RBC Canadian Open: Vegas Overtakes Snedeker, DJ for Win

The most popular way, likely, is to select the golfer(s) you think can win the tournament and then fill out your roster from there. We're not necessarily saying this is the best way to do it, just that it probably is the most common.

We wanted to write about lineup construction this week because the RBC Canadian Open, won by Jhonattan Vegas coming from the far outside on Sunday to overtake Brandt Snedeker, Dustin Johnson and everyone else to win by one shot, was a ho-hum spot on the PGA Tour schedule, in between two majors. (Could that be the worst placement on the PGA calendar ever? If the Royal Bank of Canada didn't have so many golfers sponsored, thereby ensuring their entry, it surely would have been.)

Another way to build your lineup is to target golfers you think are severely undervalued. You still have to add golfers you think can win the tournament, because it really makes winning your GPP easier to get huge point totals from at least two guys. Of course, in a cash game, the margin for error is greater.

This is all a roundabout way of addressing what's been on our mind all week: How was Scott Pinckney valued dead last in the Glen Abbey field at $5,500, tied with four others. Granted, the people who determine these dollar values stake their livelihood on getting the numbers right, but it really seemed odd to see Pinckney's name at the very bottom in a 156-man field.

Pinckney made the cut, wound up tied for 65th and scored 60 points. If you could get 60 points out of the lowest price on the board, you'd take that deal every day of the week. In the GPP I played, Pinckney was 1.7 percent owned. Granted, I made enough horrible picks to render everything else I did moot.

But consider who was valued higher, sometimes substantially higher, than Pinckney, who entered the week 25th on tour in strokes gained-off the tee and 16th in greens in regulation. He was 166th on tour in the FedEx Cup point standings coming in (and afterward, too), which was better than a large portion of a field far weaker than the Canadian dollar.

For example: Robert Garrigus was at $8,300. Robert Streb, $7,600. Michael Thompson, $7,600. Andrew Loupe, $7,200. Sam Saunders, $7,100 (really, does he get a nepotism boost?). Hunter Mahan, $6,300. All these guys but Mahan were ranked higher in the point standings, but not to the degree that their prices were so much higher.

Your results don't necessarily verify the means. In other words, if you did your homework, and you thought Pinckney or another golfer's price was way out of whack, and he didn't perform that week, well, that's just sports. It happens. But here's where those six guys finished:

Garrigus, missed cut. Streb, T32. Thompson, T14. Loupe,, MC. Saunders, solo 75th. Mahan, MC.

There's no right or wrong way of picking out your lineup. But if you start off by reviewing the entire field and seeing one or maybe two guys who, to you, are curiously undervalued, that could help contribute to a nice result.

Of course, picking the six guys who finish first through sixth in the tournament would be even better. That would be a record.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Jhonattan Vegas

With Brandt Snedeker leading Dustin Johnson by a shot entering Sunday, CBS was looking forward to making the most out of a bad week on tour. But Vegas came from way back to shoot an 8-under 64 while the two world-class stars basically treaded water. Yes, there was some drama down the stretch as Vegas waited out the final golfers, but that was more Steve Wheatcroft than Snedeker/Johnson. Vegas had shot a 60 (60!) last week at the opposite-field Barbasol in Alabama, so he was obviously doing something right. But he followed that with twin 72s on the weekend to tie for fourth. Vegas had had only one career win beforehand, back in 2011 (at the Bob Hope). He had three top-10s this season entering last week, all in low-level events. His story goes to show that a golfer can turn one amazing week into a gravy train. Vegas is in the PGA Championship this week, will be in the 2017 Masters and received a two-year exemption. But his overall game suggests it easily could be another five years between wins for the streaky Venezuelan.

Jon Rahm

The rookie missed a 10-footer for eagle on 18 to wind up a shot behind Vegas, but his future looks so much brighter. The Spaniard has made four straight cuts since turning pro after a top-25 showing as an amateur at the U.S. Open, including a pair of top-3s. Rahm is very close to securing his tour card and appears to have overtaken a more highly touted rookie, Bryson DeChambeau. Of course, Rahm's future prices will reflect that. And we'll see how he does consistently in stronger fields.

Dustin Johnson

Johnson, a de facto Canadian via in-laws-to-be, tied Rahm and Martin Laird for second. But he needed an eagle on 16 and a birdie on 18 to make it look close. Until then, Johnson had traded two birdies with two bogeys. No matter how well a golfer is playing, he can't expect to do well every week. But Johnson has the game to do that more easily than just about anyone else. He's among the favorites this week at Baltusrol. But Johnson playing for a third straight week might give us pause. A little bit, anyway.

Brandt Snedeker

Snedeker, who won at Glen Abbey in 2013, was primed for another victory. But he kicked it away beginning with a bogey on No. 1. He did manage four birdies (opposite two more bogeys) the rest of the round, but on a day that some golfers were going lights-out – Geoff Ogilvy even bested Vegas with a 9-under score – that was not nearly enough. Snedeker is having a huge comeback year, but this one will sting for a while. Something to consider when he has to quickly refocus for the PGA Championship.

Jason Day

Day, part of the RBC team, tied for 14th, climbing the leaderboard with a Sunday 67. Last year, he won the tournament a week after a crushing miss at the Open Championship. And that was quite a surprising rebound so soon after such heartache. But now he's in an entirely different place after a fantastic past 12 months, and the PGA will be his third successive week of action. That's not something Day likes to do or is accustomed to doing. It would not be surprising if he didn't contend this week.

Robert Streb

Following his breakthrough 2014-15 season, Streb has fallen back to Earth, and it hasn't been a soft landing. His card is secure for another year thanks to his victory at the McGladrey Classic last season, and he'll likely make the playoffs anyway, currently sitting at 112th in the standings. But that win came almost two years ago, in October 2014, and Streb is no longer on the fast track to elite status on tour. He tied for 32nd at Glen Abbey, a very nice result for him and a nice result for you, even at the relatively high price of $7,600.

Scott Pinckney

The theme of our week was Think Pinck! We/Pinckney didn't end up in the red, but he wasn't all that into the black, either. Pinckney tied for 65th with a 71-75-71-73 tournament. He had been coming off a T54 at the Barbasol preceded by four straight missed cuts. Still, that didn't warrant a dead-last price in the DraftKings field. (Imagine Pinckney's shock when he checked out his value.) This whole Think Pinck! would've gone a lot better with, say, a top-25 finish. But it went much better than what many were assuming: another MC.

Hunter Mahan

Speaking of MCs, Mahan added another to his 2015-16 ledger, continuing one of the biggest falls from stardom on tour in recent memory. He's 178th in points, with only eight of 18 cuts and one top-25 on the season. Mahan has made the playoffs all nine years of their existence, reaching the Tour Championship eight times. He's been in more playoff events than anyone else. Anyone else. And Mahan had a run of 36 majors broken when he didn't qualify for the U.S. Open last month. His last win was that out-of-nowhere Barclays in 2014, but his two-year exemption and tour card are about to run out. Mahan was valued at $6,300 last week, and that was on name value alone.

Robert Garrigus

Garrigus hadn't been enjoying a good season and had missed the past two cuts at Glen Abbey, so why he was valued at a very high $8,300 was a mystery. He subsequently missed the cut and is still outside the top-125, with only three more events to qualify for the playoffs. All he needs is one good finish, but with a bunch of golfers needing the same thing, the odds don't appear to be in Garrigus' favor.