2014 Fantasy GolfChris Garosi

2014 Fantasy Golf Daily Fix: The Masters

Sergio GarciaThis week we head to Augusta National Golf Club for the 2014 Masters Tournament. In honor of the most important tournament on the schedule, DraftStreet is offering a fantastic contest  with a $3,000 first prize. Here are the details for the Guaranteed $20,000 Masters Daily Fantasy Game at DraftStreet:

– $20,000 prize pool.
– Top 300 paid.
– 1st place wins $3,000
– $11 Entry Fee with a maximum of 2,000 entries.
– Starts on Thursday April 10 for The Masters.
– First time depositors at DraftStreet receive a 100% bonus up to $200

Tour Stop

Augusta National Golf Club is located in August, Georgia. The course was designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie and opened in 1933. The course is a 7,435 yard long par 72 that was lengthened extensively over a ten year period ending in 2006.

Field

Everyone who is anyone is here as 56 of the top 60 players in the Overall World Golf Ranking are here. However, it is also a smaller field than normal tour stops with only 97 players available for daily fantasy players (and a few of those (past champions & amateurs) at the bottom of the salary pool are desperation  options).

Injuries

Tiger Woods is missing as he recuperates from back surgery. Other injured players include Dustin Johnson who withdrew last week with a back issue. Bubba Watson is supposed to return this week after having issues with allergies. We will see Jason Day return from his thumb injury this week, but I’m not sure I’d play him this week as there isn’t much of a discount for the injury that required a cortisone shot last week to get him healthy. We may also see Nick Watney back in the field. Phil Mickelson also has an oblique injury, but I assume he’ll be out there to give it a go on the course.

And in another familial fun fact, Kevin Stadler will get to play with his dad Craig Stadler in the elder’s last Masters Tournament – the first father-son tandem to do so.

2013 Tournament Results

Here is the top 20 from the 2013 Masters:

Masters_2013_Results

DraftStreet Expert Picks

Let’s look at a few options this week – with a smaller field with higher quality players, the list below may be a bit shallower than for tournaments that have 144 or more entrants.

This course (perhaps more than any) will see me relying on a player’s history. However, with the set up last week at the Shell attempting to mirror the Masters’ setup, I will also have a few choices based purely on the work done last week.

One important note – the last first time Masters’ entrant to win in his inaugural voyage at Augusta was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

Angel Cabrera | $15,884 – Cabrera is a horse for the course pick.  He has played 50 rounds at Augusta. His scoring average is 71.94 and trails only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for a player who has played 99 rounds or fewer. He’s on my Masters’ rosters in all formats irrespective of his current form. He has six top-10s at the Masters.

Fred Couples | $12,269 – Fred Couples is the American Angel Cabrera. Couples scoring average of 71.88 is the best all time for anyone with more than 100 rounds at Augusta. Better than Jack Nicklaus. Better than Tom Watson. Better than Sam Snead, Gary Player and Bernhard Langer. He’s on my Masters’ rosters in all formats irrespective of his current form. Couples has made 27 cuts overall and made 23 straight cuts from 1983 to 2007.

Jamie Donaldson | $12,715 – Donaldson made his Master’s debut last year and failed to make the cut with a 74-75. He has some solid play this season and at 28 th in OWGR, he’s a bargain at this price. Victor Dubuisson ($13,935), Thomas Bjorn ($11,324) and Graham DeLaet ($13,892) also stick out for low prices when compared to their OWGR.  

Rickie Fowler | $14,485 – He’s got three made cuts at the Masters but hasn’t been higher than 28 th in the ranks. He’s coming off a spectacular tourney at the Shell and looks like he’s starting to incorporate some of Butch Harmon’s work.

Sergio Garcia | $20,692 – Garcia has never won a major. Could this be the season? Perhaps. Garcia is in top form with a third place finish last week and four top-10s overall in six PGA tournaments this season and another two top-10s on the European tour in three starts.  He tied for eighth last year and 12 th in 2012. At just over $20k, he’s only the seventh highest priced player on the board.

Branden Grace | $11,503 – Call this a hunch, but looking at Grace’s rounds from last year I see a ton of value. Grace went 78-71-70-69 to finish at even par for the tournament and in a tie for 18 th. South African players have always seemed to perform well at Augusta – perhaps it’s the legacy of Gary Player who won three times here. Grace is not in great form with two missed cuts in his last three tournaments (and a 79 th place finish in the other tourney) so there certainly is risk.

Russell Henley | $11,692 – Henley missed the cut last year (though fired a respectable 72 in his first round before imploding with an 81 to miss the cut), but he’s in great form coming off a seventh place finish at the Shell Houston Open. He also has a win under his belt this year.

Matt Kuchar | $22,502 – Kuchar is another expensive option that I would consider based on current form as well as history at the course. Kuchar splashed onto the scene at August in 1998 with a 21 st place finish as an amateur. He has two top-10s in his last two starts here and two top-10s in his last two starts on tour this season.

Miguel Angel Jimenez during Monday's practice round/Credit PGA Tour/Getty Images
Miguel Angel Jimenez during Monday’s practice round/Credit PGA Tour/Getty Images

Miguel Angel Jimenez| $10,680 – Jimenez is another ‘horse for course’ player. He missed the cut last year, but had made eight straight prior to that miss. There is a good amount of risk here, but that risk is priced in at DraftStreet. And really – look at that picture of the guy – how can you not root for him?

Charl Schwartzel | $18,044 – I can’t quit you Charl. Schwartzel has a green jacket on his resume and has made the cut in his last four trips. He’s got two top-20 finishes in his last two tourneys after his disappointing missed cut at the Honda.

Good luck this week! Head over to DraftStreet to choose your squad for this week.

DraftStreet Scoring

Roster size: 6 Golfers

Points Scoring
ALBA*   4.5 pts
EAG       2 pts
BRD        1 pt
PAR        0.2 pts
BGY        -0.6 pts
2BGY+   -1.6 pts

*ALBA = Albatross or double eagle

PLACE
1st          8 pts
2nd        5 pts
3rd         4 pts
4th-10th               3 pts
11th-25th            2 pts
26th-50th            1 pt

Round Bonuses
BFR*      1 pt
LROD**                2 pts

*BFR = Bogey-free round
*LROD = Low round

Note :

1. Ties will not affect “PLACE” bonus. For example, if three players tie for 2nd they will all receive the 5 point bonus for 2nd place.

2. Playoff holes will not count towards scoring but can impact the place a golfer finishes.

3. Golfers who withdraw or are disqualified in the middle of a round will receive 0 fantasy points for that round.

4. If multiple golfers tie for low round of the day, full bonus points will be awarded to all of them.

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