Welcome to Playing the Tips!
Each week this will be the one-stop resource to soak in all the picks from our group of fantasy staffers from Rotoworld.com. We’ll have all of our selections from the GolfChannel.com, Yahoo! Fantasy Golf plus my new expanded feature on my weekly selection for One-and-Done players.
EDITOR'S NOTE: We can't even get one event under our belt without a little adjustment on the fly. Some lineups have been modified from the original edition due to Tiger Woods' withdrawal today.
GolfChannel.com Fantasy Golf
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Glass ($5,957,707; Rank: 8,258)
@MikeGlasscott
I was licking my chops last week as Luke Donald was lingering on Sunday but his T4 saw me hardly make up any group against my fellow experts. Will MacKenzie and his T4 made Rob happy and Ned and O had George McNeill on solo seventh to mitigate their losses. I can’t believe Ned didn’t have someone in the top TWO again!! He’s laying waste to this game in 2014; I’m getting pasted.
Group 1: Justin Rose
Group 2: Gary Woodland
Group 3: Matt Every
Group 4: Seung-yul Noh
ANALYSIS: As I stated in my preview column, Range Rover, I can’t pull the trigger on Woods this week so I’m looking to Justin Rose to keep moving in the right direction to make up ground on the field. Gary Woodland was a tough selection from group two but I’m confident he'll fire. I’m riding the Matt Every train as he looks to break through with his first win on TOUR in a loaded group three. Seung-Yul Noh has made nine cuts on the bounce and is the choice in group four. Time to make up some ground this week!
Rob Bolton ($6,238,294; Rank: 6,672)
@RobBoltonGolf
Group 1: Bubba Watson
Group 2: Keegan Bradley
Group 3: Matt Every
Group 4: Seung-yul Noh
ANALYSIS: Rob will put a nice dent into Ned’s lead if the large cat picks up win No. 9 at API this week. Picks three and four look brilliant to me…
Ryan O’ Sullivan ($6,367,724; Rank: 5,985)
@RyanGolfBlogger
Group 1: Bubba Watson
Group 2: Kevin Na
Group 3: Matt Every
Group 4: Aaron Baddeley
ANALYSIS: O loads up with the long lefty and fires with top tenners from last week Na and Every. HEY O, did you know that Watson bought Woods’ house in Isleworth? Am I the only one that finds this weird? Good to see you survived St. Patrick’s Day!
Ned Brown ($10,107,397; Rank: 22)
@Esoxgolf
Group 1: Bubba Watson
Group 2: Kevin Na
Group 3: George McNeill
Group 4: William McGirt
ANALYSIS: There isn’t any. He’s only trailing 21 others. Just bow down or copy-n-paste!
Yahoo! Fantasy Golf
Ned Brown is a long-time contributor for Rotoworld Golf. He’s had documented success in Yahoo!’s game for years. Even if you’re confident in your selections for that game, give his insight a read. He’ll lead us off each week in the Yahoo! game.
“Pure Spin”
Valspar Points: 166
Winter Segment Points: 1,662
Ranking: 4,461
Group A
Bubba Watson – He is on fire right now with a T2 at the NTO, a championship at the WMPO and a T2 at Doral. He has had some success at the API with two top 10s in eight starts, including T4 just two years ago.
Patrick Reed – He missed the cut in his only start at Bay Hill, but he's super-hot right now and his mindset is to prove to everyone that he is a top-5 player.
SUPER SUBS
Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler
Group B
Justin Rose – The shoulder injury looks to be healed and Rose looked great last week in his T8 finish at the Valspar. Recently, Rose has played very well at the API with a T3 finish in ‘11 and a solo second place last year.
Zach Johnson – Cooling off from his torrid start to the season, Johnson is playing well with a T16 at the WGC-Cadillac. He has three top 10s in 10 career starts at Bay Hill with the most recent being a third place in '09.
Hunter Mahan – He’s played well recently with top 10s in four of his last five events. He has only one top 10 in ten starts at Bay Hill, however he is almost a lock to play into the weekend and will most likely finish in the top 25.
Keegan Bradley – He was playing decently before the WGC-Cadillac, but he had an off week and finished T50. I'm looking for him to rebound on a course that he T3last year.
SUPER SUBS
Ian Poulter, Matt Every, Chris Kirk
Group C
Graeme McDowell – It's a real gift to have McDowell in Group C because he has played well this year, including three top 10s in his four starts. He has two top 2s in six career starts at The API with the most recent being a solo second place in '12.
Kevin Na – I tend to shy away from using Na in fantasy because he has burnt me more than once. However, he looked great last week in his second place at the Valspar and his recent record at the API is very good with at T2 in '10 and a T4 in '12.
SUPER SUBS
Harris English, Will MacKenzie, John Senden, Jamie Donaldson
Ryan O’Sullivan ("O")
“The Golf Aficionado”
Valspar Points: 172
Winter Segment Points: 1,739
Ranking: 650
Group A
Adam Scott
Bubba Watson
Group B
Zach Johnson
Hunter Mahan
Justin Rose
Matt Every
Group C
Graeme McDowell
Kevin Na
Rob Bolton
"@RobBoltonGolf"
Valspar Points: 170
Winter Segment Points: 1,653
Ranking: 5,280
Group A
Gary Woodland
Bubba Watson
Group B
Hunter Mahan
Keegan Bradley
Justin Rose
Matt Every
Group C
Graeme McDowell
Kevin Na
Glass
“@MikeGlasscott”
Valspar Points: 152
Winter Segment Points: 1,648
Ranking: 5,820
I knew forgetting to adjust my lineup on Friday night was going to sting last week…BUT, I’m only FIVE POINTS behind Bolton so let’s go!!
Group A
Gary Woodland – Just a different grain of Wood, particularly a healthy one.
Bubba Watson – He better get stretched out like The Mechanic this week as he’ll be carrying the load in Group A.
Group B
Zach Johnson – Fairways, greens and a wonderful putter
Keegan Bradley – I have plenty of starts and I am going to use them
Justin Rose – He’s No. 1 in my rankings
Matt Every – He’ll be an excellent complement to these heavyweights
Group C
Graeme McDowell – He’s in a good place and loves this track
Kevin Na – #heatcheck in a loaded Group C
One-and-Done
Frys.com: Gary Woodland, MC. Well, at least I don’t have to worry about when I’m using GARY WOODLAND again!
SHFC Open: Hideki Matsuyama. Time to break through, son. Matsuyama WD with injury so he was replaced with Nick Watney. He finished T48 for $15,264
CIMB Classic: Let’s try this again: Hideki Matsuyama. There’s no cut. This pleases me. His T25 after 74 on Sunday does not please me. Oh well. Here’s $53,433 into the piggy bank.
WGC-HSBC: Martin Kaymer. There’s no other place I would consider using him and he’s the defending champ on this track. #hangsonfordearlife. Kaymer’s third round 62 dared me to dream but his T8 and $161,667 is a nice deposit.
The McGladrey Classic: David Toms. He’s finished T3 in 2010 and second last year. His recent form suggests he’s playing well and I don’t see another chance to burn him down the road. It was him or CH III. Well, BOTH of my selections finished T27. I should have listened to O…T27 was good for $39,050.
OHL Mayakoba: Brian Gay. When form meets course history… Well, that was a nice theory but it resulted in T45 and $18,060. I’m glad 2013 is now over.
HTOC: Martin Laird. Since I’m off to a woeful start I see no reason to burn a premium player. Chris Kirk was my second choice but nobody wins in back-to-back starts plus he’s just had another child. Laird is the horse-for-course. The Scot finished T20 in a 30-man field for $87,000.
Sony: Charles Howell III. He plays great in the early part of the season and his record at Waialae has everything BUT a win. If you notice, I saved most of my heavy hitters for the latter part of 2013 last year and that strategy worked out. Hey, a top 10 and $119,000! Feels like a winner!
Humana: Webb Simpson has been on fire to get 2013-14 started and going low has never been a problem. It’s time to start firing at ‘em. Sigh. Another week brings another disappointing selection as I add a whopping $57,000 to my morbid total.
FIO: Same as last year, Rickie Fowler. He’s working with Butch Harmon to get to the next level and he’s played SoCal courses plenty in his young life. He finished up last week at Humana 67-66 and he’s finished T5, T20, T13 and T6 last year in four career starts. I’ll save Woods and Mickelson for down the road for bigger winner’s checks. Snedeker and Walker were also considered and are solid options for this week. Fowler was just as bad as the other four I had listed, save for Woods’ MDF cash. Tough week in OAD for most I’m guessing. MC $0.
WMPO: Ryan Palmer. He’s on fire, can really putt and was fifth here last year. His excellent 64 saw him make the cut but his 70-72 weekend resulted in T48 at $15,772. I finished strong last year because I had a stable full of studs from The Open Championship through the FedExCup Playoffs. I’m not panicking. Yet.
AT&T PEBBLE: Jimmy Walker is the pick this week. He’s a beast on the West Coast and he’s had time to recover from his illness after MC at Torrey Pines. BANG TRISCUITS. Winner, winner, chicken dinner and $1,188,000.
NTO: Dustin Johnson goes to bat this week for Team Glass. His form is excellent and the fact that he’s banged top 10s in half of his trips here doesn’t hurt either. Tacos for everyone! Johnson’s solo second adds $723,600 to the bank! #heatwave
WGC-Match Play: Ian Poulter will be my hedge this week. His recent starts hardly inspire but there’s no doubting his inner fortitude in Match Play. He is the 2010 champ and was fourth last year. I don’t see myself using him anywhere else this season. Hunter Mahan would be choice No. 2 but I don’t like his draw with the sizzling Zach Johnson. Don’t forget Mahan played in the last group in the U.S. Open and The Open in 2013. Ah, Poults…$48,000.
Honda Classic: Graeme McDowell is the choice this week. There has been no rust after his time off this winter and I’m encouraged after his result at Pebble and WGC-Match Play. I’m using Mickelson at Pinehurst so this is an easy play. He was three-under heading into the weekend. He was even when the weekend was over. Add $15,600 to the bank. That couldn’t cover Bolton’s Lear jet for the weekend…
WGC-CC: With a massive prize pool, I have no problem pulling the trigger on, as for reasons mentioned above, on an ultra-premium player. GO MCILROY GO! After making a birdie on No. 1 on Sunday, He was just four back. That was his last birdie of the day. Sigh. T25, $76,000.
Puerto Rico: My heart says Brooks Koepka but my wallet says Chris Stroud. I’m glad I went with my wallet as Stroud hit the top 10 (T9) with $94,500.
Valspar: It was down to Furyk or Donald, but Donald had only ONE bad round last week! Go Luke Go! Donald finished T4, good for $235,600. Another nice cash and another top five works for me.
API: This week, I have narrowed my choice to five players. By the end of this section, I’ll be forced to make a decision. Remember these are players that I haven’t used. If you have questions about “others”, shoot them to me mikeglasscott@gmail.com.
Conventional wisdom says that Harris English should bounce back quite nicely this week but his lack of rounds around Bay Hill concerns me so he’s out.
Kevin Na, YES THAT KEVIN NA, showed some real guts last weekend in dealing with his pace of play and his nerves. He’s showing no signs of lingering injury and has quite a nice form card around Arnie’s place, including two top fours in his last four. CONTENDER
My No. 1 player in my power rankings this week is Justin Rose but I’m going to sit on a bigger pay day (read: major or FEC Playoff) and save him for down the road.
There isn’t anyone hotter on TOUR than Bubba Watson and maybe living in Tiger Woods’ old house at Isleworth will provide the added mojo to finish in the top five again this week. Yet, I must remember that he DESTROYS TPC River Highlands. CONTENDER
With all the talk surrounding Patrick Reed, the only way to put the doubters to bed is to rack up another podium finish against another big field on TOUR. That’s too much to stretch for me this week. Can you name how many players on TOUR have won in consecutive starts off the top of your head? Yeah, exactly.
It has come down to Kevin Na and Bubba Watson for the final spot and I’m going with Kevin Na. I don’t envision myself burning him down the road and he’s had no problem navigating this track in the past.
Results
SEASON TOTAL: $2,937,546 in 18 events
Wins: 1; Jimmy Walker (AT&T Pebble)
Seconds: 1; Dustin Johnson (NTO)
Thirds: 0
Top 5s: 3
Top 10s: 5
Top 25s: 10
MC: 1
Thermometer: Warming up after T9 and T4 in the last two tournaments!
Coming Wednesday
And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat Wednesday at NOON p.m. ET. We will be breaking down the field at the API and answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter.