The Club @ Nine Bridges: Jeju Island, Korea Par 72, 7,196 yards
New Event on PGA Tour
Primary Stats- Birdie or Better %, DK Scoring, Greens in Regulation (GIR)
Secondary Stats- SG: Ball Striking, Par 5 SG: 550-600
Timeframe: Past 24 Rounds unless specified.
Lineup Lock: 5:00pm EST Wednesday (4:00pm CST, 3:00pm MST, 2:00 PST)
The second event of the Asian portion of the Fall Swing heads to Korea for a new event on Tour: The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. I made a mistake on roster lock times last week, so I'm going with the time listed on FantasyDraft. With an earlier start on Wednesday, I am more intrigued to play, as we should be able to watch more of the event.
Weather
Looks to be cooler than Malaysia last week, with temperatures around 70 degrees. Winds are steady around 10 mph. No weather advantage to be had this week.
CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges Strategy
This is a bit of a tough week. No course history and a no-cut event. It looks like a good week for tournaments to me. I will be weighting current form as well as the stats above. I just found information about the course setup (I retweeted Pat Mayo with the picture of the scorecard. If interested, look me up on Twitter, @skeeterrobinson) to see the picture. The only thing that stood out to me was that every Par 5 was between 550 and 600 yards. So, I am emphasizing that stat, along with birdies and DraftKings scoring.
This course is played at a bit of elevation, so it will play shorter than the 7,200 yards on the scorecard. It looks like it should be a birdie fest like last week, so I'm looking at Birdie or Better as my main stat. I will go back to DraftKings pricing for the article this week, as I continue to change the sites every week. The contests are a bit smaller on FanDuel and FantasyDraft this week, but are decent size on DraftKings. Like last week, I'm only going to write up a few golfers in each tier. Finally, I'm going to change the tiers ever so slightly for DraftKings. I will go with 10k+, 9k, 8k, and 7900 and below for my 4 tiers. With a 78 man field, I'm limiting myself to two picks per tier, with other potential plays mentioned.
10,000+ Tier
Justin Thomas (12,100)
Asking for three wins in a row at a tournament may have been asking for a bit much. He did finish 17th last week at the CIMB Classic, but finished strong by playing the weekend at 8-under par. In his past six tournaments, Thomas has made anywhere from 17-21 birdies. As a result, he ranks 1st in DraftKings Points, and 2nd in Birdie or Better, Par 5 SG: 550-600, and Ball Striking. I don't think you have to play him at this price; however, if you decide to go this route, it's not a bad move. (GPP)
Tony Finau (10,200)
I spent a bit of time debating about who to write about here (Jason Day and Paul Casey the other two players above 10k). I wasn't finding much separating them, so I decided to go with the cheapest of the four. Finau has three straight Top 10s, including a runner-up finish at the Safeway two weeks ago. When I look closely at his game log, I see 20+birdies in two of his past three tournaments, and a 3-eagle tournament back in July in Canada. In this field, Finau ranks 2nd in Par 5 SG: 550-600, 5th in Birdie or Better, and 8th in DraftKings Points. If I see him getting popular, I'll pivot to Day or Casey. But, if you are playing cash games, I think Finau is a logical start as the cheapest in this tier. (Cash and GPP)
Others to Consider: Paul Casey and Jason Day
Cash: Day
GPP: Day, Casey
9,000 Tier
Xander Schauffele (9,800)
Maybe there were some questions on how Xander would respond to winning the Tour Championship in his rookie year. Apparently, he responded well, finishing in a tie for 3rd at the CIMB Classic. He ranks nicely in the stat categories I'm looking at this week: 4th in DraftKings points, 10th in Birdies or Better and Par 5 SG: 550-600, and 16th in both Ball Striking and GIR. He continues to impress and show up in these big time tournaments, so keep playing him if you can fit him in. (Cash and GPP)
Pat Perez (9,400)
I have been on Perez a lot in this past year, but was not on him last week, when he dominated to win the CIMB Classic. He was great, making 27 birdies and only 3 bogies. That is quite impressive to only have 3 bogeys in 72 holes (I usually have 3 bogies in my first 3 holes when I play). He does have four Top 16 finishes in his last four events, so form is there. Stats have some promise: 9th in DK Points, 12th in GIR, and 15th in Birdie or Better Percentage. I know some don't like taking the previous week's winner, but the way Perez played, I'm not scared to jump back on. (GPP, Cash Game Playable)
Others to Consider: Marc Leishman, Keegan Bradley, Anirban Lahiri
Cash: Leishman
GPP: Leishman, Bradley, Lahiri
8,000 Tier
Adam Scott (8,500)
I'm not in love with this 8k tier this week, and will only write up one pick so that I can write three up in the 7k tier. However, I can always make an exception for Adam Scott, who is a bit underpriced in my opinion. Yes, his form at the end of the season was not great: 13th was his best finish in the final six events of last season. I'm going to count on the talent and pedigree to come back sooner than later. He still fits some of the stats for this week: 3rd in Ball Striking, 6th in GIR, and 13th in DK Scoring. I don't know if I like him in tournaments due to the form, but I think he's a very strong option in cash games. (Cash, GPP Playable)
Others to Consider: Cam Smith, Kevin Na
Cash: Neither
GPP: Smith, Na
7,900 and Below Tier
Luke List (7,600)
The statistical star came through last week, finishing 13th and making 24 birdies. When you roster List, you are hoping for a lot of birdies, since he will also make a lot of bogies. He ranks #1 in my model for stats this week, ranking 1st in Par 5: 550-600, 4th in Ball Striking, 5th in GIR, 6th in Birdie or Better, and 7th in DK Scoring. I think this would be more of a decision if he were 8k+. At 7,600, I can play him in tournaments and even cash games. (GPP, Cash Game Playable)
Stewart Cink (7,400)
Cink continues to do what he has done all 2017: Post solid outings that doesn't hurt you and makes value. 20 birdies in a tie for 13th last week helped my pick of Cink and I'll come back this week. He's Top 20 in everything except Par 5 SG: 550-600. I prefer him in cash, but if he's going to come Top 20 again at 7,400, he makes for a viable play in tourneys as well. (Cash, GPP Playable)
Danny Lee (7,400)
Lee struggled at the end of last season and was someone who was high in my model at Fantasy National last week: I just couldn't play him. I should have listened to the stats model. I will this week: 8th in Birdie or Better, 10th in GIR, and 17th in DraftKings scoring. Certainly not a safe cash play. But after a 7th last week, I can take a shot in Lee in tournaments. (GPP)
Others to Consider: Chez Reavie, Nick Taylor, Thomas Pieters, Graham DeLaet
Cash: Reavie, Taylor
GPP: Reavie, Pieters, DeLaet
Final Thoughts
Don't forget about the early Wednesday lock time. As always, there should be some NFL money chasing PGA so hopefully, these games are a little soft. Good luck with your lineups and feel free to contact me on Twitter (@skeeterrobinson) if you have any questions or suggestions.
