Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – THE PLAYERS Championship
Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors – THE PLAYERS Championship
By Erik Dantoft
THE PLAYERS Championship Leaderboard Heading into the Weekend:
Coming off a solo 2nd place finish last time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Lee Westwood kept that good form going during the opening rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship when he shot a round one 3-under 69 and followed that up with a 6-under 66 in round two. Westwood will enter the weekend as the solo leader at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Matthew Fitzpatrick also carried over his momentum from last week’s T10 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he shot a total of 8-under par on Thursday and Friday at THE PLAYERS Championship. He sits alone in solo 2nd place on the leaderboard after two rounds of play in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Apparently last week’s win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was not enough for Bryson DeChambeau as he continued to show off his elite tee-to-green game during the first two rounds at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He is joined by Sungjae Im, Brian Harman, Charley Hoffman, Doug Ghim and Denny McCarthy at T5 on THE PLAYERS Championship leaderboard heading into the weekend. Sergio Garcia and Chris Kirk continue to impress on the golf course after both fired 7-under par thus far and sit T3 on THE PLAYERS Championship leaderboard. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood all made too many mistakes and will not get a weekend tee time at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. The weather in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida is expected to remain pleasant over the weekend so an exciting conclusion with plenty of Weekend Golf scoring should be in order.
Round 1 Scoring Avg: 73.805
Round 2 Scoring Avg: 72.000*
* Round 2 Suspended due to Darkness.
Notable Missed Cuts at THE PLAYERS Championship:
Rory McIlroy
Patrick Cantlay
Xander Schauffele
Webb Simpson
Viktor Hovland
Tony Finau
Tyrrell Hatton
Hideki Matsuyama
Tommy Fleetwood
Scottie Scheffler
Max Homa
Russell Henley
Kevin Na
Francesco Molinari
Kevin Kisner
THE PLAYERS Championship: The latest weather forecast for Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida can be found here.
Updated Implied Probability to Win THE PLAYERS Championship:
| Matthew Fitzpatrick | 2 | 16.83% |
| Lee Westwood | 1 | 15.04% |
| Bryson DeChambeau | T5 | 14.91% |
| Sergio Garcia | T3 | 10.79% |
| Sungjae Im | T5 | 8.22% |
| Jon Rahm | T14 | 7.73% |
| Chris Kirk | T3 | 6.59% |
| Brian Harman | T5 | 4.04% |
| Paul Casey | T14 | 3.79% |
| Charley Hoffman | T5 | 3.74% |
| Doug Ghim | T5 | 2.81% |
| Corey Conners | T14 | 2.40% |
| Justin Thomas | T22 | 2.39% |
| Denny McCarthy | T5 | 2.23% |
| Dustin Johnson | T36 | 2.03% |
| Jason Day | T18 | 2.02% |
| Talor Gooch | T11 | 1.98% |
Stat Boy’s Weekend Warriors for THE PLAYERS Championship:
Dustin Johnson – $10,300: Dustin Johnson is currently T36 on the leaderboard at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and makes for a great Weekend Golf play due to his respectable implied chance of winning THE PLAYERS Championship still (2.03%). In other words, DJ is “expected” to move up the leaderboard over the weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and hopefully get back into the mix come Sunday afternoon. That also means that a particularly good Weekend Golf fantasy score would be on the way too.
Bryson DeChambeau – $10,100: Bryson DeChambeau has had two great rounds so far in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and overall is currently averaging +3.72 strokes gained tee-to-green and +0.18 strokes gained putting at THE PLAYERS Championship. He is enjoying another test at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and should remain in contention during rounds three and four. DeChambeau is currently T5 and is more than capable of two more low rounds over the weekend.
Justin Thomas – $9,900: Justin Thomas continued his great form in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and continues to show a good grasp on how to attack the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He has averaged +0.83 strokes gained tee-to-green thus far and his putter should remain steady over the weekend (+1.07 SG: P). He currently sits T22 on the leaderboard and will hopefully remain in the mix while racking up some Weekend Golf fantasy points THE PLAYERS Championship.
Jon Rahm – $9,700: Jon Rahm continues to golf at a high level and is currently T14 on THE PLAYERS Championship leaderboard. His game has been fantastic having averaged +2.10 strokes gained tee-to-green so far. Rahm’s putting should remain hot over the weekend after putting great during the opening rounds (+0.80 SG: P). He is making the most of his visit to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and has a 7.73% implied chance of winning at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Also consider:
Collin Morikawa – $9,400
Jordan Spieth – $9,000
Matthew Fitzpatrick – $8,700: Matthew Fitzpatrick’s tee-to-green game was impressive during the opening rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship (+3.34 SG: T2G). He is currently in solo 2nd place after 36 holes while averaging +1.25 strokes gained approach and gaining strokes in the putting department at +1.55 strokes gained putting. If Fitzpatrick can maintain his tee-to-green game and remain hot with the flat stick, then he could be in for a nice weekend and win at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Sergio Garcia – $8,400: Sergio Garcia is currently T3 at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass as of Friday afternoon and should be feeling confident about his game. He shot a total of 7-under par during the first two rounds while averaging +3.97 strokes gained tee-to-green and +0.42 gained strokes on the greens. He has made some nice runs over the weekend before in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and another one could be in order as he looks to win THE PLAYERS Championship for a second time.
Also consider:
Sungjae Im – $8,300
Corey Conners – $8,200
Lee Westwood – $7,500: For the second consecutive week, Lee Westwood is in contention again as he currently is the solo leader on THE PLAYERS Championship leaderboard heading into the weekend. His mid $7k 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 the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass after shooting 9-under par thus far. His tee-to-green game is firing on all cylinders right now (+3.19 SG: T2G) and that should help him maintain his pace over the weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. If his putter stays hot, then more two rounds in the 60s for Weekend Golf should be on the way…
Paul Casey – $7,400: Paul Casey had his tee-to-green game working during the opening rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship. He averaged +3.12 strokes gained tee-to-green while losing -0.22 strokes putting at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He has a 3.79% implied chance of winning in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and with only a $7,400 salary, Casey just might be too good to pass up for Weekend Golf.
Chris Kirk – $7,100: Chris Kirk is currently T3 heading into the weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship and makes for a fantastic Weekend Golf play since he has a decent implied chance of winning the tournament still (6.59%). Simply put, oddsmakers like Kirk’s chances over the weekend and should keep his outstanding tee-to-green going (+4.92 SG: P). That also should translate into an especially good Weekend Golf fantasy score at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Also consider:
Brian Harman – $7,900
Charley Hoffman – $7,300
Denny McCarthy – $6,900
Dylan Frittelli – $6,600
Good luck.
– Erik Dantoft
@edantoft on Twitter
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