The PGA Tour is starting to ramp up for another season of play. Even though it’s only March, we have already seen a couple great tournaments, and this weekend looks like it might be the best one of 2017 so far. And now that the PGA is back up and running, daily fantasy golf leagues are also back up and running. Before it’s your turn to draft a team, make sure you check out our analysis so that you can get headed in the right direction. We’ll look at five of the top names entered at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and let you know which way you should go with them.
Rory McIlroy: McIlroy is undoubtedly the top ranked golfer going into the tournament this weekend. He’s played in two tournaments so far this year, one on the Euro Tour, one on the PGA. He made the top ten in both. Two weeks ago, at the Mexico Championship, McIlroy had a strong start, and then fizzled out a little bit in the last two rounds. A strong showing all the way through this weekend will give McIlroy a top five finish. The question is, are you willing to spend $12,000 of your salary on him? If you do draft him, you’re going to need to be careful with the rest of your lineup. This is one way to go, but we recommend drafting our next selection instead.
Henrik Stenson: Stenson has made 4 of 5 cuts so far this season, and the one that he missed was because he withdrew from the Mexico Championship with a stomach virus. He’s made the top ten four times this season, and he has a slightly lower stroke count per round at 69.3 than McIlroy has at 69.5. Stenson is healthy now, and the stomach virus of a couple weeks ago is seeming like a distant memory. Plus, he’s priced significantly cheaper than McIlroy at $11,500. We believe he’s a strong choice and the cheap price makes him a more attractive pick.
Jason Day: Day is typically a top rated choice, but in this position we recommend staying away from him. He is priced at $10,600, but he hasn’t been showing us the performances that we’d like to see at that level. He has made 3 of 4 cuts, but he has only made 1 top ten. He has been sick, and he doesn’t seem to have fully recovered from it yet. However, he’s the defending champion of this tournament, and that will attract a lot of people when it comes to the draft. He could do well, but for a tier one golfer, we want a guarantee and Day doesn’t give us this. We’re passing.
Tyrrell Hatton: Hatton is shaping up to be a nice surprise so far this season. Yes, it’s early in the year and a lot of golfers tend to emerge from the woodwork at this time of year, but Hatton is showing considerable potential. He’s made 4 of 4 cuts and has 3 top tens. The only event that he didn’t make the top ten in was at Abu Dhabi—his first competition of the year where he finished tied for 13th. His average stroke count per round stands at 69.7, putting him in contention for a top five finish at this tourney. At $9,100, he seems like a steal.
Hideki Matsuyama: Matsuyama is ranked number four coming into this tournament. He has played in 7 tourneys and has made 6 cuts. While he has more experience so far this season than any other top name, he also has not shown a lot of the spark that others have shown, and the tourneys he has played in have been weaker. He’s made 3 top tens and has 2 wins. With stiffer competition, a top ten finish is realistic for Matsuyama, but at $10,300, he might be a bit of a gamble.
