site where he’ll emerge, our expectations must remain tempered. It also doesn’t help that he’ll be putting on rye-Poa blends instead of his favored Bermuda. Draws Hudson Swafford … If he wasn’t the defending champion, he’d size up as sneaky because of his propensity to make cuts. He’s cashed in nine straight starts and 14 of his last 15. The worry is that he’ll be distracted by new experiences outside the ropes as last year’s winner, but he can lather in that attention since he’s already familiar with the rotation having competed in both previous editions. Tom Hoge … Multiple people associated with the TOUR have shared publicly or privately with me that they’re quite impressed with his game. And that was before last week’s career-best solo third at Waialae where he held the 54-hole lead and ranked third in proximity for the week. From my analytical perspective, the trending is there to corroborate what those experienced eyeballs have witnessed. He has two top 10s and a T25 already this season. The 28-year-old has also exhibited a comportment in his rhetoric that supports further investment. Austin Cook … To the avid fan, what he’s accomplishing is rare; that is, immediately fulfilling the promise that was projected years ago. Think Adam Hadwin or Bud Cauley, although injury interrupted Cauley’s ascent. Cook already has the win at The RSM Classic on the books, but last week’s T18 at Waialae was his fourth top 25 in full-field competition this season. He’s carried phenomenal form from last year’s Web.com Tour to the sport’s highest level and hasn’t blinked. Expect the same confidence and composure from the 26-year-old in his debut at the CareerBuilder. Zach Johnson … Look out. It’s been four years since he’s made the cut here but that hasn’t deterred him from returning. It’s also a slump that can’t last forever. Aside from that positive spin, he’s coming off a T14 at the Sony Open in Hawaii where he led the field in proximity to the hole and ranked T8 in greens hit. Yes, he’s thrived at Waialae, but the result was an extension of months of sound play (five straight top 25s). He likely won’t come cheap in DFS, but contrarians won’t care. Nor should they. Martin Laird … As a long-hitting ball-striker, he falls into the same category as Lucas Glover, who is one of my Sleepers this week. Laird was a Sleeper here last year and placed T9. He’s missed only one cut in 10 appearances and that was in 2010 when the tournament went five rounds. The Scot is a gem in all formats. Ryan Palmer (DFS) Brendan Steele (all) Fades Adam Hadwin … With a T6 (2016), a solo second (2017) and a 59 at La Quinta last year, course history buffs won’t think twice. However, his proficiency on and around greens has deserted him of late and he’s been a non-factor exponentially more often than he’s threatened. Quintessential trap. Kevin Chappell … He placed T8 in this tournament in 2013 with a closing 62, but it’s his only top 25 in five tries. It’s also a reminder that he’s best suited when a shootout isn’t expected. Bubba Watson … Ah, the promise of a new year. He actually held on nicely while learning how to flight a different golf ball in 2017, but his return to a more familiar orb has salary gamers salivating at just $1.223 million. No need for weekly gamers to rush him back into play, though, especially at a tournament where he’s ending a six-year hiatus and where a shootout will occur. Use this as an opportunity to observe and learn. Brandt Snedeker … As he debuts with his new caddie, Matt Hauser, we can’t forget that Sneds is still feeling his way back from the sternum injury that sidelined him for nearly five months in the second half of 2017. He returned for a T29 at Sea Island and played the QBE Shootout to quiet concerns of full-season investors. His mid-tournament withdrawal from the Indonesian Masters was due to heat stroke, which shouldn’t overshadow that he kept his commitment to compete overseas at all. Despite that relative good news, this is his first look at the current rotation of tracks used for the CareerBuilder, so you’re encouraged to let him ease into it alone. Russell Knox … Now that he’s reconnecting with usable form (with two top 10s among a 5-for-5 start to the season), he’s worth keeping an eye affixed, but he’s a flier at best in DFS in his first appearance on the current rotation of courses at CareerBuilder. Jimmy Walker … Continues to work back into playing shape as much as his health will allow. This is his first appearance in the CareerBuilder in five years and it figures to present a modicum of confidence at a site where he can watch putts drop, but we need to remain cautious. Keep him in your crosshairs for the Genesis Open in a month. By then, we should have his pulse. Maverick McNealy … This is a nice tune-up for his rookie season on the Web.com Tour, but only keeper leaguers should be dabbling at the moment. He’s done a masterful job of letting his future come to him, so there’s no reason to rush. Kevin Na Jhonattan Vegas Returning to Competition Steve Marino, Will MacKenzie and Shane Bertsch competed in The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay that launched the 2018 Web.com Tour season. All three are on medical extensions on the PGA TOUR this season, but only Marino and MacKenzie are worth looks in the deepest of full-season formats. (Both are committed to next week’s second stop in The Bahamas as well.) For the terms of all golfers on medicals, click here or use the following navigation at the top: MENU→Fantasy→Medical Extensions. Notables WDs Ollie Schniederjans … Also withdrew early from the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in the fall. Hasn’t used social media to explain this week’s decision, so it could be nothing more than a shift in scheduling after the commitment deadline. He’s 103rd in the Official World Golf Ranking after a T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and not yet exempt into any of the majors or World Golf Championships. In due time, he’ll be a fixture in all of them. D.A. Points … Placed T66 in both of the last two editions of the tournament and hasn’t cracked the top 40 in eight appearances overall. Last week’s T73 at Waialae extended his drought without a top 50 in a full-field event to eight months. Power Rankings Recap – Sony Open in Hawaii Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Brian Harman T4 2 Jordan Spieth T18 3 Justin Thomas T14 4 Marc Leishman T47 5 Kevin Kisner T25 6 Daniel Berger T14 7 Zach Johnson T14 8 Jason Dufner T18 9 Charles Howell III T32 10 Cameron Smith T18 11  Tony Finau T32 12 Russell Henley MC 13 Gary Woodland T7 14 Chez Reavie T18 15 Peter Uihlein MC Wild Card Si Woo Kim T58 Sleepers – Sony Open in Hawaii Golfer Result Jason Kokrak T47 William McGirt T65 Yusaku Miyazato MC John Oda T67 J.J. Spaun T47 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR January 16 … Jimmy Walker (39) January 17 … none January 18 … none January 19 … Brian Harman (31); Tommy Fleetwood (27) January 20 … Derek Fathauer (32) January 21 … none January 22 … Graham DeLaet (36); Marty Dou (21)
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