This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
I'm not generally in the business of breaking news, but every once in a while, I'll get the inside scoop on something I am obliged to pass on. With that in mind, I'll keep you in suspense no longer. I have it on good authority that ... fantasy golf is hard. I mean, really hard. Not "who do I choose as my flex position this week" hard, or "when I should I draft my first closer" hard, but "how do I replace the pistons on my engine" hard.
The difficultly of this game was never more apparent than last week when the likes of Trey Mullinax, Andrew Landry and Sean O'Hair finished captured the top-three spots at the Texas Open. Mullinax entered with one top-10 in nine starts this season, Landry had missed four of his previous five cuts on the PGA Tour and O'Hair had missed the cut in his only two starts at this event on this course. Meanwhile, the favorites entering the week, Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele and Sergio Garcia, struggled. It's almost enough to make you throw your hand up and just give up, but then you remember, this is just one event and while it may have played out exactly the opposite of what you were expecting, the next one might go as scripted.
In that sense, fantasy golf is much like the game of golf itself. Most of the time, it's a grind and you wonder if you'll ever get it right, but every
I'm not generally in the business of breaking news, but every once in a while, I'll get the inside scoop on something I am obliged to pass on. With that in mind, I'll keep you in suspense no longer. I have it on good authority that ... fantasy golf is hard. I mean, really hard. Not "who do I choose as my flex position this week" hard, or "when I should I draft my first closer" hard, but "how do I replace the pistons on my engine" hard.
The difficultly of this game was never more apparent than last week when the likes of Trey Mullinax, Andrew Landry and Sean O'Hair finished captured the top-three spots at the Texas Open. Mullinax entered with one top-10 in nine starts this season, Landry had missed four of his previous five cuts on the PGA Tour and O'Hair had missed the cut in his only two starts at this event on this course. Meanwhile, the favorites entering the week, Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele and Sergio Garcia, struggled. It's almost enough to make you throw your hand up and just give up, but then you remember, this is just one event and while it may have played out exactly the opposite of what you were expecting, the next one might go as scripted.
In that sense, fantasy golf is much like the game of golf itself. Most of the time, it's a grind and you wonder if you'll ever get it right, but every so often, everything comes together and it keeps you coming back for more.
This week: Zurich Classic of New Orleans - TPC Louisiana, Avondale, La.
Last Year: Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt beat Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner in a playoff.
PLAYERS TO CONSIDER
Ryan Palmer
It's quite possibly the most bizarre week on the entire PGA Tour schedule in that you can use a golfer you would never consider just because of his partner. While Palmer is good enough to be considered in certain spots throughout the season, he's certainly not a guy you pencil in anywhere ... except here possibly because he's partnered with Jordan Spieth. This duo finished solo fourth last year at this event.
Henrik Stenson
Perhaps the best-looking pair on paper is Stenson and Justin Rose. If your league mandates that both golfers of any pair chosen this week are then burnt, then this is obviously not the team for you, as you don't want to burn both Stenson and Rose this week. The same would go for the Palmer/Spieth group as you wouldn't want to use Spieth this week.
Wesley Bryan
Bryan has not played well lately, but he's partnered with one of the better players in the field, which might help him snap out of his funk. If not, then he can always rely on Rahm to carry him most of the way. Rahm has not played this event, but that's not going to stop me from suggesting him in this spot. Again, as with the above picks, if you have to burn Rahm to take this team, then don't go with this pair.
Bud Cauley
Cauley is also a fringe pick during a given one-and-done season, but he happens to be playing with Justin Thomas this week, so he's certainly one of the favorites. Lest you think that Thomas needs to carry this team, though, Cauley is coming off three consecutive top-25s on the PGA Tour. This pair tied for 5th at this event last season, so there's obviously some chemistry there.
Scott Brown
Finally, a pair here you can feel free to burn both of the golfers. Brown and Kevin Kisner nearly won this event last year and while Brown is not playing well entering this week, he had missed three of five cuts prior to this event last year. As for Kisner, he's played well lately, with two top-10s in his last three starts.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
Brooks Koepka
Koepka hasn't played on the PGA Tour since January, and though this is a really good spot to come back as he could potentially get some help from a teammate, there's no telling how Koepka will perform such a long layoff. As for his partner, Marc Turnesa, he has one start on the PGA Tour this season and it resulted in a missed cut.
Russell Knox
I list Knox here instead of his partner Martin Laird, because Laird has played decently the last couple months, while Knox has not. Knox missed the cut in three of his last five starts and posted only two top-20s in his last 11 starts on the PGA Tour. Add to that, neither of these two have played well on this course and you have the makings of a rough week.
Chez Reavie
Reavie was on fire early in the season, but he's really struggled the last couple months and returns to a site where he's had next to no success. His partner Lucas Glover hasn't had much more success here than Reavie, and like Reavie he's not coming in with his best form. Glover has missed just one cut this season, but he also has only one top-25 in nine starts since the calendar flipped.
Tony Finau
The team of Finau and Daniel Summerhays failed to make the cut here last year, and the way that Summerhays has played lately, they probably won't make it again this year. Summerhays has played eight events on the PGA Tour this season and has yet to crack the top 50. Finau may be in good form, but no one player can carry his team against a field like this.
Rory Sabbatini
Sabbatini has actually played pretty well this season. He's yet to miss a cut in 2018 and he even has a few top-20s on his resume. If he were paired with a golfer of similar abilities this week, he might be a good sleeper pick, but he's with John Daly. While this duo might be fun to watch, it probably won't make it to the weekend.
ONE AND DONE GOLFER
Last week: Charley Hoffman (T64) - $12,598; Season - $4,961,623
This week: Bud Cauley - Although there may be teams that are balanced better, I simply can't pass up the opportunity to get a piece of Justin Thomas yet again. My decision came down to JT or Spieth, but in the end, it was their respective partners, which made the decision. Palmer is a fine player, but I feel better about the Cauley/Thomas combo this week.
PGATOUR.COM PICKS
This Week:
Starters: n/a
Bench: n/a
SURVIVOR PICK
Last week: Charley Hoffman - (T64); Streak - 5
This week: Cauley/Thomas - For the survivor pick this week, you'll want to make sure you take a team with some balance and some firepower. The Cauley/Thomas team certainly has all the boxes checked this week. It also doesn't hurt that Cauley/Thomas has been down this road before and finished in the top 5 at this event.
