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Fantasy Fix: Can Ryan Moore make it a hat trick in Malaysia?
Like the great UGA run of 2013-14, apparently, being a 23-year-old rookie guarantees success on the PGA Tour this season. Smylie Kaufman followed the lead set by Emiliano Grillo, and now we're left searching media guides to figure out which other tour first-timers are that magic age. Unfortunately, at this week's CIMB Classic, there are no rookies in the limited field, but hold onto that research for future weeks. Here's who I'm taking on my PGA Tour Fantasy Golf squad in Malaysia:
Ryan Moore: The unofficial Mayor of Malaysia has won this event EVERY time it's counted as an official PGA Tour event. OK, so that's just the past two years, but still, those two victories account for half of his career PGA Tour titles. I'm sure there are reasons not to pick Mr. Moore, but it's the fall season, so I'm not going to overthink it.
Kevin Na: The easy leader in scoring for the PGA Tour's fantasy format, no one has played better the first two weeks of the season. Na is certainly disappointed he didn't win either time, but his back-to-back runner-ups -- plus the fact he finished runner-up at this event last year -- make him another obvious choice.
Anirban Lahiri: He's not 23 and he's technically not a rookie, but the two-time European Tour winner in 2015 is a first-year PGA Tour member, and was also apart of our prophetic sleepers list that included Grillo and Kaufman. Also, he's from India and he played at last week's Hong Kong Open, so getting used to playing in Malaysia won't be as much of an adjustment as it is for most.
Patrick Reed: Speaking of guys who played in Hong Kong, Reed finished third there and will now take a third crack at winning this tournament. We like his chances -- if Ryan Moore decides to share the wealth in Malaysia.
__ Bench:__ Hideki Matsuyama and Steven Bowditch.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: The Yahoo! season doesn't start until Kapalua in January.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Anirban Lahiri.
Previously used: Tony Finau (Frys.com), Patrick Rodgers (Shrines).