Golf Picks: The Players winners and DFS roster
Golf is a weird game, as evidenced by this past weekend. James Hahn, who hadn't made a cut in eight weeks, came out on top of a strong field at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for his second career victory.
The Players Championship is next on the schedule, and with it comes a major championship quality field and a major quality test for those golfers from TPC Sawgrass.
| Odds | |
| Rory McIlroy | 8/1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 10/1 |
| Jason Day | 10/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 15/1 |
| Justin Rose | 20/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 25/1 |
| Adam Scott | 25/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 25/1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 25/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 25/1 |
| Bubba Watson | 30/1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 30/1 |
| Branden Grace | 30/1 |
| Danny Willett | 40/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 50/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 50/1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 50/1 |
| Zach Johnson | 50/1 |
| Billy Horschel | 50/1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 60/1 |
| Paul Casey | 60/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 60/1 |
| J.B. Holmes | 60/1 |
| Daniel Berger | 60/1 |
| Chris Kirk | 60/1 |
| Charley Hoffman | 60/1 |
| Kevin Na | 60/1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 80/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 80/1 |
| Kevin Kisner | 80/1 |
| Russell Knox | 80/1 |
| Bill Haas | 80/1 |
| Marc Leishman | 80/1 |
| David Lingmerth | 80/1 |
| Kevin Chappell | 80/1 |
| Martin Kaymer | 80/1 |
| Byeong Hun An | 80/1 |
| Danny Lee | 100/1 |
| Luke Donald | 100/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 100/1 |
| Jason Dufner | 100/1 |
Rickie Fowler is the defending champion of the event after one of the all-time clutch performances in the final round and playoff against Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner.
No player has ever won back-to-back Players and only four men have won twice since 1980 -- Fred Couples, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods -- so history is not on Fowler's side this week.
Hahn's win showed that you can do all your homework and make rational picks only to be upset by someone who happens to get hot for four days, but I'm still going to do my best to hand out some winners this week.
Here are my picks for "the fifth major" of the PGA Tour schedule as well as a daily fantasy roster.
My Foursome
Justin Rose (20/1): Rose has been excellent all year with five top 10 finishes and two other top 20s in 10 starts. He made the last-minute call to get some extra reps at the Wells Fargo and it paid off with a solo third-place finish.
He's as good a ball-striker as there is on the PGA Tour and is in great form tee-to-green. He's been feast or famine at The Players the last three years, with two missed cuts and at T4 in 2014, but I'm expecting him to play very well this week.
Sergio Garcia (25/1): Garcia is one of those in the field this week looking for a second crystal trophy. TPC Sawgrass is notoriously tough to play well at consistently as only Garcia and Rory McIlroy have placed in the top 10 each of the last three years.
Sawgrass is a ball-striker's course, which is why Garcia has thrived here over the years. Putting is always the question with Sergio, but he's as comfortable on these greens as any on the circuit, so expect him to be in contention on Sunday again.
Chris Kirk (60/1): Kirk has finished T13 each of the past two years at The Players and he's coming in playing excellent golf. In his last six events he has finished T12, T9, Cut (Masters), T23, T13 and T5. Kirk's a great ball-striker and has the mindset and game to handle TPC Sawgrass.
Marc Leishman (80/1): Leishman has finished in the top 25 at The Players each of the last three years. He's been steady all year with a number of top 30 finishes, but only one top 10 -- a T5 at the Northern Trust.
I think this week he could be the guy, like Kisner last year, that has a solid, complete game -- Leishman is top 25 on Tour in both strokes gained tee-to-green and putting -- who shows up at the top of the leaderboard with a chance on Sunday.
My DFS Roster
Robby's Daily Fantasy Roster is based off of a standard $50,000 game on DraftKings
Sergio Garcia ($9,900): No one plays TPC Sawgrass as consistently well as Sergio has. On a course where even the best can get bitten by a missed cut, that's important for the DFS roster.
Henrik Stenson ($9,500): Stenson won The Players in 2009 and since 2012 has finished T15, T5, T34 and T17. He missed the cut at Wells Fargo last week, but his game fits Sawgrass with his excellent ball-striking and ability to thrash a 3-wood off the tee accurately.
Chris Kirk ($7,800): A steady performer that I think can sneak a top 10 or better this week. Really like his value at this price.
Kevin Na ($7,800): Na has two top 10s at The Players since 2012, including a T6 last year. If he can avoid the really big numbers -- which have derailed tournaments for him on occasion in the past -- he's the kind of player who can have success here.
Kevin Kisner ($7,700): I don't think last year's performance was just a flash in the pan for Kisner. He's always been a really strong player since college at Georgia and notched his first PGA Tour win earlier this season at the RSM Classic. Will he be in contention again this week? Probably not, but I think he can find his way into the top 25 again.
Marc Leishman ($7,300): He's played well here in the past and has snuck into the top 10 before. A performance like that again would make him a fantastic value at this price.
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