The Loop
Fantasy Golf Podcast: Rickie Fowler tries to back up his magical Players performance
Another week, another win for the Masters of None. The fantasy golf team co-managed by myself and colleague Joel Beall now has our league's first-ever three-week winning streak. We're hotter than Jacksonville in July! But it gets a bit more serious this week with the Players, golf's unofficial fifth major. We've got extra points on the line at TPC Sawgrass, meaning we'll be holding our breath just like all the golfers teeing off on No. 17. Who are we picking to lift the crystal trophy on Sunday evening? Take a listen to our weekly podcast:
And if you're more old-school and would rather just read my normal weekly picks, here's who I'm taking on my PGA Tour Fantasy Golf team at TPC Sawgrass:
Rickie Fowler: Did you hear what he did at this tournament last year? OK, so you've probably heard about it too much at this point. Still, five under over the final four holes of regulation? Three Sunday birdies on the 17th hole? Forget about his shaky final round last week, Fowler is a magician at TPC Sawgrass. And for his next trick, he's going to try to become the first player to repeat at the Pete Dye track. Hey, if the Masters of None can do something that's never been done before, so can this guy.
Rory McIlroy: Every week McIlroy seems to make a run and every week he comes up short, but overall, he's played very well in 2016. He's also one of the few golfers to play very well consistently at TPC Sawgrass of late. McIlroy and Sergio Garcia are the only two players with top 10s at each of the past three Players.
Henrik Stenson: The Swede is coming off a missed cut in Charlotte, but we're not too concerned considering it was his first time not playing the weekend in two years. Stenson returns to the site of his win in 2009 armed with the second-best scoring average (71.11) at TPC Sawgrass in the field.
Kevin Na: We all remember Na getting extremely twitchy at TPC Sawgrass a few years ago, but overall he has a solid track record with three top 10s in his past six starts. Na has cooled off since the fall, but he's got a great chance to get going again on this shortish track that will play even shorter if the rain holds off.
__ Bench:__ Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Na (starters); Sergio Garcia, Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson, Branden Grace (bench).
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Henrik Stenson.
Previously used: Bryson DeChambeau (Valero), Luke Donald (Valspar), Jason Dufner (RBC), Matt Every (Bay Hill), Tony Finau (Frys.com), Sergio Garcia (Riviera), Bill Haas (Farmers), J.B. Holmes (Wells Fargo), Dustin Johnson (Doral), Kevin Kisner (RSM - winner!), Russell Knox (Honda), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Graeme McDowell (Hyundai), Kevin Na (Phoenix), Ryan Palmer (CareerBuilders), Patrick Reed (HSBC), Patrick Rodgers (Shriners), Brandt Snedeker (Pebble), Brendan Steele (OHL), Justin Thomas (Sony), Bubba Watson (Masters).