The Loop
Fantasy Fix: Jason Day's special skill that will lead him to victory at Torrey Pines
We learned a couple things on Sunday: It's not smart to call a pass play over the middle when you only need one yard to win a Super Bowl and Brooks Koepka is really, really good. Unfortunately, we didn't have the 24-year-old golfer in our fantasy lineup, but we did tab him as one of our top PGA Tour sleepers to watch entering the 2014-15 season. Koepka is no longer a sleeper, but he is in the field again this week as the tour heads to Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open. So, too, is a certain seven-time winner of the event who looked more like a seven-handicapper around the greens last week. Will either crack our lineup? Here's a look at who we're handing off to:
Starters -- (A-List): Bill Haas. Just a T-43 in this event last year, but posted a T-4 and two T-9s the previous three years, which could have been even better if not for lackluster Sundays. Haas finished last of those who made the cut last week, but we're banking on him showing more of the form that led him to a win the week before in California. We'll tab the red-hot Koepka as his backup in case Haas has another off week.
(B-List): Jason Day. The Australian finished T-2 here last year and it's tough to expect anything different from a guy who seems to always be in contention when he's healthy, no matter where he plays. That high level of play hasn't translated into a bunch of wins just yet, but we think that starts to change at Torrey Pines.
(B-List): Hideki Matsuyama. If it seems like we play this guy every week, that's because we do. At some point, we're going to start to run low on his starts, but at this point, we're not ready to take his hot hand out of the lineup. Matsuyama finished T-16 in his first trip to Torrey last year and he's coming off a T-2 at TPC Scottsdale.
(C-List): Justin Thomas. We've had the rookie on the roster the past couple of events, just not in the lineup, but that changes. Thomas has been living on leader boards in his first year on the PGA Tour and he'll look to put himself in contention for a fourth straight week. We might worry about him getting burned out, but oh yeah, he's 21.
Bench/Backups: Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker, and Tony Finau.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Jason Day. Yep, we're not messing around anymore. Day is our first "big gun" pick of the year. So far this season, he ranks first on the tour in greens in regulation and birdie average -- two stats that should be particularly useful on the long and difficult South Course at Torrey. Day also leads the tour in knocking drones out of the sky. Yeah, we'd say his iron game is pretty locked in right now.
Previously used: Charles Howell III (Sony), Geoff Ogilvy (Hyundai), Ryan Palmer (Humana), Brendan Steele (Phoenix).