Welcome back to Golf News Net's weekly fantasy golf picks. Each week of the PGA Tour season, we'll present our top picks for that week's tournament and make recommendations for DraftKings' one-week fantasy leagues.
Have you ever played one-week fantasy leagues? Give them a try with a free entry this week with your first deposit. (Be aware of the risks in playing daily fantasy sports tournaments.) You could take down our expert picks and win some big bucks.
First of all, a note of apology for the delay in our picks here. We're at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando this week, and there's a lot to see and do, and a little business as well. But better late than not at all!
If you played our picks last week, then you're pretty happy because you had most of the top 10 covered, even in our top 10 available to the public. If you're a GNN Plus member, then you should be jazzed we alerted you to the killer value we saw in Jamie Lovemark, who had himself a very nice week, even if a lousy Sunday.
For GNN Plus subscribers, you can access our top-15 finish chart and season-long trends on DraftKings valuations. They'll be available at your disposal as part of a growing set of tools to help in your research.
This week, the Farmers Insurance Open will unfold on two courses at Torrey Pines. They're two very different courses, with the North considered much easier than the South. However, each of the 156 players in the field gets a crack at each over the first two days, then it's onto the South for the weekend.
Now, on to the picks!
1. Rickie Fowler -- Fowler deserves the love here this week. He won in Abu Dhabi, furthering his reputation as a guy who can get the job done when it's close. This event has an affinity for playoffs, so we like Fowler's chances.
2. Brandt Snedeker -- Snedeker is playing like a man who wants to make the Ryder Cup team. He came out of the gate hot in Hawaii, losing in a playoff at the Sony Open. He's the 2012 champion here and has four top-three finishes.
3. Phil Mickelson -- Mickelson had a strong opening to 2016 with a good finish at the CareerBuilder. He said on TV that he felt he was a week away from being able to win. Well, it's a week. Let's see what he does in a hometown event.
4. Jason Day -- We would have ranked Day, the defending champion much higher, but in being late with our picks, we know he's dealing with flu-like symptoms. They say beware the sick golfer, but there's a caution flag here.
5. Bill Haas -- Of course, Haas had his good annual showing at the CareerBuilder Challenge, and that typically has led to a rubbing-off effect at Torrey Pines. He's pretty much a top-20 machine here.
6. Patrick Reed -- Yeah, yeah, Top 5 Pat wasn't so Top 5 at the old Bob Hope. He was T-56, in fact. However, he's played the most consistent worldwide golf this side of Jordan Spieth since the end of the last PGA Tour season. Don't let one week discourage you.
7. Jimmy Walker -- Mr. Walker has been solid out of the gate to start the year -- not quite dynamite, but very good. He has three top-10 finishes in his last four Torrey starts and his length is a huge asset.
8. Jamie Lovemark -- It's time to start thinking about liking Jamie Lovemark. He's been in the top 10 in each of his last three starts. He's got good length to handle Torrey South. He's only missed one cut here.
9. Charles Howell III -- The early part of the season is when to love CH3. He is a horse-for-course here, just like at Waialae for the Sony Open. On top of his good Torrey record, he's in good form overall this PGA Tour season.
10. Scott Stallings -- Stallings is a horse-for-course pick here. He finished P-2 in a title defense last year. He handles these two courses very well. Playing a little under the weather.
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My DraftKings team for this week:
1. Bill Haas -- $9,900
2. Charles Howell III -- $9,400
3. Jamie Lovemark -- $8,300
4. Si Woo Kim -- $7,600
5. Zac Blair -- $7,400
6. Scott Stallings -- $7,200
If you want to win at DraftKings daily fantasy golf, you have to figure out a way to find six golfers that play all 72 holes and earn roughly 85 points each.
You likely have to identify a couple of players in the top five, at least the top seven, and you'd ideally not have a player finish outside the top 20.
Doing that takes research, looking at a variety of factors, including:
- Finish trends, both in recent weeks on the PGA Tour and at that week's event,
- Salary trends, deciphering which players are showing value based on their performance, and
- Statistical trends, identifying the common threads among winners in that week's event
That's what Golf News Net will deliver each week to GNN Plus members in this space, offering a complete research package which dives into these three areas to find the players that should be in your lineup for this week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
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