Fantasy Golf: Top Picks for the SBS Tournament of Champions

Enjoy playing fantasy sports and betting on games? PokerNews will be providing more strategy and news in 2017! Keep an eye out for top picks, predictions and best bets across a wide range of sports throughout the year.

Golf is back!

There’s a lot of excitement on message boards and social media for the start of the 2017 season, and a lot of it has to do with fantasy golf. Season long leagues, one and done leagues, and daily leagues are up and running and creating a huge buzz. Ratings for golf are up and will continue a climb as long as we have daily fantasy sports on sites like DraftKings. Whether you are a beginner to DFS golf, or you are an intermediate player, check us out every week for course breakdowns, top picks, and value picks.

The Course

The Plantation Course at Kapalua is one of the easiest courses on the PGA tour. Even with wind blowing, you will rarely see the winner shoot worse than -15. It features three Par 4s above 500 yards (three of the most difficult holes on the course), and features two Par 3s (only three total par 3s) over 200 yards (played over par on average). Those were the only holes that averaged over par in the 2016 Tournament of Champions, with only two of them averaging above +.200. The Plantation Course is a Par 73 that can play at 7,452 yards. Short game is key here as most of the shots will be from over 200 yards followed by 125 yards and in. You need to be dialed in with your wedges and chipping.

Key Stats: BoB% (Birdie or Better), Bogey Avoidance, Scrambling, Putting over 15 feet

Top-Tier Plays Hideki Matsuyama ($11,000)

Matsuyama comes into the Tournament of Champions as the hottest golfer on tour and it is mostly due to improved putting. In his first 20 events of 2016 he was a disaster with the short stick, averaging positive strokes gained only four times. He then caught fire and secured a win, a runner-up, and a top five finish, and also won the unofficial Hero World Challenge event to close out the year. Matsuyama is no stranger to the Kapalua course as he finished third in his only appearance in 2015. Not many players have finished inside the top 5 their first time playing in the Maui event. His stats line up nicely for this course; in 2016 he finished sixth in BoB%, 32nd in Bogey Avoidance and sixth in strokes gained: tee to green. He also finished 14th in Par 4 scoring and 17th in Par 5 scoring average. Matsuyama is our top play this week and is a perfect lineup anchor …

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