Tour News
The 7 most overvalued players at the 2015 HSBC Champions
The PGA Tour’s 2015-2016 season continues this week with the first World Golf Championship of the year at the 2015 HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, and so does the opportunity to win big on DraftKings.
In this week’s fantasy contest, $150,000 is on the line with $12,000 in winnings for the last person standing. Many of the best professional golfers on Earth are headed to East Asia; do not miss out on the chance to pick, play, and win, especially since I’m here to help with my overvalued players to avoid below.
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The Course
Sheshan Golf Club, which is located in the city of Shanghai, measures 7,143 yards in length, plays to a tournament par of 72, and was designed by Nelson and Haworth Design. Typical of all World Golf Championship events, the HSBC Champions features a strong global field that includes, among others, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, and last week’s CIMB Classic winner, Justin Thomas.
The HSBC Champions is the fourth event of the 2015-2016 season on the PGA Tour that has seen winners to date with a total combined age of 68 years old — Emiliano Grillo (23), Smylie Kaufman (23), and Justin Thomas (22).
Here are my 7 overvalued players this avoid in your fantasy lineups this week.
Miguel Angel Jimenez ($6,600)
2014-2015 The European Tour season
- Driving Accuracy: 52nd (64.34%)
- Greens in Regulation: 47th (71.36%)
- Average Putts Per Round: 121st (29.91)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season (if Jimenez was eligible based on tournaments played)
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 184th (27.50%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: 169th (-0.651)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 183rd (-0.809)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 83rd
In six PGA Tour events last season, two of which were no-cut events, Jimenez missed four cuts, namely, the cut at each of the four professional majors. And with respect to this particular event in 2014, he finished 71st out of 76 players, posting a 14-over-par score of 302.
Admittedly, Jimenez has had some recent success on the Champions Tour and even on the European Tour, posting T2s at both the Open de Espana and BMW PGA Championship back in May 2015. Yet, given his statistical shortcomings when he has played on the PGA Tour recently, coupled with Jimenez’s play at this particular event in 2014, spend your money on other slightly more expensive players like Scott Hend or Matt Jones, who come with some potential for a return on investment.
Chris Kirk ($6,900)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season
- All-Around Ranking: T59
- Ball-Striking: 149th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 48th (44.63%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: T61 (0.264)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 90th (0.066)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 29th
At some level it is tough to doubt Kirk in light of how he finished the Presidents Cup, both personally and in terms of the competition overall. Further, Kirk is a four-time PGA Tour winner with three of those wins coming in 2014 and 2015, as recently as last May at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
That said, he was sidelined with a non-golf injury at a critical time last summer and when Kirk returned for the FedExCup playoffs, he missed the cut at The Barclays (the only Playoff event with a cut) and failed to reach the Tour Championship. Finally, apart from stealing a Sunday singles win at the President Cup, he was 0-2. Case in point, in his opening campaign for the 2015-2016 PGA Tour season at the Frys.com Open, Kirk finished MDF at T81. Again, consider Jones or Hend at a comparable cost or Billy Horschel and Robert Streb at $7,000 and $7,100, respectively.
Marc Leishman ($7,100)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season
- All-Around Ranking: 107th
- Ball-Striking: 134th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 80th (42.92%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: T61 (0.264)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 113th (-0.022)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 42nd
Leishman is former PGA Tour winner, having won the 2012 Travelers Championship and lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson (along with Louis Oosthuizen) at this year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews. Yet, Leishman’s statistics from last season underscore the personal difficulties he was having both on and off the golf course.
In 23 total PGA Tour events in 2014-2015, he missed nine cuts, only posted five top 25s, and has not posted a top-10 since June at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide other than his T2 at St. Andrews. Notably, Leishman missed the cut in each of his last three stroke play events, namely, the PGA Championship, The Barclays, and Deutsche Bank Championship. He did post a top-30 last week at the CIMB Classic, but managed only 11-under on a course that yielded a champion in Justin Thomas at 26-under. In short, hold off on taking Leishman in favor of those mentioned above or someone such as Thorbjorn Olesen at the same price.
Charl Schwartzel ($8,100)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season
- All-Around Ranking: 118th
- Ball-Striking: 79th
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 17th (48.99%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: 31st (0.634)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 160th (-0.561)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 52nd
While fellow countrymen Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen were collectively posting a 9-0-1 record at this year’s Presidents Cup, the 2011 Masters champion was 1-3 and handily defeated in singles by Phil Mickelson 5 and 4. Schwartzel’s struggle with the flatstick may not be well-known, but statistically it’s well documented. Last season, in 19 events, he did make 15 cuts, but only collected a total of four top 25s and was done for the season after missing the cut at The Barclays, despite a T3 at the Wyndham Championship in August.
Schwartzel is coming off a T6 at the 2015 Frys.com Open, but without the ability to count on his putter, substantial reliance on his ball striking is problematic as that has been average relative to his fellow PGA Tour players in 2014-2015. In a perfect world, Schwartzel’s upside outweighs his cost, but there are too many question marks to pay $8,100 this week in Shanghai when Scott Piercy, Lee Westwood, and Matt Fitzpatrick are available at a similar salary.
Anirban Lahiri ($8,300)
2014-2015 The European Tour season
- Driving Accuracy: 85th (61.40%)
- Greens in Regulations: 34th (71.91%)
- Average Putts Per Round: 69th (29.47)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season (if Lahiri was eligible based on tournaments played)
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 41st (45.31%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: 134th (-0.256)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 89th (0.079)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 39th
Lahiri is a rookie on the PGA Tour this season, after qualifying through the Web.com playoffs this past summer. He is a two-time winner on The European Tour in 2015, however, having won both the Maybank Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open back in February. And in 12 PGA Tour events played last season as a non-member, Lahiri made nine cuts, but only posted one top 25 — a T5 at the PGA Championship.
With what appears to be an occasionally balky putter, Lahiri has yet to consistently prove his value, even at $8,300, at events of this level. His play at the PGA Championship demonstrated an ability to compete at the highest level of professional golf, but Sunday at the Presidents Cup also revealed he can be a prisoner of the moment. There are less costly alternatives that are worth the risk at least this week in China.
Ian Poulter ($8,600)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season
- All-Around Ranking: 61st
- Ball-Striking: T110
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 101st (41.83%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: 74th (0.204)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: T41 (0.266)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 53rd
Best known for Ryder Cup heroics, a seemingly absurd collection of sports cars, and the timely ability to stick his foot in his mouth, Poulter has demonstrated occasional success by winning on the PGA Tour. In fact, Poulter won this very event in 2012, but the only year in which it was played at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, rather than at the Sheshan Golf Club. Further, Poulter is a 10-time (exclusive of overlapping WGC events, making it technically 12) winner on the European Tour in career that began on that tour back in 1999.
He was again at the center of the golf world earlier this month when out of the blue, Rich Beem, former PGA Championship winner, gratuitously gave up his spot at the 2015 Hong Kong Open to Poulter. Beem’s gift allowed Poulter to, at the time, essentially remain eligible for this week’s HSBC Champions, ensure he would play the minimum 13 events to maintain his membership on the European Tour and be considered for the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. Save your hard-earned money before seriously considering Poulter, or alternatively, spend it wisely by taking Louis Oosthuizen or Patrick Reed.
Dustin Johnson ($10,300)
2014-2015 PGA Tour season
- All-Around Ranking: 16th
- Ball-Striking: 63rd
- Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders: 5th (50.89%)
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: 9th (1.241)
- Strokes Gained: Putting: 70th (0.131)
- Official World Golf Ranking: 8th
With a game that seems absolutely effortless and endlessly powerful in moments, and other times painfully absent, Johnson is a proven PGA Tour winner, but not a prolific closer. This week, as a former winner in 2013 of this same event, Johnson is T4 with respect to salary (same as Rickie Fowler) and only less expensive than Rory McIlory ($12,300), last year’s Masters winner ($12,000), and last year’s HSBC Champions’ winner ($10,500).
As a nine-time PGA Tour winner and the No. 8-ranked golfer in the world, there is little doubt that Johnson should not be cheap. But the larger question is: Can Johnson justify this level of investment in the face of failures like that of Chambers Bay and his disappearance over the weekend last summer at St. Andrews? Especially when both Hideki Matsuyama and Henrik Stenson are less expensive and equally likely to win, but more importantly hang around until tournament end, victorious or not, in Shanghai.
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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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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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