Most-picked players: Sony Open in Hawaii

PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO You have to love the aggressive strategy at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Since all fantasy decisions are relative regarding golfers and gamers, there’s something to be said of the fact that Jordan Spieth opens 2017 on more than half the rosters. Of course, it doesn’t mean that all gamers are starting him in the first round at Waialae, but it does speak to the confidence we have in him despite an 0-for-1 record in the tournament. Yeah, as if even a whiff of poor course history is going to dissuade a majority this early in his career. After being selected by 58.7 percent of the gamers at last week’s SBS Tournament of Champions (where he finished in a three-way tie for third), the 23-year-old paces the field of 144 in Honolulu at 54.4 percent. With planned starts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Open lined up on the West Coast Swing alone, those of us who are burning his second start in Segment 2 this week will need to be selective with where to schedule his third and final. Heck, even if you still have all three remaining, you’re going to need to be choosy. This is why the restriction of three starts per golfer per segment is such a great provision. You get to invest in fantasy gold, but to be competitive, you’re also required to mine for more. Of the 32 golfers who competed at Kapalua, 20 made the trip to Oahu. (There were originally 21, but Si Woo Kim withdrew on Wednesday.) Eight of those guys populate the top 10 most-owned at the Sony. Paul Casey (seventh) and the whale for Waialae, Charles Howell III (eighth), round out the board. Credit to the litany of gamers who found conviction with both Jason Dufner (ninth) and Tony Finau (10th) since both were exempt from my opinion in preview material. Defending champion Fabian Gomez is rostered by 6.6 percent of you, good for 22nd overall. The field is as deep as it’s ever been, so we could dive in to to analyze fantasy commitments to dozens of golfers, but one who I mistakenly omitted from my preview material is Jerry Kelly. This is his first PGA TOUR start since turning 50 in November. He’s 15-for-19 at Waialae and sits second in all-time earnings here with a victory (2002) and another eight top 10s, including in each of the last three editions. He 46th in ownership percentage (1.8) this week. 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 Data on ownership percentages at the Sony Open in Hawaii is currently unavailable. This section will be updated when possible.

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