BRITISH OPEN - FANTASY GOLF STARTS & SITS
Have you secured your spot in the Mike Hook challenge for the British Open? There are limited seats and you must register by 11:59PM EST on Wednesday night. Mike Hook Challenge Details Here.
To help you in the Mike Hook challenge here are some recommended plays for the British Open.
STUDS TO START
Phil Mickelson, $172,000
In his last four starts Phil has finishes of T2 at St.Jude, T2 at the US Open, Cut at Greenbrier, and a win in the Open Championship tune up at Castle Stuart. In fact, Phil has finished Top 3 in 6 of his last 13 starts. That's an important data point because Phil is the 5th most expensive player in the field.
Ernie Els, $130,000
At $130,000 Ernie Els is the 10th most expensive player in the field this week. So how good are the defending champs chances of hitting value? In 18 starts at The Open Championship Els has finished in the top 10 a staggering 13 times. That's just over 72%. He also comes into the week in good form. He finished T4 in his last start (United States Open) and T13 at the Masters. Ernie is a safe play with the ultimate upside. Lock him in.
Bill Haas, $116,000
Hass comes into the week as hot as any golfer on tour. In his last 2 starts, Hass won at AT&T and finished T9 at Greenbrier. In 17 events played in 2013, Haas has finished in the top 10 in just under half his starts. 8 times to be exact. He also added 3 separate top 25 finished to his season totals. As the 24th most expensive player in the field he's finished in the top 24 in 65% of his starts so far.
VALUE PLAYS
Henrick Stenson, $109,000
Stenson is 26th in our player pool in terms of cost this week. That despite the fact that Stenson has 2 top 3 finishes in the last 4 years at the Open Championship. His ball striking is never a question which limits his downside while his recent play gives you reason to be optimistic about his upside. He has 7 top 25 finishes in his last 11 starts worldwide, most recent being a T3 at Castle Stuart.
Hideki Matsuyama, $88,000
Normally I would stay away from someone making their first Open Championship start, but at this price point I couldn't resist. Hideki is just 21 years old. He turned pro in April. So far, he has absolutely man-handled the Japanese Tour with 8 top 10 finishes and 2 victories. In just 3 major championship starts (2 before turning pro), Hideki was the low amateur at The Masters in 2011 (T27), made the cut again as an amateur in 2011 (T54), and most recently finished T10 at the U.S. Open. To hit value all he has to do is finish top 40. The way he's been playing since April, mark this down as my lock of the week.
BENCH
Rory McIlroy, $193,000
McIlroy is the 2nd most expensive player in the field this week and a player to avoid in daily fantasy. In order for him to hit value, he essentially has to win the thing. In 10 starts on tour in 2013 he has yet to find the winner's circle. In his last two majors, McIlroy was T25 at Augusta and T41 at the U.S.Open. He's 25th on tour in scoring average, 62nd in Total Putting, 103rd in Driving Accuracy, and 128th in Strokes Gained Putting. I just don't see how you can invest $193,000 into someone with those performance stats regardless of the pedigree.
Matt Kuchar, $165,000
He's the 6th most expensive player in the field this week and has had a tremendous season thus far. He's won twice, finished runner up once, has 6 top 10's, and 9 top 25's. He also finished T9 in the 2012 Open Championship. So why on earth would I bench him this week? In 8 starts at the Open Championship, Kuch has made just 2 cuts. That means throughout his career he's only given owners any return on their investment whatsoever in 25% of his starts. In his best finish (2012) he wouldn't have even hit value. Kuchar is a great play most week's he's between the ropes. This week just doesn't happen to be one of them.
If you played last week's picks my guess is you did fairly well in your leagues.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
STUDS TO START: Steve Stricker ($193,00-T10), Zach Johsnon ($172,000-T2)
VALUE PLAYS: Matthew Jones ($88,000-T7), Camillo Villegas ($53,000-71)
BENCH: Louis Oosthuizen ($200,000-CUT)
Best of luck and enjoy the Open!
FF-Justin