Tour News
Fantasy Cheat Sheet: Sony Open
With three wins in his last six starts, Zach Johnson is playing the best golf of his career and proving even courses that don’t look to favor him can be destroyed with a methodical, bogey-free approach.
While Johnson’s win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii, was impressive, it also came in a no-cut event. Now the PGA Tour’s 2014 calendar year is officially off and running with this week’s Sony Open on Honolulu a quick island flight to the northwest. (Quick rabbit trail, is there any better consolation prize than missing a cut in Hawaii? “Oh, I don’t have to walk around anymore getting sweaty and can just go hit the beach/surf/hike/sit under a waterfall/drink fruity drinks? Awesome.”)
Without the safety net of guaranteed weekend fantasy points, your strategy should revolve around consistency. No one wins a segment or season in one week. What you don’t want to do is bury yourself with stupid picks. If you take a risk, it shouldn’t be so risky that it borders on incomprehensible. Think Colt Knost is going to score a top-10? I don’t care how sure you are, that kind of thinking will hurt you at the end of the year.
With that being said, Waialae Country Club yields a lot of birdies. If you’re looking for someone off the beaten trail, look for someone who consistently can post low rounds. The cut was 5-over last year and the ones who missed the weekend didn’t roll the ball in the hole on scoring chances.
One bad round can be the difference. Let’s take a look at the volcanic layers of fantasy commitment. (Try not to step on hot lava.) It’s Risk, Reward, Ruin.
RISK
Who will shoot in the 70’s? If you can answer that question you’ll have a pretty good idea who will make the weekend because sub-70 rounds will be the norm. Sometimes risk involves something completely unknown. Last year, Dustin Johnson withdrew in the second round and it took much of the first part of the year to get his body back where it needed to be for the Tour’s long grind. If you picked Johnson, you got burned bad. That’s just bad luck. But sometimes you get lucky as would have happened if you picked Russell Henley, who not only one in his first Tour start but posted 63-63-67-63 to shoot a course-record 24-under par 256. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Russell Henley
What, a defending champion? This is crazy, right? Unlike Jordan Spieth, Henley slowed considerably as a rookie once he got to venues that required a more complete game. Plus, he also didn’t look good at the Hyundai TOC, finishing 27th of 30 golfers and shooting in the 70’s each day. I’m not sure he turns it around in one week.
Tim Clark
The South African put together rounds of 64-66-66-63 last year en route to a 21-under runner-up finish, which would have been a course record if not for Henley. That’s got to sting. Clark is not a long hitter, but he is fairway accurate. He’s still using a long putter, and may have longer putts on which to use it. This will be his first start of the year, but he’s going to make my team in some leagues.
Jeff Overton
The University of Indiana star has had a quiet if yet unsubstantiated career. He finished eighth last year with a 15-under total (65-67-68-65), and he’s been playing well in his five starts already this season.
Chris Kirk
Last year, Kirk shot 62 in the second round on his way to a 16-under tournament (68-62-68-66) and a share of fifth place. He’s already won a tournament this year and played well in spurts last week. I believe he’s going to have a really strong year and have no hesitation about using him for the second week in a row.
Brendon de Jonge
De Jonge has yet to pick up his first Tour victory, but he’s an extremely capable golfer and has shown a propensity for streaky birdie play. That means if the Zimbabwean starts well, he usually finishes well. If you can catch him hot, ride him for two or three weeks straight. Last year, he ran off four sub-70 rounds and backed it up at the Humana Challenge by doing the same. His track record in Hawaii is solid if unspectacular and worth a shot at rostering, but maybe not starting.
REWARD
There is a clear-cut top four entering this tournament. The order of those four is very subjective, so be ever mindful of blowing through two of their starts to open the season. Accordingly, I planned ahead last week and only two will be in my lineup this week, and aside from a few bonus points I missed out on, my positioning is strong entering this week.
Zach Johnson
He was a Risk guy last week (nearly a Reward) because you weren’t sure how he’d handle driving a ball through the wind in comparison to longer hitters that Kapalua favored. Turned out to be a moot point with fairway accuracy and spectacular touch around and on the green. He’s hot and in my lineup this week with 10 starts available. Last year’s MC shouldn’t scare you, nor should his middling performance the year prior with the way his game has moved to an elite level.
Jordan Spieth
Rolled with the youngster last week and he’s proving he’ll be a force all year long, falling just a stroke back of ZJ in his quest for a second Tour win. He didn’t play here last year, but that should be no matter for as strong a player as him. I’m running him out there a second time to strike while the iron is hot.
Matt Kuchar
He may be the most consistent low-scorer on Tour, always seeming to hover around 66. He finished T5 last year with a 16-under total score (66-63-70-65) and had a T5 in 2011 as well (12-under). He’s a lock for points and is my pick to win.
Adam Scott
The Aussie was in contention at the Hyundai TOC and continues to show why he’s arguably the best player in the world at the moment. Scott only plays this tournament when he also plays the front end of the Hawaiian double, which means he hasn’t entered since 2011 when he missed the cut. But he also shot 13-under in 2009 when he finished T2. In some games, I will save a start from him to think about the big picture.
Charles Howell III
Howell is off to a great start this year with four top-10 finishes in six events played and has already made himself nearly $700K. Not too shabby for two months of winter golf. Now he takes on an event that has been among his best tournament venues on Tour. Last year, he finished T3 at 17-under and the year before T2 at 11-under. In 2010, he was T5. In 2009, solo fourth. That’s impressive and a sure bet to get points through the weekend. Winning will be tough, however, with the aforementioned upper tier.
RUIN
With the beginning of a new season comes a learning curve when it comes to making picks. It may take a few tournaments to identify what type of a player someone is this year, especially new ones to the Tour. Even “proven” players go through stretches where their game isn’t ready to compete every week. Zach Johnson missed the cut here last year, but by season’s end until now he’s automatic.
Names you have to Google
Seriously, if you need a search engine to identify who they are, it’s not a wise fantasy choice. Henley was an All-American at Georgia. There are solid Web.com Tour winners out there, but names like Jared Sawada, Tyrone Van Aswegen (pictured above) or Hideto Tanihara should not make their way onto your team.
Guan Tianlang
You’ve heard of Tianlang. He’s the 14-year old who played last year’s Masters, the youngest player to do so. He may blossom into a good pro, but for now he’s still an amateur on a sponsor’s exemption hitting approach shots with longer irons than everybody else.
John Daly
In some ways, I actually believe Daly is at the Sony to miss the cut and go enjoy an excursion trip. He got unlucky last year and made the weekend on the number (4-over) only to shoot 79 on Saturday. He’s a catchy name because of wins early in his career, but now his flamboyance is reserved for clothing choices and he gets around on sponsor’s exemptions. Hardly fantasy material.
Paul Goydos
At 49-years old, Goydos best years are behind him. He only played in two tournaments last year with health problems and missed the cut both times. He’s missed the cut in 2 of 3 starts this year and now takes on a Sony tournament that has not been kind in years past, having MC’d in 2011 and 2012. Strongly avoid.
Guys named Troy
Troy Merritt (pictured above) and Troy Matteson have not looked good here through the years and have had a slew of MC’s to take back to the mainland with their suntans. Matteson has missed 2 of 4 cuts this year and missed 14 of 24 cuts last year. Those are gambling numbers.
Merritt has missed the cut in both events entered this year and spent the last two years on the Web.com Tour. He missed the cut at the Sony in 2011 by shooting 71-71.
As always, you can find me on Twitter @bricmiller if you want to talk about the tournament or if you have any fantasy lineup inquiries. Good luck!
This week’s picks
Yahoo
A: M. Kuchar (S), C. Howell III
B: Z. Johnson (S), J. Spieth (S), C. Kirk, B. de Jonge
C: T. Clark (S), J. Overton
(Last week: 197 points; Winter segment: 197 points)
PGATour.com
M. Kuchar, A. Scott, J. Spieth, C. Howell III
(Last week: 620 points)
Golf Channel
Group 1: M. Kuchar
Group 2: C. Howell III
Group 3: J. Overton
Group 4: S. Levin
(Last week: $836,000)
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Pingback: Sony Open Fantasy Golf Picks | Fantasy Sports Locker Room
Jay
Jan 7, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Brandon De Jonge is from Zimbabwe, not South Africa.
Zak Kozuchowski
Jan 7, 2014 at 4:52 pm
The story has been edited.
– Zak