So who are my DraftKings picks for the week
Before we begin I can say that last week was very frustrating. You just can’t play this game if three or four of your players aren’t around for the weekend. So in stewing all weekend and all of Monday, I came up with a new chart that may be very helpful. Of course it’s not going to be full-proof in giving six winning players, gosh I picked both Jason Day and Dustin Johnson in San Diego a couple of weeks back and both missed the cut. So there are times that nothing will work but what this chart will do is give you a point of reference on how your pick has done in making cuts over the last two seasons (since the start of the 2015 season) and also how they stand in the parbreaker category for 2017. These two items are important, first for getting six players into the weekend and the parbreaker list so that you can see who makes the most birdies and eagles, which is an important element in earning points.
You can find this list at “Making the most cuts” in this link and it’s the field for those playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am. Give me feedback on your thoughts and we will be looking to make it better looking and able to sort in the future.
So how did last week go?
Terribly and frustrating. First on the PGA Tour I picked Hideki Matsuyama who won, I also picked Brendan Steele who was among the leaders before shooting 70-72 over the weekend to fall down to T-16th and I also had Brooks Koepka, who finished T-42nd. At the same time I had Tony Finau, Chez Reavie and Patrick Rodgers who all missed the cut which sent me down the tubes, sho it was a $38 loss. On the European Tour it wasn’t much better Rafael Cabrera-Bello was in contention but shot 70 on the last day to finish T-11th. Thomas Aiken and David Lipsky’s T-42nd finishes weren’t much help as Pablo Larrazabal and Jeughun Wang missed the cut while my experimental pick of Tiger Woods was a disaster as he withdrew after a first round 77. So for my efforts it was a $17 loss for a total weekly loss of $55, whops.
So here are my picks for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am
Lot’s of problems and tough choices in this week’s tournament. It looks more and more like Thursday and Friday will be washouts so we have to think in the back of my mind picking someone that will do well in terrible weather. My first choice on this was Justin Rose, who I can’t think of a better choice, even at $9,200. One fact about him that is weird, he has only played once at Pebble and that was last year when he finished T-6th. In looking back, Rose didn’t even play in the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble so based off of his limited experience thought he was a good choice. After that I went with the person that always putts the best, Jordan Spieth at $12,000. I like him for several other reasons, first he plays ok in bad weather, he has two top-ten finishes in this event including a T-4th in 2014. But more importantly it seems that he has worked hard over the off season on his iron play. After finishing up his great 2015 season by ranking 49th in greens in regulation, Spieth was T-145th in this stat in 2016. That was the difference in him not having a great year, just look at the majors were he struggled with his iron play, the biggest example was his two dunked iron shots on the 12th hole in the final round of the Masters. But Spieth seems to have bounced back, so far in 2017 and I know it’s very early he is 1st in this stat, so he has drastically improved a weakness. $12,000 is a big chunk to chew, but I have made it up with my next four. I went off my chart based on making a high percentage of cuts along with being high up in the parbreakers stat. First up was Roberto Castro at $7,900, yes I know he missed the cut last week in Phoenix, but it was his first in ten consecutive starts. Overall he ranks high making 77.6% of his cuts, also like that last year was T-8th. He is terrible in parbreakers rank but the secret this week will be making lot’s of pars. My next pick is Adam Hadwin who is cheap at $7,300 when you consider he makes 68.8% of his cuts and ranks 18th in parbreakers. Despite making his first start in this event, he has played really good of late with three top-12 finishes in his last four starts. Next up is Ryan Blaum at $6,900. He is another first timer in this event but what I like is that he has made eight cuts in eight starts in 2017 along with placing 59th in Parbreakers. My last choice was really hard, there weren’t many picks at under $6,700. I took the most steady player of them all with Steve Stricker at $6,600. He hasn’t played much since 2015 but has made 19 of 25 cuts. Yes he missed the cut last year but he has played in this event seven times and had a pair of top-15 finishes. So we will see how these picks work out under my new making the most cuts chart.
So here are my picks for the Maybank Championship
This event has an ok field, but the big problem is lack of past performance. This year it is played at Saujana Golf and Country Club, which has held this tournament in 2009 and 2007. So based on past performances, horses for courses doesn’t work. So in doing my picks I based them strictly on who has played the best. For most of these players it’s a long haul from Dubai to Malaysia, but all are well versed in lot’s of traveling. First up for me is Rafael Cabrear-Bello at $11,800 he has played really great this year and the last time he was in Asia finished 2nd in the UBS Hong Kong Open. Next up was Peter Uihlein at $8,200. He was T-9th last year in this event and 2017 has shown a lot of improvement, finishing T-7th in the South African Open, T-49th in Abu Dhabi and T-5th last week in Dubai. I think he is so good that he is my favorite to win this week. I also like Thomas Aiken at $7,700, he finished T-11th in this event in 2013 and for 2017 has three top-five finishes. Last wee he was T-42nd at Dubai, which is his worst finish in five starts. Another hot player is Graeme Storm at $7,500, he played at Saujana in 2007 and finished T-11th. He won last month in South African and last week finished T-39th in Dubai, so another player on a roll. Also at $7,500 is Nacho Elvira who is playing for the first time in Malaysia. He is playing well right now, was T-6th in Qatar and T-11th last week in Dubai. My last pick is David Lipsky at $7,200 who has experience in playing this event, finishing T-3rd in his first start in 2012. I like his steadiness over the last six months in which he has made the cut in his last nine starts and has three Top-six finishes.
So these are my picks, what do you think and who are your picks for this week?
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