Fantasy Golf Insider Crystal Ball

By: Fantasy Golf Insider Staff
January 5, 2015

Whether you are a season long or daily fantasy golfer it is important to be able to know what golfers are going to be successful before they actually become successful. We use the valuable tools available on our website FantasyGolfInsider.com to identify those golfers that you will need to target during 2015, especially early in the season before everybody else starts to catch on. We realize it is really easy to say we like the following guys to have great years- Rory Mcllroy, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, and Sergio Garcia like most “experts” do. Duh, anybody can do that. This article however digs down and tries to identify those golfers that might be flying under the radar and allow you to make money by choosing them on your fantasy golf rosters. We do recommend a few big names within the article, but only because we think they are still undervalued, have not yet started winning regularly on tour, and will outperform what most people would predict.

Players to Target:

Jordan Spieth– This 21 year old now has a couple of seasons on the PGA tour under his belt and is primed for a major breakout. Spieth has shown flashes of brilliance including his runner-up finish at the Masters in 2014, but was unable to win a single event in 27 PGA tournaments. That will change this season. Spieth won the Australian Open in November by a convincing 6 strokes with a blistering final round 63. He then shook off any jet lag and won the Hero World Challenge four days later. Spieth not only won that tournament, but he dominated it and shot a 26 under par, 10 strokes better than runner up Henrik Stenson. His confidence has reached a new high and his play is showing it. Our prediction is that Spieth will a couple of PGA events this year, of which one could easily be a major. For you season long players, pick him early and take advantage of the zone he is in. Daily players will have to pay a premium price, but will be worth it especially while he rides this current hot streak.

Henrik Stenson– Speaking of hot streaks, they don’t come much hotter than Mr. Stenson. He is amongst the hottest golfers according to our Who’s Hot research tool. In his past 3 events, Stenson has taken 2nd at the Hero World Challenge (only behind the hottest golfer on the planet-Jordan Spieth), a 3rd at the Turkish Airlines Open, and won the DP World Championships. Because his recent success has taken place on the European Tour, he might not have hit a lot of people’s radars yet as far as someone who can win any tournament he enters. Stenson shockingly did not win a single event on the PGA tour last year so he might be underestimated early this season. The only thing that has held Stenson back from winning events in the past has been his putting, and it looks as though he has improved in that area, at least recently. His ball striking is amongst the best on tour and he will win multiple events this season. As with Spieth, pick him early and ride his hot streak.

Rickie Fowler– This is the year for Rickie to be hoisting some hardware. After a 2014 season of near misses, Fowler did not win a single event on tour. That will change for the better, much like his swing has with the help of Butch Harmon. Rickie had ten top 10s in 26 events last season, including top 5s in each of the four majors. We will warn you however that Fowler does have the capability to miss a cut on occasion as he showed last year by missing seven, including The Crowne Plaza Invitational. Really, he appears in all of their television ads and then throws up an 80 and a 75 back to back for them? Ugh. Anyway, we forgive him, especially since he helped us win a lot of money last year as we rostered him frequently. He is too good not to start winning, and thus we predict he will win at least 2 events this season and get a major under his orange belt.

Hideki Matsuyama– Warning: picking Matsuyama can cause severe stress and you may need to consult a heart specialist. Seriously, Matsuyama can make your jaw drop sometimes at his talent and make you want to break somebody’s jaw other times with his inconsistency. In 2014 Matsuyama missed three cuts and withdrew twice, but also had four top 10s and won the Memorial Tournament in June. This fall he has already tied for 3rd at the Frys.com, tied for 10th at the Shriners, and won the Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan fending of Jordan Spieth to win the title. Matsuyama is definitely not the guy for the weak heart, however we will be picking him throughout 2014 as he is extremely talented and will win again soon. For daily players, he might not be a great cash game player, but definitely take a serious look at him for large tournaments (GPPs), where greatness/volatility is rewarded.

For more golfers that we predict to do well in 2015, including some undervalued players and unknowns become a premium member of Fantasy Golf Insider.

Graeme Mcdowell– Not a bad 2014 for Mcdowell, but not a stellar one for him either. In 17 PGA events he made 16 cuts (great for you daily fantasy cash game players), including 8 top 10s. Mcdowell however did not have any wins or runner-ups and we bet that changes this season. We predict that those 7-10th place finishes turn into top 5s this year, including a tour win. He is below the top 5-10 players on tour, which means his price will be low compared to his output this year, helping us profit.

Robert Streb– Not too many people will be targeting Robert Streb early in the season, but he should offer some great value, especially in daily fantasy golf. In his 5 events of the fall season, Streb was 5 for 5 in made cuts and had 3 top 10s. He proved that he can handle the pressure of closing out a tournament by winning the McGladrey Classic in October. Streb did not have an overly impressive 2014 as he only had two top 10s all season, but he looks like a much improved golfer lately. He is currently ranked in our top 5 hottest golfers according to our current form rankings. We are not sure if he will win any more events in 2015, but he will be someone who consistently makes cuts, makes the occasional top 10 and will definitely give you great value at a resonable price on daily sites.

Brooks Koepka– As long as we are talking about golfers who rank high in our Who’s Hot rankings, not too many players are ahead of Brooks Koepka. He has placed in the top 10 in both PGA events he entered in the fall including a tied for 8th in the Frys.com Open and a tied for 4th in the Shriners. In addition, he won the Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour in early November. We are expecting big things from Koepka this season and think he might be under the radar for most after placing in only two top 10s all his PGA events of 2014. He may be a little bit more of a volatile players as far as making cuts, but he has the ability to make top 10s consistently and even win an event. It will be interesting to see where Koepka is priced on daily fantasy sites early in the season and whether we will be able to fit him on a roster alongside a couple studs like Stenson and Spieth. If so, that would be our play in a lot of cash games and tournaments alike.

Alexander Levy (pronounced “La-vee” )– Is blistering hot and not too many have heard of this Frenchman. Since September, Levy has tied for 14th in his only PGA appearance in the WGC HSBC and on the European Tour tied for 11th at the Turkish Airlines Classic, 2nd at the BMW Masters, and won the Portugal Masters. He is currently ranked high in our Who is Hot rankings. Levy only plays a handful of events on the PGA tour, but keep his name in your back pocket for when he does, as a great sleeper option.

Tony Finau– A PGA tour rookie, Finau played on the Web.Com tour last season and made 19 cuts in 23 events including 5 top 10s and a win in the Stonebrae Classic. Finau clearly has all the tools and has started with a bang making 4 cuts in 5 events so far on the PGA tour this season including a tied for 12th at the Frys.com, tied for 7th in the Shriners, tied for 14th at the McGladrey Classic, and tied for 7th in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Finau is listed as our top rookie in our Rookies to watch article. We will be rostering Finau often, especially while he is still undervalued and unknown by the general public.

Other names to watch and consider in 2015:

Will Mackenzie– According to Mackenzie, last season his family life became a distraction and he ended the season miserably. This season he has rededicated himself and it shows. In his first three events he has made every cut including two Top 10s. If he stays focused he will be a real factor this season.

Andres Gonzales– Has made five cuts in five appearances so far this season. Keep him in mind for daily fantasy golf cash games.

Jason Bohn– After missing the first cut of the fall at the Frys.com, Bohn has made four straight and two top 10s.

Jamie Donaldson– Playing extremely well on the European Tour, hopefully it will translate in PGA events. Since he plays mostly oversees, he might be undervalued so keep him in mind.

Chris Kirk– Not exactly an unknown after his run at the end of last season, so his price might be up. If it is still low, snap him up especially in daily fantasy cash games because he is extremely consistent and a cut machine. See the article Cash game vs. Tournaments section on the How to win playing daily fantasy golf to learn more about distinguishing between the two.

David Hearn– Starting out this season real strong with 3 top 20s. He should be priced cheap and nobody will be choosing him early so he could provide some nice value.

Rory Mcllroy– Ha,Ha gotcha. Actually we just didn’t want anybody telling us that we missed him when he wins this year. He has won before and he will win again. Newsflash he is good.