Most-Picked Players: Farmers Insurance Open

PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO If we were to assume that all gamers are entirely aware that only actual scoring is measured before the bonus points are applied at the Farmers Insurance Open, then 34.0 percent of you expect Tiger Woods to contend. Never mind the 17-month layoff from official competition or that Torrey Pines is a big-boy track that usually wins despite the fact that the trophy is given to a golfer, Tiger is Tiger and you want in, well, 34.0 percent of you. What the data doesn’t illustrate is how many of the 34.0 percent will stash him away on the bench until the final round when the bonus points are triggered. Whatever the case, if you ever wanted to get a sense of the impact that he has on our community, this is it. It’s massive. As you’d expect in a field this deep, it’s a Who’s Who of talent inside the top 10 of the ownership percentages. Since we’re still early in Segment 2, it’s expected that the chalk will dominate the board, especially when bonus points command such a large percentage of the fantasy scoring. Gamers need to be positioned to strike. Notables not featured below include Brendan Steele (14th, 12.6 percent), Pat Perez (17th, 10.4 percent), Jon Rahm (22nd, 6.1 percent) and two-time runner-up K.J. Choi (38th, 2.1 percent). NOTE: Rob’s Rating refers to where our Fantasy Insider slotted a golfer in his Power Rankings. Golfers in the Power Rankings and outside the top 10 in most owned PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO Tiger Woods makes everything better. Everything. Here we are in just the fourth week of the spiffy, new fantasy game and anticipation over how many gamers have rushed to the window to burn their only ticket for a ride on the bandwagon occupies our consciousness. The answer is 3.0 percent. That’s good for 13th-most in the field of 156 at the Farmers Insurance Open. I’ll go ahead and surmise that there isn’t one of those gamers who I’d ever pretend talking out of the guy on his return to competition. Gamers do what gamers are going to do despite any logic that encourages otherwise. I make the assumption that all of these investors will continue to play next week and beyond, but why not just give the guy at least one start to prove himself? Let him get warm, dust off the rust, see the guys again, etc. But I don’t judge. Nah. Defending champion Brandt Snedeker is a mild surprise in the context that if Woods can draw 3.0 percent upon return, it’s reasonable to consider that there would be a contingent of gamers who aren’t looking further than this week to connect with someone on the top shelf. However, with the likes of Gary Woodland, Martin Laird and Charles Howell III locking up slots 2, 5 and 8, respectively, there’s more than enough evidence that the majority of you is exerting restraint and planning ahead. Notables other than Woods outside the top 10 include Jimmy Walker (12th, 3.0 percent), Shane Lowry (14th, 2.9 percent), Rickie Fowler (15th, 2.6 percent), Hideki Matsuyama (16th, 2.5 percent) and K.J. Choi (28th, 0.4 percent).

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