Welcome back for another week of some PGA, it is a bit different this week as we have now made it to the Presidents Cup week. This week should be very, very one sided with USA being massive favorites over -700 in most books with some holding them at -800. I will be honest that I do not love this week, but hopefully international team can keep it a bit close to give us some action over the weekend instead of it being a complete disaster. This week we are at Quail Hollow which is in Charlotte, North Carolina. I will be doing this article a bit different just due to the small field and also the strategy needed. Kind of like we needed to build a certain way at the Ryder Cup. I will be breaking golfers down in sections of captain picks and flex picks. Each golfer will get a breakdown and I will then explain what my strategy will be. Just let it be known you should not be making any lineups until Wednesday when we know who is paired together and all the fun stuff. Let’s get to it!
Captain Picks
Justin Thomas (Cash Captain)
I will just let you know right now JT will be a popular captain pick and that is what will put me only having him in cash games this week. He is great in match play and while its only 8 rounds he is 2nd in ball striking at Quail Hollow. I wouldn’t hate having him as a GPP captain, but you would have to find a way to get different because him captain will push you and everyone into the same exact plays. Also, he should be paired up with Spieth I would believe but there is a chance USA wipes the floor with international and he doesn’t get to play all 5 times which would limit his upside.
Tony Finau (GPP Captain)
We will need to see who he is paired with, but Finau has a decent chance to play almost every day which would then bring him towards the top of the list with a chance to smash this price tag. Finau has some great ball striking the past month and that is what I like to see from him coming into this tournament. Finau seems like he could easily take over the Dustin Johnson role and that would be great for him if he really did because then I could easily see him being the optimal captain this week.
Sungjae Im (GPP Captain)
Of the guys on the international team Sungjae has the best chance to play all five sessions. Now will that mean he smashes? No not necessarily just because he could be facing some of the top guys on the USA team. I will state though he is pretty cheap for a guy who can break the slate if a couple things fall his way. Some of the best ball striking in the field and his form coming in is great and is one of the better golfers here on any given day.
Tom Kim (Deep GPP Captain)
I will start this off by just letting you know this play will work out maybe 2% of the time but that is also what his captain ownership might be or maybe even less. This kid has some great talent and is near the bottom in pricing and can get you whoever you would like to get in your lineups. I probably will get him in a lineup in the $20 but I can not see myself playing him in anything else.
Flex Picks
Xander Schauffele (Cash/GPP)
Going to be paired with Patrick Cantlay more than likely and has a good chance at playing all five sessions. I know I said for Justin Thomas that’s team USA could wipe the floor with them and it lowers their ceilings, but we need to look at it with it being a normal day for the most part and these guys should pay off their price tags and be great in all aspects of this tournament.
Hideki Matsuyama (GPP)
I already know everyone will give me crap for him, but he technically, in terms of what he has done in the past, is the best golfer on this team. He is so volatile. Hideki should be going up against the team of either JT/Spieth or Xander/Cantlay day 1 so theoretically should already be down 0-1 and could get benched a day if he can’t win.
Corey Conners (Cash/GPP)
Will be chalky this week just due to having upside and being one of the top ball strikers in the field. Thoughts are Conners gets paired with Pendrith but I think for the international team to steal some wins would be pairing Conners with Sungjae. If that is the case, then I will be heavy on Conners for this week.
Cameron Young (Cash/GPP)
This play is going to depend on who he gets paired with tomorrow. If he is paired with Finau to start, then I love him this week but if he is paired with like a Billy Horschel or a Kevin Kisner then I will be off just in the thought they don’t love him, and he will not play enough sessions to smash.
Sam Burns (GPP)
The thought is he will be paired with Scottie Scheffler this week and that would be great for him. I do not think he will play all five sessions, but he can give you a smaller salary and get exposure to winning with Scheffler and comes in almost a whole $2k less.
Cameron Davis (Cash/GPP)
The price tag is so low this week and I think we can see a good number of sessions from him, and he could pay off quite easily. In this range Pendrith is going to be massive chalk and for a good reason but I would take Davis over him unless we see something crazy when groups are released.
Mito Pereira (GPP)
This could be the best or legit the worst play of the entire week. I will be overweight here because he has massive upside for his talent but once again it will all depend on who he gets paired with. I would love to see him with like a Sungjae or Tom Kim but I doubt we see either of those pairings.
Taylor Pendrith (Cash/GPP)
Going to be a great cash game play and a decent GPP play this week. Rumors are he is paired with Conners and that would mean he is going to play 4-5 sessions as long as he is playing decent and isn’t playing awful.
Jordan Spieth (GPP)
Going to be on my list this week but I’m not sure I will personally get there. Spieth has looked better as of late, but he could also come out and not do great and get benched a day. Massive upside this week for sure though so I do not hate putting him in lineups.
Slate Strategy
So, depending on what the pairings are tomorrow this slate strategy could change but as of now I have four guys I am looking to play in the captain spot and one of them is a massive long shot. So, if you believe USA wipes the floor with this tournament then you will want either JT or Finau just because they will be scoring a bunch of points. Now if you believe this is a bit closer then most people do then you will want either Sungjae or Tom Kim because I actually believe it will be on the backs of them. I will be in chat discussing more about this slate tomorrow when all pairings are released and hope we can come out with some good money.
