PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO Even though Hideki Matsuyama defends his title at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions captured in dominating fashion, there wasn’t a clear-cut favorite entering this year’s edition. So, it’s not surprising that Matsuyama leads the 78-man field in ownership percentage. When in doubt, make room for last year’s winner. Naturally, it doesn’t hurt that it’s Matsuyama. Dustin Johnson is a sensible runner-up, but that Marc Leishman is just two clicks behind and still occupying over one-half of the rosters speaks to the attention the Aussie is getting. And deserves. With the plethora of international talent committed to the first WGC of the season, dispersion is predictable the rest of the way. This includes opening devotion to the PGA TOUR’s newest members – Tyrrell Hatton, Ross Fisher, Tommy Fleetwood, Thomas Pieters and Alex Noren – all of whom can be found below. NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings (“PR”) and other preview material. WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS-HSBC CHAMPIONS Owned Rank Player Percentage Rob’s Rating 1st Hideki Matsuyama (defending champion) 57.1% PR1 2nd Dustin Johnson 54.1% PR2 3rd Marc Leishman 52.1% PR3 4th Jon Rahm 34.9% PR9 5th Jason Day 33.4% PR17 6th Phil Mickelson 30.8% PR18 7th Justin Rose 24.7% PR4 8th Pat Perez 24.7% PR11 9th Brooks Koepka 22.8% PR8 10th Paul Casey 22.5% PR12 Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned Power Ranking Player Owned Rank Percentage 5 Henrik Stenson 12th 17.0% 6 Ross Fisher 20th 8.5% 7 Tyrrell Hatton 16th 12.0% 10 Rafa Cabrera Bello 22nd 8.1% 13 Adam Scott T17 10.9% 14 Francesco Molinari 25th 6.4% 15 Patrick Reed 11th 20.3% 16 Tony Finau 13th 15.7% 19 Daniel Berger 19th 9.4% 20 Matthew Fitzpatrick 30th 3.9% Wild Card Alex Noren 38th 2.5% Other notables Owned Rank Player Percentage 14th Matt Kuchar 14.7% 21st Tommy Fleetwood 8.1% 23rd Thomas Pieters 7.1% 34th Patrick Cantlay 3.1% 40th Kiradech Aphibarnrat 2.3% PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO This format for a WGC presents a terrific example of how current form influences the buy-in. Marc Leishman, Tyrrell Hatton, Pat Perez and Phil Mickelson are likely where they are in the top 10 based on how they’ve performed in recent weeks. Contrast that against the likes of Hideki Matsuyama and Ross Fisher, who size up better as horses for Sheshan International. All carry cachet, of course, including first-timers Jason Day and Jon Rahm, who help fill in the gaps, but the blend illustrates a proper sampling of the investment philosophies across the landscape. If there’s a shocker on the board, it’s Brooks Koepka at T24. He was selected by just 0.7 percent of you. Yes, he opened with 8-under 64 and leads by one, but the 2017 U.S. Open champion has sustained his highest level of consistency since. (It’s primarily why he was No. 8 in my Power Rankings.) So, it can’t help but be assumed that his pedestrian debut in Shanghai (T40, 2016) is at the root of the general apathy among gamers. WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS-HSBC CHAMPIONS Owned Rank Player Percentage 1st Marc Leishman 17.1% 2nd Hideki Matsuyama (defending champion) 14.6% 3rd Ross Fisher 9.6% 4th Tyrrell Hatton 7.5% 5th Paul Casey 4.1% 6th Pat Perez 3.8% 7th Dustin Johnson 2.9% 8th Jason Day 2.7% 9th Phil Mickelson 2.2% 10th Jon Rahm 2.1% Other notables Owned Rank Player Percentage T11 Francesco Molinari 2.1% T13 Henrik Stenson 2.0% 16th Justin Rose 1.9% 22nd Adam Scott 1.0% T24 Brooks Koepka 0.7% T37 Patrick Cantlay 0.3% PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO Oh, snap! If you’re not transfixed by Chesson Hadley’s ownership percentage at the Sanderson Farms Championship, then you’re new to this game. The No. 1 in my Power Rankings commanded a whopping 27 percent of the selections made for this week’s additional event at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi, and that’s up a couple of points from when my One & Done column published on Wednesday. Fortunately, at least for those of us on board, he carded a bogey-free, 4-under 68 in the opening round. Hunter Mahan at sixth and Davis Love III at eighth are the surprises inside the top 10. Attentive gamers invested in Smylie Kaufman in ninth are banking on the 25-year-old’s recommitment to focus. It’s the same approach that Hadley publicized this summer before he went on his tear. Likewise, Kaufman delivered on Thursday with a 5-under 67. SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP Owned Rank Player Percentage 1st Chesson Hadley 27.0% 2nd William McGirt 7.3% 3rd Kevin Streelman 6.8% 4th Chris Kirk 6.7% 5th Jason Kokrak 4.5% 6th Hunter Mahan 3.1% 7th Andrew Landry 2.3% 8th Davis Love III 2.3% 9th Smylie Kaufman 2.0% 10th Cody Gribble (defending champion) 1.9% Other notables Owned Rank Player Percentage 12th Ben Martin 1.6% 13th Tyler Duncan 1.6% 15th Harris English 1.0% T21 Matt Jones 0.5% T31 Peter Malnati 0.3%
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