Webb Simpson playing from ahead

My Power Rankings includes the entire field, so this week’s Fantasy Insider column is abridged. It doesn’t mean that you can stop reading – there’s considerable intel awaiting below. It means only that you won’t have to read for as long. If host courses could be rostered in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, then TPC Sawgrass would be pushed in 100 percent of the lineups submitted for THE PLAYERS Championship. Let’s face it, no one ever solves TPC Sawgrass, the winner survives it. Toss out your conventional approach for a sixsome heavy in international talent that doesn’t play enough to force you into rationing starts. While the fantasy game rewards cuts made, THE PLAYERS is the first of 11 tournaments of Segment 3, so you’ll want your usual targets at too many sites to spread the three starts per golfer that you get. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf My roster for THE PLAYERS Championship (in alphabetical order): Rafa Cabrera Bello Sergio Garcia Francesco Molinari Ian Poulter Henrik Stenson Justin Thomas You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Bryson DeChambeau; Tony Finau; Rickie Fowler; Tyrrell Hatton; Si Woo Kim; Matt Kuchar; Marc Leishman; Rory McIlroy; Justin Rose; Xander Schauffele; Gary Woodland Driving: Keegan Bradley; Paul Casey; Bryson DeChambeau; Tommy Fleetwood; Lucas Glover; Emiliano Grillo; Charles Howell III; Jason Kokrak; Matt Kuchar; Louis Oosthuizen; Justin Rose; Gary Woodland Returning to Competition Jason Day and Tiger Woods … The annular tear in the L4-L5 disc of Day’s back is the reason he slotted way down at No. 20 in my Power Rankings. In fact, he and Woods (neck strain) could have shared the Wild Card badge this week. Peter Uihlein … He’s withdrawn during two of his last four starts, the latter at PGA National as a result of a sore back. The 29-year-old has battled a myriad of injuries for years, so since he’s a first-timer at TPC Sawgrass, you have even more reason to let him go it alone. Troy Merritt … This qualifies as a surprise, and a pleasant one at that. He’s back a month before he anticipated. On Jan. 16, he had surgery to remove a rib on his left side to alleviate complications caused by Thoracic outlet syndrome, not the least of which was the potential for another blood clot. (He had one removed last August.) At 92nd in the FedExCup, for his owners who waited it out, he’s like a midseason pickup that didn’t cost anything. Talor Gooch … As noted below, he was one of my Sleepers at Bay Hill, but he exited before his first round with a sore thumb. The 27-year-old is making his PLAYERS debut, so expectations are low this time around. Notable WDs Pat Perez … Shared on Instagram on Monday that he injured his left Achilles. He didn’t go into detail. This is already his second injury of 2019. A sore thumb forced him out of the Desert Classic during the third round. Currently 86th in FedExCup points but the 43-year-old might be facing extended time off. Hang onto him until more is known about his condition. Kevin Chappell … The 32-year-old remains on a long-term mend after having a microdiscectomy in late November. He started chipping a couple of weeks ago and he hasn’t established a timeline for a return, at least publicly. Even if he does in coming weeks, gamers have to expect him to out for many more months. Others both younger and older who have undergone the same procedure have missed considerable playing time. If he’s not a free agent in your league, he should be even though he’s 146th in the FedExCup standings after a sporty 3-for-3 start in the fall. William McGirt … He’s sat out all season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and femoroacetabular impingement. He hasn’t set a timeline to resume live action, but he must be doing OK given he was excited to share on March 4 that he recorded his first-ever albatross (in the Seminole Member-Pro). Jamie Lovemark … Revealed a partial tear in the labrum in his left shoulder. Had targeted Bay Hill to return, but his time off will eclipse two months next week. Sits 172nd in FedExCup points. Sean O’Hair … Hasn’t competed since withdrawing during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for an undisclosed reason. Had finished T9 at the Desert Classic just three weeks prior. He’s 157th in the FedExCup standings. James Hahn … He was a late scratch at the Genesis Open due to an elbow injury. Currently 169th in FedExCup points and without a top 25 in 13 months. Whee Kim … No explanation has been released for his decision, but he’s just 1-for-9 since The RSM Classic with a T71 in Puerto Rico. His mid-tournament WD at Riviera was a result of him choosing not to finish his second round on Saturday morning after it was suspended on Friday because he wasn’t going to make the cut. He’s proven to be a threat to pop without notice, but he’s unownable in full-season formats. Power Rankings Recap – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard Power Ranking Golfer Result 1 Rory McIlroy T6 2 Justin Rose T63 3 Rickie Fowler T40 4 Jason Day WD 5 Brooks Koepka MC 6 Marc Leishman T23 7 Bryson DeChambeau T46 8 Ian Poulter T23 9 Lucas Glover T10 10 Hideki Matsuyama T33 11 Francesco Molinari Win 12 Patrick Reed T50 13 Charles Howell III T15 14 Tommy Fleetwood T3 15 Michael Thompson MC Wild Card Billy Horschel T50 Sleepers Recap – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard Golfer Result Brian Gay MC Talor Gooch DNP Nate Lashley MC Luke List T10 J.T. Poston T66 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR March 12 … none March 13 … Austin Cook (28) March 14 … none March 15 … none March 16 … Bud Cauley (29); Beau Hossler (24) March 17 … Aaron Baddeley (38); Patrick Cantlay (27) March 18 … none

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Short of winning any tournament, it’s arguable that emerging as one of the 30 at East Lake in Atlanta is the hardest objective on the PGA TOUR. Of the 35 unique winners this season, 15 didn’t advance to the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs. Identifying the most confident golfers at the TOUR Championship isn’t too hard. Just read the field. Reaching the summit is one reason why each qualifier is treated to exemptions into the first three majors of 2018 as well as spots in the first two World Golf Championships. It’s nothing short of a life-changing achievement for the eight first-timers in the field. The other lane of confidence isn’t as smooth and fluid, but it matters more when making decisions for your fantasy lineups. This is where you determine who deserves the attention and your faith as a fit at East Lake. Billy Horschel caught such a blazing heater in 2014 that a kneejerk reaction would be to ignore how he prevailed by three strokes in the TOUR Championship. However, upon closer inspection, his formula for success was no more out of the ordinary than the two champions since. Horschel, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy showcased the complete game en route to their titles. All four identifiers below align with what worked for them and what projects to work for this week’s champion. East Lake’s putting surfaces average 6,200 square feet and could touch 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, but they are not dastardly, devilish or diabolical. From just about every metric, they’re easier on average to solve and they are fair. With that accepted component factored in, we can widen our focus to use bogey avoidance as the catchall for short game and putting. In a nutshell, that explains why East Lake is a ball-striker’s paradise. Something to keep in mind as your watch, listen to and/or read about the tournament, since Tiger Woods won the FedExCup without winning the TOUR Championship in 2009, which was the inaugural year of the first iteration of the current points structure, every champion at East Lake also captured the FedExCup. NOTE: Golfers inside the top 20 in each statistic in the FedExCup Playoffs are listed only if they are scheduled to compete in the TOUR Championship. * – Finished inside the top 10 at the TOUR Championship in 2014, 2015 and/or 2016. Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee 1  *Dustin Johnson 2  Jon Rahm 3  *Rickie Fowler 4  *Jordan Spieth 5  Brooks Koepka 6  Xander Schauffele T7  *Kevin Chappell T7  Charley Hoffman 9  Tony Finau 11  Jhonattan Vegas 12  *Paul Casey 15  *Justin Rose 16  *Justin Thomas 18  Patrick Cantlay Greens in Regulation T2  Patrick Cantlay T2  *Jordan Spieth 4  *Gary Woodland 5  Marc Leishman 7  *Justin Rose 8  Jon Rahm T9  *Sergio Garcia T9  *Dustin Johnson 13  *Rickie Fowler T16  *Matt Kuchar 19  *Paul Casey T20  Pat Perez T20  Kyle Stanley Proximity to the Hole 1  *Dustin Johnson 4  *Justin Rose T6  *Jason Day 10  *Jordan Spieth T11  Russell Henley T13  Daniel Berger 16  Jon Rahm 19  Brian Harman Bogey Avoidance 1  Patrick Cantlay 2  *Jordan Spieth 3  *Justin Rose T4  Pat Perez T4  Jon Rahm 6  *Dustin Johnson T8  *Justin Thomas 10  Marc Leishman T11 *Rickie Fowler T13  *Sergio Garcia T15  Daniel Berger T15  *Paul Casey T15  Webb Simpson T19  *Jason Day With only 30 in the field, the usual groupings below are sparsely populated, but half of the field is still represented. Jordan Spieth (2015) is the only prior winner of the TOUR Championship back this week. NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply automatic endorsement in every fantasy game as all decisions are specific to your situation. CONFIDENCE MEN Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. BUILDING CONFIDENCE Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF CONFIDENCE Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.

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