Wells Fargo - Fantasy Picks - Presented by DraftKings
After coming off a week that saw them tackle one of the best tests in golf at TPC Sawgrass, Tour players are once again getting ready to tackle another challenging track. This week’s Wells Fargo Championship, held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, is home of the “Green Mile”. One of the toughest set of finishing holes on the PGA Tour, it gets it’s name from it’s par 4, 3, 4 finish where the length of the holes are only half the obstacle. Players will have to contend with long approach shots on holes 16 and 17 that are surrounded by water, and then a 493-yard par 4 18th with a ravine that comes into play on the drive, and approach shot.
This tournament has provided memorable moments on the PGA Tour. There was Anthony Kim’s breakout victory in 2008, and then Rory’s in 2010 where he posted a final round 62 to win by four. Here’s looking forward to a great week, on a great course, that has a history of great finishes.
Have a look at our picks below... Do you disagree with our favorites? Think you can do better? Prove it by joining us in this weeks DraftKings Fantasy Golf Contest! Here's the gist of it:
$100,000 prize pool
First place wins $10,000
Only $3 to enter (Free with first deposit)
Top 7,850 finishing positions are paid
Deadline is Thursday, May 14th
Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 6 golfers
Click here or on the banner below to start drafting your lineup for the Wells Fargo.
Here are my picks for who to look for come Sunday afternoon.
Rory McIlroy - His play of late is reminiscent of last summer when he went on his hot streak winning two major championships (British Open & PGA Championship), as well as a World Golf Championship (Bridgestone Invitational). The last couple weeks (Win at World Match Play & T8 at Players) continue to prove that playing a lot seems to fuel his game,rather than hinder it.
Hideki Matsuyama - Held back by a second round 74 at The Players. Difficult to believe he won’t play solid golf with his track record so far this year. Has five top-10’s in 2015.
Henrik Stenson - Continues to play solid golf in 2015. Since November, has not placed outside of the top-25 in a stroke-play event on tour.
JB Holmes - Defending champion comes into Quail Hollow playing better golf than he was last year when he took the title. Look for his length to compliment the current consistency of his game.
Kevin Kisner - Displayed respectable poise throughout Sunday’s final round and the playoff. Continuing to contend and gain confidence. Finished T6 at this event last year.
Jim Furyk - Proved at RBC Heritage that playing difficult courses which require you to manage your way around the course plays to his strengths. Runner-up finish last year. Winner in 2006.
Ben Martin - The Carolina native has been playing very solid golf since the beginning of March. Coming off a T4 finish last week at The Players. Finished respectable T37 at RBC Heritage a few weeks ago, on a shotmakers course - as is Quail Hollow.
Bill Haas - Almost made the playoff on Sunday. The former FedEx Cup champ is returning to a course that he has played well on in past years (4th in 2011).
Ryan Moore - In past four years has played well at Quail Hollow, finishing T18, T6, T5 & T33. Incredible consistency on a difficult course.
Kevin Streelman - The Duke grad finished T14 and T6 in last two editions of this event. Played well at the Masters earlier in April, but otherwise has struggled to crack the top-30 in events. Past success at this event is the only reason for this pick.
Now for the fun part, drafting our lineups for the DraftKings contest. Taking the above players into consideration, we've put together our "A" team as well as a "Sleeper" team. If you're new to the DraftKings platform, each player is assessed a dollar value, based on which, you are tasked with drafting six (6) players while staying under the $50,000 salary cap. Do you think you could draft a better 'bang for your buck' line-up? Prove it by joining the contest! Here's a look at my teams for this week.
DraftKings Starting Line-Up
Rory McIlroy - $14,000
Ryan Moore - $8,000
Kevin Kisner - $8,100
Fabian Gomez - $5,900
Troy Merritt - $6,600
Jim Herman - $7,200
With the way that McIlroy and Kisner are playing, and with Moore’s track record at Quail Hollow, I wanted to make sure they were on my list. I’m taking Gomez because he has made 11 of 16 cuts this year. Troy Merritt is a steal at $6,600 with two top-10’s already this season. Jim Herman is having a great year and has been hot as of late. He has two top-10’s in his last five starts. DraftKings Sleeper Line-Up
Ben Martin - $8,700
Rory Sabbatini - $8,200
Martin Flores - $8,000
Jonathan Byrd - $7,700
Jim Herman - $7,200
Jason Kokrak $7,100
Martin and Sabbatini both played well last week. Sabbatini’s play came as a surprise to many, and could be the boost he needs to really contend this weekend, having played well at this event last year (T8). Flores also played decent golf last week, and was a 3rd place finisher at Quail Hollow last year. I’m taking Jonathan Byrd played well in the 2014 edition of this tournament, and Herman and Kokrak are up and comers who both have two top-10s this season. Herman’s play makes him worthy of my drafting him twice this week. If Kokrak drives the ball like he is capable, look for him to have a good finish.
About the Author
This article was written by Jonathan Carr (@jonathanwcarr) as part of our weekly #FantasyGolf series. Each week we preview the upcoming PGA Tour event and highlight some of the players we'll be keeping an eye on. As a scratch golfer himself, Jonathan has a keen eye for what it takes to be successful on and off the golf course. His passion for golf is surpassed only by his passion for his faith and his family. Read some of Jonathan's other articles here.
About DraftKings
DraftKings is a leading provider of online fantasy sports. Our core product is a 1-day Fantasy Sports Contest, where users compete against each other to win cash prizes. The game works similarly to how season-long contests on ESPN or Yahoo operate, with the key difference being that instead of season-long commitments, our users only need to commit to playing for a single day at a time. Free and entry-fee-based games are available. Featuring daily fantasy sports contests and same-day settlement, DraftKings makes playing fantasy sports simpler and faster for both seasoned and casual players.
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