Welcome to the first edition of GolfMatch’s very own Fantasy Focus. A weekly guide to best fulfill your fantasy golf fantasies. Fantasy golf enthusiasts are a proud, dedicated bunch who I’m honored to call my brethren. I look forward to helping escort you through the murky waters that encapsulate the fantasy golf universe, so feel free to provide feedback on layout, content, and structure of the weekly posts. I’ll try to post results from my previous week’s picks (which could end up haunting me), but I like to track my own performance as well as the pro’s.

How it works:

  • My Guy: If I’m picking in a one-golfer league, and had to just pick one…he’s the guy.
  • Stripes: “Man, I was striping it today” as the big guy likes to say. Call these guys my “favorites” each week.
  • Shanks: I hate to even say this word, especially on a golf course, but these are guys that may be getting some love around the ‘interwebs’ – but I’m not buying it.

My Guy: 

  • It’s an early season, but he’s one of only three guys (the other two, Streb/Koepka, aren’t in the field this week) with two top 10’s. So upper-decki Hideki is batting 1.000 on the year in top-10 average. I’ll take the young Japanese phenom and his smooth stop-and-go swing. It may come down to the putter, but I like how he’s played this year, and think a guaranteed 4 days will leave Hideki Matsuyama in the winner’s circle.

Stripes:

  • Still riding his Ryder Cup high, and will benefit from no cut this week. I foresee one shaky round, but Patrick Reed will be in contention on Sunday.
  • Officially (though debatably depending on who you ask) the best player in the field. Have to believe he’ll contend, would be surprised if he finished outside the top 10. No cut means less pressure, but there’s one thing I’ve learned about Sergio Garcia over my fantasy golf career: Don’t bet on him to actually win.
  • Played well at home last week, not travelling as far as some others in the field, and has won on the tour recently. Seung-Yul Noh may not be the biggest name in the field, and can be streaky, but I think he’s worth a play this week.

Shanks:

  • New dad. Long way from home. Missed cut last week. I’m sure Billy Horschel is glad to be back on the course with a freshly padded bank account, but I think the only top 5 he’ll be in this week is the bold outfit competition.
  • Had a decent top 25 finish last week in Perth, but I’m not convinced he can come out and compete against a deeper field this week. Passing on Jason Dufner until he gets some more rounds under his slimmed-down belt after a few months off due to injury.
  • I’m treating the hype around Brendon de Jonge’s P2 last week as…well…hype. Had to go back to June to find the last time he even finished inside the top 30 on the PGA Tour. The man from Zimbabwe is streaky, and can get hot, but unfortunately I don’t think it travels week to week.