Reno-Tahoe Open Fantasy Preview
Brandt Snedeker took home the hardware last week in Canada. Hopefully you listened to us last week in our RBC Canadian Open Preview, because we told you he was the man to beat. Moving on this week, we have a double-feature. First, there is the Reno-Tahoe Open were 132 golfers will be in the field. Lets not get too excited about this tournament, because 73 of the best golfers in the world will be missing from the field as they are playing the WGC Bridgestone Invitational this week.
The only thing to get excited about for this tournament is the scoring format. Last year they switched to Modified Stableford scoring. A quick rundown of the Modified Stableford scoring rules: 5 points for an eagle, 2 points for a birdie, 0 for par, -1 point for a bogey and -3 for double bogey or worse. So don’t be alarmed when you see this scoreboard later in the week and it looks more like college basketball scores than golf.
The WGC Bridgestone is the important one this week, but I wasn’t going to leave you hanging on the Reno-Tahoe Open. Some fantasy formats still require you to pick a golfer for this tournament. Here are some options for you to consider:
Josh Teater: Teater has only missed four cuts in 19 attempts this year and he has two Top 10s at Montreux in three tries. That is enough for me to make Teater my favorite, and also my one-and-done pick for the Reno-Tahoe Open this week.
Kevin Stadler: Kevin Stadler leads the field in Stableford scoring this year and he is from Reno, Nevada. He has three top 15 finishes at Montreux since 2005, but he also has two finishes of 65th or worse. Feast or famine for Mr. Stadler this week.
Nick O’Hern: 125th on the Money List… too bad it is the Web.com money list. O’Hern is actually playing better on the PGA Tour this year than he has been on the Web.com Tour. He has 6 made cuts in 8 attempts on Tour and is 16th in Eagle Percentage. He has one eagle every 126 holes. He’s got the chance to go low this week and take advantage of the modified Stableford scoring.
Stuart Appleby: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but this old dog still has plenty of tricks in his arsenal. He’s averaging 3.33 birdies per round this year, so four or five will be likely if he tries to go low to take advantage of the scoring format.
Bryce Molder: He’s got the third best Stableford profile in the field this week. However, his course history is lacking. He does have one Top 10 at Montreux, but the 69th and 100th place finishes are scary.
J.J. Henry: Henry absolutely loves this course. Since 2005 he has finishes of 4th, 9th, 26th and also a win last year. I don’t like picking defending champions, but Henry should definitely be in the mix this week.
Steve Flesch: Way past his prime but he does have four career PGA Tour victories. Unfortunately he has only one Top 25 finish in his last 17 PGA Tour events, dating back to the beginning of 2012. In fact, he only made the cut twice in those 17 tournaments. He won here back in 2007, and finished 3rd in 2011 so its possible he makes a run this week. Possible, but not likely.
