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Fantasy Golf Podcast: Will 2018 be the year of Rickie Fowler?
Ryan Young
January is an exciting time on the PGA Tour because the possibilities seem endless as we approach the year's opening event in Kapalua. Can Justin Thomas duplicate what he did in 2017? Will Jordan Spieth continue his march on history at the majors? Is this THE YEAR OF THE TIGER again?! Or what about the Year of Rickie Fowler? Joel Beall joined me to discuss our predictions for the 2018 Sentry Tournament of Champions (and beyond), Jordan Spieth's recent engagement, and the dangers of walking around the house in socks. Please have a listen.
And if you're more old school and would rather just read my normal weekly fantasy golf picks, here's my fab foursome in Maui:
Jordan Spieth: The 24-year-old had quite the Christmas break, getting engaged to his high school sweetheart and making a hole-in-one on his home simulator. In other words, he looks like he's still locked in from a tremendous second half of 2017 in which he won twice, including his third major at the Open Championship. After narrowly losing out on Player of the Year honors to his buddy Justin Thomas, Spieth seems like the odds-on choice to be the tour's top dog in 2018.
Rickie Fowler: Technically, Fowler only won one PGA Tour event in 2017, but his final-round performance at the Hero World Challenge last month was still spectacular. Fowler wiped out a seven-shot deficit with seven consecutive birdies to start Sunday and wound up winning Tiger Woods' event by four shots. His two trips to Maui have been successful as well with a fifth-place finish in 2016 and a T-6 in 2013. Bottom line: I'd be shocked if he only wins once in 2018.
Marc Leishman: Other than Justin Rose, this Aussie might have been the planet's hottest player by the end of 2017. With four top fours in his last six worldwide starts, including a five-shot win at the BMW Championship, Leishman is eager to keep things rolling in his first trip to Kapalua in five years.
Patrick Cantlay: How could I leave out the guy who paid for all the Christmas presents I bought this year? At least, in theory. I'm still waiting for my check from Vegas after hitting on an 18/1 bet on Cantlay at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Cantlay will be teeing it up for the first time on Kapalua's Plantation Course, but unfamiliar settings haven't stopped him from his meteoric rise in the Official World Ranking over the past year. If I ever get my money, I'll probably plunk a few more bucks down on this young star at some point.
Just missed: Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Smith.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: There is no Yahoo! fantasy golf anymore. End of an era.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Marc Leishman.
And here's the podcast link again, if you want to hear Joel and I jabber: