This weekend, the PGA Tour comes to Miami for the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Starting Thursday morning, this is one of the best lineups that we’ve seen so far in the 2016 season, and that means that daily fantasy golf rosters are going to be especially tough to put together. A great fantasy manager should stand out here, and our goal is to help you to do that by analyzing five of the top ranked golfers of the tournament.
Jordan Spieth: Spieth didn’t make the cut last week at the Honda Classic, even though he shot a pretty impressive 68 on round two. If you’re in a tossup between Spieth and McIlroy this weekend, Spieth is the best bet. That doesn’t mean you should draft him, though. He’s averaging 68.7 strokes per round and is averaging 100.8 fantasy points per tournament. But with a price tag set at $11,700 and a horrid first round last week, this is a little bit of a risk. Still, Spieth is a great golfer, and once he gets his season going strong, he’s likely to be a huge bargain at this price. The problem is we don’t know what to expect of him yet. Maybe last week’s dismal round one was just a fluke, but maybe he’s not in the greatest shape yet. Still, this is likely the cheapest you will see Spieth all year, so he might be worth it after all.
Rory McIlroy: McIlroy also missed the cut last weekend. This week, DraftKings has him set as their most expensive golfer in the tournament at $12,000. There’s almost no way that McIlroy is worth that at this point in the season, though. He’s putting up an average stroke count of 69.6, which isn’t bad, but his fantasy average stands at just 68.1 per tournament. We’re going to pass on him this week, and hope that his price tag comes down for next week so we can draft him for cheap.
Adam Scott: Last week, we said that Scott’s price was high at $11,000, but that he was likely to do well at the Honda Classic. Then, he ended up winning the tournament, and this week, his price tag is even greater at $11,600. He’s expensive, but we no longer think that his price is too high. Whatever your thoughts might be on the two golfers ranked ahead of him for this tourney, Scott is the best player in the field if you look at results for the season. He’s made 6 of 6 cuts, has the highest fantasy point average per tournament at 102.6, and his stroke per round average of 68.5 is unmatched. Scott’s expensive, but there’s a good reason why that’s so, and there’s no reason to think that he’s not worth every penny of that salary at this point in the season.
Bubba Watson: Watson took last weekend off after winning the Northern Trust Open the week before. What’s not to love about Watson right now? He’s cheap in relation to his success this season and last at $11,400, he’s averaging 98.1 fantasy points per weekend, and although his stroke count could improve, a 69.4 is still pretty respectable. He also has a second win this season already, making all 6 of the cuts in the tournaments he’s played in this season. There’s almost no excuse to not draft him, so we won’t try to make one for you.
Phil Mickelson: It’s hard to think of the legendary Mickelson as a dark horse, but he’s not ranked in the top ten for this tournament—even if he probably should be. Mickelson is cheap at $9,800, and has great numbers. Two top ten finishes, made 4 of 5 cuts, 69.0 strokes per round, and 83.0 points per tournament. He’s a top tier talent and a mid-tier price. Mickelson isn’t the youngest player in this field, but if he has a good day, you will more than get your money’s worth out of him. His T37 last weekend hurts his case here, but remember he finished 2nd two weeks before that.
