Fantasy Insider: Fantasy golf advice for the HSBC Champions, Sanderson Farms Championship

Because of the format of the 2018-19 season, Segment 1 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO sets up like a soft open. Survive the Safeway Open and glide through three consecutive no-cut tournaments before taking stock in what you’ve built. That’s where we’ll be at the conclusion of this week’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Beginning with next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, cuts made rises to the top of the list of priorities. Each of the last three events this fall will feature a 36-hole cut, but only the Shriners will include ShotLink. The absence of measurement-based bonuses won’t matter much in real time, especially since we never have to concern ourselves with starts in Segment 1, but it’ll play a role in the long-range scoring since margins and deficits will remain as small as they’ve ever been in the game. As you learn the value of various decisions within the construct of the scoring system, the experience will influence how we’re going to approach Segments 2, 3 and 4. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (in alphabetical order): Jason Day Tony Finau Dustin Johnson Brooks Koepka Rory McIlroy Justin Rose You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Keegan Bradley; Tommy Fleetwood; Tyrrell Hatton; Hideki Matsuyama; Jon Rahm Driving: n/a Power Rankings Wild Card Xander Schauffele … Easily overlooked during a forgettable T46 at Nine Bridges is that he closed with a 65 that included birdies on half of the holes. For someone of his talent who has proven comfortable on the biggest stages, that’s exactly the momentum all gamers want entering this week’s fast track. Draws Brandt Snedeker … With an elevated premium on short game and the likelihood for low scoring, he presents confidently once again. This is his first trip to Sheshan International since 2014 when he placed T10. Andy Sullivan … One of numerous snubs in Sleepers this week, the former Ryder Cupper is 28th in the Race to Dubai and arrives having improved on his previous outing in each of his last five starts. The surge was last seen in the form of a T9 at the British Masters. He has eight top 10s this year. Ashun Wu … DFS special. Currently 176th in the Official World Golf Ranking but second among the Chinese behind Hao Tong Li. Wu prevailed at the KLM Open last month and he hasn’t missed an edition of the WGC-HSBC Champions. Even better, he’s recorded a trio of top 25s, including in each of the last two. Byeong Hun An Keegan Bradley Emiliano Grillo Thorbjørn Olesen Adrian Otaegui Julian Suri Fades Patrick Reed … It’s been a confounding few weeks for the Masters champ. He didn’t factor in the Playoffs or the Ryder Cup. Now he attempts to tackle Sheshan International where he struggled in the last two editions. In a sense, this is who astute weekly gamers expect, anyway. It’s not a factor this week, but he can be convincing because he makes most cuts. The potential for a boon is omnipresent. Russell Knox … With a win in his debut in 2015, a T9 in his title defense and a scoring average of 68.00 in those eight rounds, course history buffs are sold. However, since his latest victory in Ireland in early July, he’s a mere 4-for-7 without a top-30 finish. That’s not the trajectory he was riding early in 2018 and it doesn’t align with his profile of balance. A calculated non-play. Alex Noren … Finished T18 at Nine Bridges, but it was anything but consistent. He ranked T6 in greens hit but his putting left a lot to be desired. With only one top 30 in the WGC-HSBC Champions, he’s at best a contrarian due to the guarantee of four rounds. Thomas Pieters … Give him a little more time to calibrate his game after an unsuccessful foray as a PGA TOUR member in 2017-18. So many European dual-tour talents before him have made it look easy, but there are just as many if not more casualties. He’ll be fine and he’ll actually make more sense in the WGCs and the majors for which he qualifies, but he’s broken par just once in his last five rounds at Sheshan International. Kiradech Aphibarnrat Branden Grace Billy Horschel Returning to Competition Kevin Stadler … He scattered four starts over as many months on the Web.com Tour this year, but this marks his first appearance on the PGA TOUR since the 2015 John Deere Classic. An injury in his hand thwarted a reasonable expectation to compete, but he had surgery for a stress fracture in his palm last year and has declared himself ready and feeling good. With a full slate of 26 starts afforded on a Major Medical Extension, the 38-year-old is an automatic investment in salary leagues. Notable WDs Sangmoon Bae … After missing the cut at the Safeway Open, he has nine starts on his Major Medical Extension to earn 294.752 FedExCup points and retain status. Of course, as a Web.com Tour grad, he’s fully exempt for the season, so the conversation of the medical no longer is as pressing as it was before he won the Albertsons Boise Open to lock up his card. Power Rankings Recap – THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Justin Thomas  T36 2  Hideki Matsuyama  T18 3  Marc Leishman  T18 4  Tyrrell Hatton  T14 5  Brooks Koepka  Win 6  Louis Oosthuizen  T29 7  Paul Casey  T18 8  Gary Woodland  2nd 9  Sungjae Im  T41 10  Jason Day  T5 11  Emiliano Grillo  T55 12  Cameron Smith  T7 13  Byeong Hun An  T41 14  Kyle Stanley  66th 15  Abraham Ancer  T73 Wild Card  Ian Poulter  T10 Sleepers Recap – THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES Golfer  Result Brice Garnett  T41 Whee Kim  72nd Jason Kokrak  T67 Keith Mitchell  T14 Hyun-woo Ryu  T77 Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR October 23 … none October 24 … Marc Leishman (35) October 25 … Troy Merritt (33); Xander Schauffele (25) October 26 … none October 27 … Fabián Gómez (40) October 28 … none October 29 … none

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