I’ll be sharing my weekly picks for Fanteam’s fantasy golf contests, along with selections for their player matchups and sportsbook offerings. Fanteam, the UKGC-regulated platform and Europe’s largest DFS site, offers an exciting way to engage with golf. See below to find out how you can claim a free entry to their Masters contest – no deposit required!
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The Masters is here and as eyes widen at the sight of spectacular Augusta National, this new fantasy column is in a good place after a successful last fortnight.
At the Houston Open, fifth place (out of 333) for my sole line-up secured a healthy win and 25th in last week’s Valero Texas Open added further profits.
The key in both was solid performances from my UD (Underdog) selections – Jesper Svensson in Houston and Ryo Hisatsune in the Valero.
They finished T27 and T5 respectively and, as regular players in the Fanteam game will know by now, the UD scores x1.25pts (as does the captain). Full scoring rules are here.
My strategy of spreading the 100M salary evenly rather than loading up at the top and finding dubious makeweights (“stars and scrubs” as it’s known) is working for now so this isn’t a week where I’ll play both Scottie Scheffler (24.8M) and Rory McIlroy (22.2M) and then scramble to find four others at a combined cost of just 53M (average 13.25M).
Having said that, there are some players that look enticing at bargain prices.You’ll find out below.
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Top Tier Picks (18m and over)
Jon Rahm (20.8M): Rahm doesn’t come cheap and neither should he but I’m happy to play the Spaniard at 4M less than Scheffler, who has the unenviable task of trying to win back-to-back Masters. Rahm, like so many other defending champions, struggled a year on from striking gold and as well as that superb four-shot win in 2023 he has four straight Masters top 10s from 2018-2021. Without winning, he’s been ticking over nicely enough on LIV (2-6-6-5-9) and looks primed for a big week.
Bryson DeChambeau (19.8M): Those looking to dip under 20M can get in DeChambeau and it makes lots of sense to bring him on board. He has a win, a second, a fourth, a sixth and a 20th in his last five majors on American soil. And last year he made a bit of a breakthrough at Augusta when overcoming some previous disappointing course form to finish sixth. That could be a turning point for the two-time US Open winner and a fifth place at LIV Miami on Sunday shows he’s ready to shine.
Others to consider: Justin Thomas (19.2M) has been too desperate to do well here previously but it’s a course that suits and fourth, eighth, 12th and 17th show he can score well on this track. JT was second at the Valspar last time out. Jordan Spieth (18M) is an absolute course horse with the sixth of his top fours coming in 2023. The 2015 Masters winner was 12th in Texas last week. Collin Morikawa (21M) is definite captaincy material if you’re not playing Scottie or Rory. The Californian has current form of 10-2-17-17-2 and course form of 3-10-5-18.
Mid-Range Value Selections ($14.2m up to 18m)
Shane Lowry (17.6M): The 2019 Open winner has the ideal mix of strong mid-to-long iron play and magic around the greens to be seen as a likely Green Jacket winner. He’s made the top 25 in four of his last five Masters and that includes third in 2022. He’s a form horse too with second place behind McIlroy at Pebble Beach one of five top 20s in his last six starts. The latest was eighth at the Valspar where he ranked 1st for Scrambling – a key asset at Augusta.
Russell Henley (16.8M): Henley ticks plenty of trends this week and his confidence is right up after an excellent win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month. Take note: Scheffler won the API ahead of both his two Masters wins. The Georgia native, who has often picked the brains of 1987 Augusta hero and fellow local Larry Mize, has an impressively solid Masters record with seven straight finishes of 39th or better. That run includes fourth in 2023. His pre-Augusta form has never been so good following that Bay Hill win and three other top 10s in his last six starts.
Others to consider: Sepp Straka (15.2M) is second in the FedExCup standings this season (Henley is third) after a win in The American Express and six other top 15s. His 16th at last year’s Masters shows he’s building confidence at Augusta following 46th and 30th. Lefties have a great record here and Robert MacIntyre (16M) has also flashed some promise with 12th (2021) and 23rd (2022) in his only two Masters starts so far. A two-time winner on the PGA Tour last year, the Scot is in fine fettle thanks to four top 11s in his last five worldwide starts. Patrick Reed (14.6M) looks to offer great value at sub-15M. Since winning the 2018 Masters, he’s posted 36-10-8-35-4-12 at Augusta and returns on the back of second and seventh in his latest two LIV events. And how about another former Masters winner in Sergio Garcia (14.2M). The man who handed the Green Jacket to Reed has really struggled in the majors since that 2017 win but 12th in last year’s US Open along with a victory and two other top fours in his last four LIV starts make him an interesting option.
Underdog Options (14m and Under)
Phil Mickelson (13.4M): The three-time Masters winner doesn’t just come here to wave and enjoy the views; he can still be a force as shown by finishing joint-second two years ago. He’s also made his last seven Augusta cuts so there’s every chance he’ll be scoring points for you on the weekend. That feeling grows when looking at his recent LIV displays which reveal a sixth in Miami on Sunday and third in Hong Kong two starts earlier.
J.J. Spaun (13.6M): It won’t be often you’ll find a player in the Underdog (14M and Under) section that has two second places in his last four starts, one of those coming at The Players Championship. But that’s the case with J.J. Spaun this week. Perhaps there’s a perception that he’s too short a hitter and has a couple of missed cuts to his name here. Wrong. Spaun has played just one Masters but performed creditably to finish inside the top 25 in 2023. His Approach numbers really are exceptional this year.
Others to consider: I definitely think it’s a viable strategy to keep former Masters winners in mind and another possibility at a bargain price is Charl Schwartzel (12.4M). The 2011 champion was 10th in 2022, has made the weekend in four of the last five Masters and nudges further up my thinking thanks to his second place at LIV Miami last week. And why not 2016 winner Danny Willett (12.4M) too! The Englishman has a 12th (2022) and a 45th (2024) in the last three Masters and has made three of his last five cuts on the PGA Tour. In the two he missed, Willett fired 71-67 (Cognizant) and 69-69 (Houston) and has shot 72 or lower in each of his last 14 rounds. Michael Kim (13.4M) has a second, a fourth and a sixth on the PGA Tour this season and looks in far better shape then when he played his only Masters (MC) in 2019. We’re going into the unknown with Masters first-timer Kevin Yu (12.6M) but he has four top 20s in his last six starts, including 18-12 in the last two, is 24th for SG: Approach this season and his ownership will be negligible.
Yes, there’s a Sportsbook too, covering golf, football, tennis, NBA etc.
Jon Rahm is my ‘win only’ selection at 14/1. I like the pattern of players winning one year, struggling a bit when defending, but returning to win a second Green Jacket the year after.
Phil Mickelson (2004 and 2006), Bubba Watson (2012 and 2014) and Scottie Scheffler (2022 and 2024) all fit that pattern.
Anyway, enjoy what should be a thrilling week and don’t forget to SIGN UP HERE
DaveTindall365 