Frys.com Open Fantasy Preview
It’s a busy time for sports with NFL in full swing, the puck dropping in NHL, and preseason NBA kicking off. Ignore all that and clear your schedules, because the PGA TOUR is back. After a three-week hiatus, the boys are back in town.
This week the town is Napa, California. Wine country. The golfers won’t be putting their wine drinking skills to the test, at least not til after the rounds. Instead they will take on The North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa. The course is a par 72 being played at 7,203 yards. It’s on the shorter side for a par 72, but definitely not tiny. I struggled to find any published fact sheet for the course but as is the case with most California course, I’m guessing we will be dealing with bentgrass/poa annua on the greens.
Correlated Stats: With no competitive course history at Silverado Resort over the recent years and a plethora of Web.com Tour grads, statistics can be thrown out the window for this week. Of course, you can always use a golfer’s true skill stat, which isn’t a real stat but instead you could look at the past few years of strokes gained: total to find out who the cream of the crop really is.
Correlated Tournaments: Johnny Miller was a part of the redesign done at this venue, and he’s been quoted comparing the course to Augusta National. Okay, Johnny, keep telling yourself that. Just like when I cook a fancy meal it resembles one that Chef Robert Irvine made. With so little info on the course, it’s best to avoid trying to compare apples with new fruit nobody has ever tried.
Players to Watch
Jimmy Walker: Oh Jimmmmmy. Walker is the King of Cali, and has posted top 10s in 10 of his last 14 California tournaments. Safe to say he loves that bentgrass/poa putting surface. While he is defending his first PGA TOUR win, you should trot him out there with confidence.
Brandt Snedeker: Snedeker made waves through social media with his skeet shooting with a 4-iron, but that won’t pay the bills. Winning tournaments will. Sneds and Poa go hand-in-hand. While last year was a setback in his Cali conquests, prior to that he had won two of his last five attempts on Cali courses. Fire him up!
Russell Knox: Knox could be this year’s Brendon Todd if he gets things rolling. Literally, he needs to learn how to putt. His tee-to-green game is always on-point, so it will come down to how he handles these unfamiliar greens. Winning potential here, with a top 30 very likely.
Graham DeLaet: Speaking of winning, this guy still hasn’t won? Taking on a weak field like this one, look for GDL to post an easy top 10 with a chance to win if he finds his putter.
Brian Stuard: The man who loves to take on weak fields and flourish doing it. He has seven top 10s in his last 18 events played versus weak fields. Not scared of Cali, either, finishing 30th or better in four of his last six trips here. Not a sure thing, especially after the slump we saw in the middle of last season, but the upside is certainly there for Brian Stewie.
Patrick Rodgers: Looked poised to make a charge last season after his pro debut, but some ailments held him back in the end. Just barely missed out on the Web.com grad status, but he was still bombs away. Now he gets to play in his back yard, just a few hours from Stanford University. With about a month to rest after his last event, I like his chances to show up big this week.
Jeff Overton: Overton loves weak fields. Top 10s in five of his last 20 weak field events with a median finish of 32nd place. Don’t be scared of this Hoosier.
Charles Howell III: It’s early season which means tier-two fields, which means Leslie Chowell the Third will be right up there on the leaderboard.
Luke Guthrie: Guthrie actually has a sneaky good California resume. Although he doesn’t have any top 10s to boast, he’s finished 40th or better in seven of his eight trips to Cali. Hmmmm. Sneaky, sneaky.
Justin Thomas: Go ahead and “watch” him closely, but I’d avoid picking him just yet. Being a Southern gent from Kentucky & Alabama, I’d wait until Bermuda season to pull the trigger unless he starts off on a torrid pace that can’t be ignored.
My Top 25 for the 2014 Frys.com Open
1. Matt Kuchar
2. Jimmy Walker
3. Hideki Matsuyama
4. Graham DeLaet
5. Hunter Mahan
6. Lee Westwood
7. Kevin Chappell
8. Marc Leishman
9. Charles Howell III
10. Brandt Snedeker
11. Brooks Koepka
12. Russell Knox
13. Daniel Summerhays
14. Cameron Tringale
15. Bo Van Pelt
16. Harris English
17. Chris Stroud
18. Brendon de Jonge
19. Martin Laird
20. Jerry Kelly
21. Jason Kokrak
22. Carl Pettersson
23. Kevin Streelman
24. Luke Guthrie
25. Patrick Rodgers
Golf is back on DraftKings.
Turn $200 into $10,000 or $27 into $7,500 this week playing o DraftKings.
