16th Hole: SSSPPPIIIEEEEEEEEEEEETTTHHH!!!
17th Hole: It’s okay, he can birdie 18.
18th Hole: ((Phone ringing in backswing)) Uhhhhhh. GG Grand Slam.
I had 0% Spieth ownership this week, but I was still rooting for him to keep his magical run alive. Not since prime Tiger have I been this invested in a golfer’s performance; I’m sure many of you feel the same way. He came up a little short, but he’s still having an all-time great season… at the age of 21. To put that in perspective, he’s almost a year younger than Irish amateur and third round leader Paul Dunne. Think about that.
All in all, it was a fantastic tournament. Lots of birdies, the late Friday + Saturday carnage, big names in contention through Monday, and a four-hole playoff. It had everything.
The third PGA Millionaire Maker of the year ended in a tie. A TIE! Half-Millionaire Maker doesn’t sound as sexy. Let’s take a look at the two lineups that chopped up the cash.
Dr_Cash007
Zach Johnson (16.9%) $7400 – 114
Jordan Spieth (32.5%) $12000 – 108.5
Louis Oosthuizen (13.3%) $9900 – 104
Ollie Schniederjans (0.5%) $6300 – 95.5
Hideki Matsuyama (21.8%) $8500 – 79
David Duval (0.5%) $5900 – 72.5
jrazajr
Zach Johnson (16.9%) $7400 – 114
Marc Leishman (1.6%) $7000 – 109
Louis Oosthuizen (13.3%) $9900 – 104
Justin Rose (7.5%) $10900 – 89
Brooks Koepka (11.9%) $8200 – 86
Robert Streb (11.9%) $6400 – 71.5
The two big winners used fairly different lineup construction strategies, once again proving that there are multiple ways to win these large field GPPs. “Dr_Cash007” went with a stars and scrubs lesser owned individuals lineup. He rostered up-and-comer Ollie Schniederjans and blast from the past David Duval; both coming in at only 0.5% ownership. “jrazajr” took more of a solid across the board approach. Leishman was only 1.6% owned, but he’s a recognizable name. Both of these lineups featured Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen had it all coming in. He’s a course history monster coming off a T-2 at the U.S. Open. Playing Oosty is fairly self-explanatory; however, using Zach Johnson is interesting. The course didn’t exactly fit his game, and he had this to say this about St. Andrews back in January:
The British. … That’s my least favorite in the rotation. Yeah. I say that and I love that tournament and I still like St. Andrews. … I think St. Andrews is terrific and it’s my least favorite. … I feel like it’s one where you just gotta hit it left and you gotta hit it 290 in the air and it just doesn’t favor me.
Full article @ golfchannel.com
So you have a guy who doesn’t fit the course and/or straight up doesn’t like playing there, but he’s a major champion coming off a strong showing in the previous week at a very reasonable DK salary. This is a sharp way to take a flier as opposed to clicking buttons at near-random. Sometimes we get a little too caught up in stats, odds, and form. Guys like Zach Johnson are ridiculously talented golfers, and they can win any given week on any given course. When we’re talking about a GPP that pays out 30% of the prize pool and 10x second place money to first, you can’t just go with the mainstream picks (note: ZJ was only mentioned by one of the tracked experts). Going with stars in a bad spot is a good way to set yourself apart from the pack. I realize Johnson came in at nearly 17% owned, but I’m talking more in theory and going forward. This strategy translates across sports, too. When the NFL rolls around, I’m sure there will be superstars like, for example, Aaron Rodgers that the touts advise you to avoid certain weeks for a variety of reasons like match-up, weather, etc. That’s probably the time to use that player in a top-heavy GPP where you’re rolling out multiple lineups. This isn’t something I’d do in cash games or even GPPs with flatter payout structures, but in GPPs like the Millionaire Maker, you’ve got to find smart ways to differentiate yourself.
This was a tough week for the experts, most of them were bunched towards the middle posting mediocre results. No one truly stood out, but I’ll give Zachary Thompson of fansided.com top honors for the week. He was the only expert touting Zach Johnson, and he hit on Ollie Schniederjans and Jason Day. You can find the full results below.
Expert Consensus
A+ – Louis Oosthuizen
A – Brooks Koepka
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Charl Schwartzel
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Justin Rose
B – Martin Kaymer
B – Robert Streb
B – Sergio Garcia
C – David Howell
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Henrik Stenson
C – Matt Kuchar
C – Rickie Fowler
D – Bernd Wiesberger
D – Paul Casey
F – Brandt Snedeker
F – Joost Luiten
F – Shane Lowry
F – Tiger Woods
F – Tommy Fleetwood
Chris Durell – dailyfantasysportsrankings.com
A+ – Louis Oosthuizen
A – Brooks Koepka
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Patrick Reed
B – Robert Streb
B – Sergio Garcia
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Marc Warren
D – Daniel Berger
F – Joost Luiten
F – Tommy Fleetwood
Daniel Dobish – dailyroto.com
A+ – Danny Willett
A+ – Louis Oosthuizen
B – Justin Rose
F – Byeong-Hun An
F – Darren Clarke
F – Shane Lowry
F – Tommy Fleetwood
Zachary Thompson – fansided.com
A+ – Jason Day
A+ – Ollie Schniederjans
A+ – Zach Johnson
A – Brendon Todd
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Charl Schwartzel
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Justin Rose
B – Phil Mickelson
B – Retief Goosen
B – Robert Streb
B – Sergio Garcia
C – Ben Martin
C – David Lingmerth
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Francesco Molinari
C – Henrik Stenson
C – Matt Kuchar
C – Rickie Fowler
D – Paul Casey
F – Brandt Snedeker
F – Brian Harman
F – Keegan Bradley
F – Kevin Kisner
F – Morgan Hoffmann
F – Ryan Moore
F – Tiger Woods
Steve Pimental – fantasyalarm.com
A+ – Louis Oosthuizen
A – Brooks Koepka
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Sergio Garcia
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Henrik Stenson
C – Kevin Na
C – Matt Kuchar
C – Rickie Fowler
D – Paul Casey
D – Ross Fisher
F – Tiger Woods
F – Tommy Fleetwood
Seth Finkelstein – rotoballer.com
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Graeme McDowell
B – Lee Westwood
B – Sergio Garcia
C – David Lingmerth
C – Jason Dufner
C – Matt Kuchar
C – Rickie Fowler
D – Thomas Aiken
F – Edoardo Molinari
F – Tiger Woods
Pat Mayo – rotoexperts.com
A – Brooks Koepka
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Billy Horschel
B – Charl Schwartzel
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Martin Kaymer
B – Patrick Reed
B – Sergio Garcia
C – Ben Martin
C – David Howell
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Henrik Stenson
C – John Senden
C – Kevin Na
C – Rickie Fowler
C – Webb Simpson
D – Bernd Wiesberger
D – Graham DeLaet
D – Paul Casey
F – Byeong-Hun An
F – J.B. Holmes
F – James Hahn
F – Morgan Hoffmann
F – Shane Lowry
F – Soren Kjeldsen
F – Tyrrell Hatton
stlcardinals84 – rotogrinders.com (Daily Fantasy Foursome)
A – Jordan Spieth
C – Rickie Fowler
F – Shane Lowry
F – Tommy Fleetwood
Michael Riek – rotowire.com
A – Andy Sullivan
A – Jimmy Walker
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Branden Grace
B – Graeme McDowell
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Jim Furyk
B – Justin Rose
B – Martin Kaymer
B – Robert Streb
B – Stewart Cink
C – David Howell
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Henrik Stenson
C – Matt Kuchar
C – Rickie Fowler
D – Bernd Wiesberger
D – Paul Casey
F – Brandt Snedeker
F – Charley Hoffman
F – Edoardo Molinari
F – Joost Luiten
F – Kevin Kisner
F – Shane Lowry
F – Soren Kjeldsen
F – Tiger Woods
F – Tommy Fleetwood
F – Tyrrell Hatton
F – Victor Dubuisson
thefantasygolf.com
A+ – Danny Willett
A – Brooks Koepka
A – Jimmy Walker
A – Jordan Spieth
B – Adam Scott
B – Billy Horschel
B – Brendan Grace
B – Charl Schwartzel
B – Geoff Ogilvy
B – Hideki Matsuyama
B – Martin Kaymer
B – Ryan Palmer
B – Sergio Garcia
C – David Howell
C – Dustin Johnson
C – Eddie Pepperell
C – Henrik Stenson
D – Bernd Wiesberger
D – Daniel Berger
D – Graham DeLaet
D – Paul Casey
F – Brandt Snedeker
F – Joost Luiten
F – Shane Lowry
F – Tiger Woods
F – Tommy Fleetwood
I’ll be back tomorrow with the RBC Canadian Open info. I’ll see you then.
