The Loop
Fantasy Golf Podcast: Sorry Tiger, Jason Day is the man to beat at Torrey Pines
This week will mark the first time in nearly a year and a half that people will have the opportunity to plug Tiger Woods into their fantasy golf lineups. But for every reason to do that (he finished 15th in his last start, T-10 in his last official PGA Tour start, and he's won eight times at Torrey Pines), there's an even better reason not to (he was 15th out of 17 players, that T-10 was 17 months ago, the last of those eight wins was four years ago). So who do you go with instead? Joel Beall and I discuss the field at Torrey Pines, our big upcoming fantasy draft, and make our "official" Tiger Woods predictions in this week's fantasy golf podcast. Have a listen:
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 Torrey Pines:
Jason Day: The Aussie will be playing with his idol/mentor the first couple days (along with Dustin Johnson) and he's going to want to put on a show for the 14-time major champ. He also might be the heir apparent when it comes to dominant players at Torrey Pines. Day has a win and a runner-up in his past three trips to La Jolla.
Brandt Snedeker: Not so fast! At least, that's what we imagine Sneds, a two-time winner here, saying. In addition to those two wins (2012 and 2016), Snedeker has two runner-ups and a third. Last year's win in the wind was especially impressive when his final-round 69 was the low score by three shots. With windy conditions expected this week, we like his chances again.
Scott Stallings: Stallings has had some lean times the past three years, but his last two high finishes (a win in 2014 and a playoff loss in 2015) both came in this event. Stallings is coming in more under the radar than the two past champs listed above, but he's also coming off a solo eighth-place finish in Palm Springs.
Brooks Koepka: The San Diego area has been hit with an unusual amount of rain lately making the Torrey Pines rough extra juicy. That will put an even bigger premium on driving the golf ball so we're going with this big hitter. Koepka had ankle concerns up through the Ryder Cup in the fall, but finished second at the Shriners and won an event in Japan to prove he's on the mend. A couple months off have him ready for what should be an even better campaign in 2017.
Bench: Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowery.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: Jason Day, Brandt Snedeker, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka (Starters); Shane Lowry, Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose, Scott Stallings (Bench).
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Brandt Snedeker. (Saving Jason Day for a major. . . )
And here's the podcast link again, if you want to hear Joel and I jabber: