The Loop
Should you play Jordan Spieth or Jason Day this week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions?
Pop quiz: Who won the final official PGA Tour event of 2015? That's right, Kevin Kisner. And who predicted Kisner would win at Sea Island? That's right, us. Yep, we're back to make more picks in the New Year and we're hoping to keep that old mojo going. We're particularly excited for this year's Hyundai Tournament of Champions because it's actually a true tournament of champions with a really strong field of 32 winners from 2015, minus Rory McIlroy (We'll cut him some slack since he recently got engaged). Here's who we're taking on our PGA Tour Fantasy Golf squad at Kapalua:
Jordan Spieth: Like us, the World No. 1 seems pretty confident that his winning ways are going to carry over into 2016. Spieth stayed sharp in the "off-season" with a runner-up in Australia and a fourth at the Hero World Challenge. Unless there's a ping-pong injury we don't know about, we see no reason not to use him here. On the flip side, we're not trusting World No. 2 Jason Day, who said he's played four holes of golf in the past three months. Thanks for the heads up, Jason.
Kevin Kisner: Yes, he's making his debut at Kapalua's Plantation Course, but how could we turn away from our main man? The Kiz is in good spirits coming off that win at Sea Island and seeing his Georgia Bulldogs win the Taxslayer (Gator) Bowl. Also, he's one of the few players linked to changing equipment companies it seems.
Rickie Fowler: Speaking of good mojo, Fowler recently got a tattoo of his late grandfather's name on his arm as a tribute to the man that got him started in golf. He also finished third at the Hero World Challenge last month, and has been getting rave reviews from Spieth so far this week.
Patrick Reed: Bad news for Yahoo! fantasy players, Reed is no longer an easy pick from the C-list. Still, despite being on the B-list this year, we're plugging him into the lineup this week. Reed has six straight top 10s worldwide and he's the defending champ at Kapalua. Another win this year might mean a trip to. . . yep. . . Top Five Town.
__ Bench:__ Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell (Starters); Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, and Bill Haas (Bench).
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Graeme McDowell.
Previously used: Tony Finau (Frys.com), Kevin Kisner (RSM - winner!), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Patrick Reed (HSBC), Patrick Rodgers (Shriners), Brendan Steele (OHL).