Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – Olympic Men’s Golf Competition

Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – Olympic Men’s Golf Competition

By Erik Dantoft

Olympic Men’s Golf Competition Leaderboard Heading into the Weekend:

Xander Schauffele showed great form at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition during the opening rounds when he shot a round one 3-under 68 and followed that up with a blistering 8-under 63 in round two.  Schauffele will enter the weekend as the 36-hole leader at Kasumigaseki Country Club with a one stroke advantage.  Carlos Ortiz is looking to improve off his missed cut at The Open Championship last time out when he shot a total of 10-under par on Thursday and Friday at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  He is currently in solo 2^nd place on the leaderboard after two rounds of play in Saitama, Japan.  Alex Noren is enjoying his time at Kasumigaseki Country Club so far as he showed off his vintage tee-to-green game and putting during the first two rounds of the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  Noren will enter the weekend T3 on the leaderboard and is one of the betting favorites to win the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  Rory McIlroy also impressed on the golf course after he fired 7-under par thus far.  He is joined by Jazz Janewattananond, Shane Lowry and Paul Casey at T7 on the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition leaderboard heading into the weekend.  Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Joaquin Niemann and Sungjae Im all will have to step up their game over the weekend at Kasumigaseki Country Club to get back in the mix.  The weather in Saitama, Japan is expected to be more of the same as Friday so hopefully an exciting conclusion with plenty of Weekend Golf scoring is on the way.

 

Round 1 Scoring Avg:  69.583

Round 2 Scoring Avg:  69.523*

*Partial. Round 2 was suspended due to inclement weather.

Notable Poor Starts at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition:

Collin Morikawa

Justin Thomas

Patrick Reed

Joaquin Niemann

Sungjae Im

Corey Conners

Tommy Fleetwood

Marc Leishman

 

Olympic Men’s Golf Competition Weather:  The latest weather forecast for Saitama, Japan can be found here.

Updated Implied Probability to Win the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition:

Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors for the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition: 

Xander Schauffele – $10,400:  Xander Schauffele had two quality rounds so far in Saitama, Japan and overall is currently averaging +4.221 strokes gained approach and +0.391 strokes gained putting at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  He is enjoying the test at Kasumigaseki Country Club and should remain in contention for a gold medal during rounds three and four.  Schauffele is currently alone in 1^st place on the leaderboard with a 40.49% implied chance of winning the gold medal so two more low rounds over the weekend should be awaiting…

Hideki Matsuyama – $10,000:  Hideki Matsuyama is currently T3 on the leaderboard at Kasumigaseki Country Club and makes for a great Weekend Golf play due to his high implied chance of winning the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition (17.86%).  In other words, Matsuyama is “expected” to remain in contention over the weekend in Saitama, Japan and hopefully threaten to win the gold medal.  That also means that a particularly good Weekend Golf fantasy score would be on the way too.

Also consider:

Viktor Hovland – $10,700

 

Rory McIlroy – $9,400:  Rory McIlroy displayed great form in Saitama, Japan when he shot a total of 7-under par on Thursday and Friday of the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  He demonstrated a good grasp on how to attack Kasumigaseki Country Club as he averaged + 2.333 strokes gained approach and his putter was cooperating as well (+0.610 SG: P).  McIlroy currently sits T7 on the leaderboard and will hopefully remain in medal contention while racking up some Weekend Golf fantasy points at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.

Paul Casey – $9,200:  Paul Casey continues to golf at a high level in round two when he shot a total of 7-under par at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  His irons were outstanding during the opening rounds having averaged + 2.639 strokes gained approach.  Casey’s putting should pick up over the weekend after putting slightly below average during the opening rounds (–0.423 SG: P).  He is making the most of his visit to Saitama, Japan and has a 6.38% implied chance of winning a gold medal at Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Also consider:

Cameron Smith – $9,600

 

Shane Lowry – $8,900:  Shane Lowry’s approach game was impressive during the opening rounds of the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition (+5.936 SG: APP).  He is currently T7 while also averaging +0.080 strokes in the putting department (SG: P).  If Lowry can maintain his tee-to-green game and get hot with the flat stick, then he could be in for a nice weekend and potentially a win at Kasumigaseki Country Club. 

Carlos Ortiz – $8,200:  Carlos Ortiz is currently in solo 2^nd place at Kasumigaseki Country Club as of Friday morning stateside and should be feeling confident about his game.  He shot a total of 10-under par during the first two rounds while averaging + 0.803 strokes gained approach and gaining a massive amount on the field on the greens (+5.889 SG: P).  Ortiz has made some nice runs over the weekend before and another one at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition is not out of the question as he seeks gold for the country of Mexico.

Also consider:

Jhonattan Vegas – $8,400

Sebastian Munoz – $8,000

 

Mito Pereira – $7,800:  Mito Pereira is in contention as he currently sits T3 on the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition leaderboard heading into the weekend.  His $7.8k salary sets him up to be a chalky, but worthy Weekend Golf play over on DraftKings.  He is clearly playing quality golf right now at Kasumigaseki Country Club after shooting 8-under par thus far.  Pereira had an outstanding approach game performance during the opening rounds (+1.778 SG: APP) and his putter was working for him as well (+1.354 SG: P).  If he can maintain his tee-to-green and stay hot with the flatstick, then two more rounds in the 60s for Weekend Golf should be on the way…

Alex Noren – $7,500:  Alex Noren had his irons working during the opening rounds of the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.  He averaged +1.689 strokes gained approach while also gaining +2.347 strokes gained putting at Kasumigaseki Country Club.  He has a 5.36% implied chance of winning gold in Saitama, Japan and with only a $7,500 salary, Noren just might be too good to pass up for Weekend Golf.

Rory Sabbatini – $6,500:  Rory Sabbatini is currently T11 heading into the weekend at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition and makes for a solid Weekend Golf play since he has a slight implied chance of winning a gold medal (0.82%) still.  Simply put, oddsmakers like, but do not love Sabbatini’s chances over the weekend for a podium finish from his current position.  He should keep his putter going though (+0.317 SG: P) and that should translate into a good Weekend Golf fantasy score from the mid $6k range at Kasumigaseki Country Club. 

Also consider:

Sepp Straka – $7,900

Guido Migliozzi – $7,600

Thomas Detry – $7,000

 

Good luck.

– Erik Dantoft

@edantoft on Twitter