by Well that was a good start to the year with the Steele victory! Let’s try to keep the momentum going as we head to the CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. For further fantasy content, insight and updates follow me on Twitter @friedeggpaulie
This is a no cut event with a number of PGA Tour players making the trek over for a short three tournament Asian swing. We have traditionally seen low scores at this event and I expect nothing different this week. You will need to be able to make birdies in bunches in order to contend. Here are some players to consider this week:
DraftKings:
Justin Thomas $12,400
I don’t know if DK could price Justin Thomas high enough this week. He might have the best odds since Tiger Woods to win an event at 4-1 this week. He has won this event the last two years and is coming in hot off of his stellar performances in the PGA Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs. Thomas is a birdie machine which helps our DK score as well. He has made 59 birdies and two eagles over his last 144 holes at this event! I realize his ownership will be sky high this week but I don’t care…..I’m not going to overthink this one.
Gavin Green $7,100
Green is an unknown to most golf fans. He is a Malaysian golfer who played collegiately in the US at New Mexico. Despite his poor performance here last year, I think he will perform well. He is coming in hot, with a victory at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters and a runner up at the Shinhan Donghae Open. He is also one of the longest players in the field and should be able to take advantage of his length on the par fives this week as well as be able to use irons off the tee for placement where others may need to hit driver. He has 34 birdies and an eagle over his last eight competitive rounds. Even though he is long, he also can keep his ball in play as evidenced by the fact that he has hit eight or more fairways in each of his last eight rounds. I expect a lot of the top DK pros to be on this sharp play this week, but expect the general public to pass on the unknown Green. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a tournament winning DK lineup this week.
Kevin Tway $7,000
Tway is kind of a shot in the dark here. He showed some flashes of game last week. He was only 5 shots behind eventual champion Steele heading into the final round but faltered with a final round 77. At a course where you need to go low, I think Tway may succeed as he is a streaky player and can make birdies by the bunches.
One-and-Done
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele seems to be a great fit for this course as he is not afraid to go low and gives himself a lot of birdie looks. The only question is whether there is a letdown after his Tour Championship victory.
Paul Casey
Casey is due for a victory (at least I keep telling myself this). I would be utterly surprised to see Casey finish outside the top 10 this week so he is a good choice if you are looking to add some cash to your team’s bankroll this week.
Gary Woodland
If you don’t want to use Casey or Xander, you may want to use Woodland this week. He is a great course fit as he has the length to attack the par fives and still be able to hit irons off a lot of par fours for placement while others hit driver. He finished near the bottom of the field the last two years but did finish runner up in 2013 and 2014.
Longshot:
Keegan Bradley 75-1
Bradley has had moderate success at TPC Kuala Lumpur highlighted by his sixth place finish last year after leading after round one. I don’t mind the missed cut last week as it gave him a bit of extra time to rest up and get ready for the long trek to Malaysia.
