Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Fantasy Golf: The American Express Preview

On the last Sunday of the NFL's regular season, I was sitting with my nineteen year old son watching yet another meaningless game narrated by mindless announcers when I suggested that maybe we find something more intriguing like a documentary about sand and he suggested the movie Amsterdam. Apparently he had already started it but magnanimously agreed to re-watch the first 20 minutes with me. If you have a teenager of your own, you are probably as stunned by his offer as I was considering that no generation in history has coupled less patience with fewer pressing obligations. 

Amsterdam had previously caught my attention for obvious reasons. It stars three of the most engaging actors on the planet in Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Robinson working under the direction of David O' Russell (American Hustle, Three Kings, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook). It also has Rami Malek, Michael Shannon and Robert Freakin' De Niro in key supporting roles. I mean just back-up the Oscar truck and start unloading the trophies right? Wrong. 

It sucks. Like really sucks. With the exception of watching some great actors play quirky roles, there is no reason to give it two plus hours of your time. It's plodding and unimaginative while it chases some kind of Wes Anderson/Cohen Brothers vibe which it misses like a trapeze artist repeatedly whiffing on the bar before ending in a faceplant. To quote critic Robbie Collin, "Amsterdam might encompass 15 years of history, straddle two continents and throw in innumerable subplots, but it becomes increasingly hard to shake the sense that you’re watching a very thin idea twiddling its thumbs."

With about ten minutes left to endure, my twenty-one year old son who had already seen it joined us for the sheer sake of comradery I guess because when it was over, he said "I thought that was awful." So given that prompt, and the fact that they're into movies enough to take a shot on Amsterdam, I started interrogating them on their repertoires and man they were pretty weak but that's what you get when you were raised on franchise film making instead of Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg and Reiner.  

So now I'm on a mission to put them on a better path by creating the FGR's top 100 movies of all-time. Don't worry as I won't let it detract from the salient golf analysis you have come to expect but I do plan to start counting them down ten at a time in the next few weeks. Just need to finish the list and I'm here to tell you that ain't easy when you're trying to cover the full spectrum of movies watched over nearly fifty years from Schindler's List to Better Off Dead (currently clinging to the 99th spot). At this point, I'm probably more excited to see how it turns out than you are (#lowbar).    

TWEET OF THE WEEK

It's as if this tweet knew I was going to start my first round of the year yesterday by going +1 through six holes before jumping on the bogey train starting with one on the 7th hole FROM 110 YARDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING FAIRWAY!!!  


GOLF ANALYSIS

In my effort to not overthink last week's pick, I made a last minute switch from Corey Conners who finished T12 to Tom Kim who finished on Friday. I should have trusted the same part of my gut that stated with absolute certainty that either Brendan Steele, Chris Kirk or Russell Knox would finish top five (Kirk finished 3rd).   

Despite the relatively loaded field, this is a week to hunt for some value which is just plain common sense for a tournament that's been dominated by Hudson Swafford and Adam Hadwin since 2017. If you want to get frisky with Patrick Cantlay or Sungjae Im, I won't hold it against you but don't come crying to me when Pebble Beach rolls around and you've already played your Cantlay card or you don't have Sungjae when we get to Florida. 

I'm torn between Tom Hoge and Cameron Young. The argument for Hoge is obvious as he finished 2nd here last year and T6 in 2020. On the other hand, Young has in his column the fact that he's a better player. The deciding factor is that this tournament is a total crapshoot and I won't shed a tear if I lose Hoge for the season after a T54 but there are a few venues where it will be nice to have Young as an option. The old if I'm gonna fail, let me fail with a worse player strategy just reeks of confidence doesn't it?    

The rest of the picks kind of make themselves including Will Zalatoris who would seems logical in a ball-striking birdie fest. And we're going to ride this Michael Thompson sleeper train until (a) it pays off with a win, (b) derails, or (c) we forget we ever mentioned this terrible idea. 

One and Done Pick: Tom Hoge
This week's source of angst
for the nothing better to do
with their time crowd.

Other Guy I'd Pick: Cameron Young  

Sleeper Pick: Michael Thompson 

DraftKings Top Ten Values

Patrick Cantlay

$10,100

Will Zalatoris

$9,600

Brian Harman

$9,300

Cameron Young

$9,100

Andrew Putnam

$8,700

Tom Hoge

$8,400

Denny McCarthy

$7,800

Chris Kirk

$7,500

Luke List

$7,200

Michael Thompson

$6,900


Some political controversies feel more manufactured than others but this week's chart honors maybe the all-time cake taker. 

                    THE GIVE ME MY GAS STOVE OR GIVE ME DEATH
                              HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE CHART 

Worth noting below are the aforementioned Adam Hadwin and also Russell Knox who have made a combined eight cuts here in the last five years which is nothing to sneeze at but no one sneezes in the desert anyway. At least that's what "they" say.  

 

DK Price

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

Jon Rahm

$10,800

T14

DNP

DNP

6th

1st

Scottie Scheffler

$10,500

T25

MC

3rd

DNP

DNP

Tony Finau

$10,200

T40

4th

T14

DNP

DNP

Patrick Cantlay

$10,100

9th

2nd

DNP

T9

DNP

Xander Schauffele

$10,000

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Sungjae Im

$9,800

T11

T12

T10

T12

DNP

Will Zalatoris

$9,600

T6

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Tom Kim

$9,500

DNP

MC

DNP

DNP

DNP

Sam Burns

$9,400

DNP

MC

T6

T18

DNP

Brian Harman

$9,300

T3

T8

T21

MC

T20

Si Woo Kim

$9,200

T11

1st

W/D

T40

DNP

Cameron Young

$9,100

T40

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Aaron Wise

$9,000

DNP

MC

MC

MC

T17

Taylor Montgomery

$8,900

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Cameron Davis

$8,800

DNP

DNP

T29

T28

DNP

Andrew Putnam

$8,700

T14

T21

T10

T34

T17

Sahith Theegala

$8,600

T33

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Tom Hoge

$8,400

2nd

MC

T6

MC

T57

K.H. Lee

$8,300

T63

T32

T21

MC

DNP

Adam Hadwin

$8,200

T25

T32

DNP

T2

T3

Wyndham Clark

$8,100

13th

T54

MC

T18

DNP

J.T. Poston

$8,000

T25

MC

T37

T7

MC

Taylor Pendrith

$8,000

MC

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Jason Day

$7,900

T49

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Justin Rose

$7,900

T33

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Davis Riley

$7,800

T59

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Denny McCarthy

$7,800

T6

MC

T48

MC

MC

Keith Mitchell

$7,800

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

T69

Rickie Fowler

$7,800

DNP

T21

T10

DNP

DNP

C. Bezuidenhout

$7,700

T40

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Patrick Rodgers

$7,700

T40

MC

T64

DNP

DNP

Emiliano Grillo

$7,600

T63

T37

DNP

DNP

DNP

Harris English

$7,600

DNP

DNP

T48

T51

T11

Joel Dahmen

$7,600

DNP

MC

DNP

DNP

MC

Ty Detry

$7,600

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Alex Smalley

$7,500

T25

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Brendon Todd

$7,500

MC

DNP

T37

DNP

DNP

Chris Kirk

$7,500

MC

T16

DNP

MC

MC

Sebastian Munoz

$7,500

MC

DNP

T21

MC

DNP

Brendan Steele

$7,400

MC

T21

T43

T57

T20

Dean Burmeister

$7,400

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Lee Hodges

$7,400

T3

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Will Gordon

$7,400

DNP

T64

DNP

DNP

DNP

Aaron Rai

$7,300

T59

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

David Lipsky

$7,300

T14

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Stephen Jaeger

$7,300

DNP

DNP

DNP

MC

MC

Taylor Moore

$7,300

T67

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Ben Griffin

$7,200

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Callum Tarren

$7,200

MC

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Jhonattan Vegas

$7,200

MC

DNP

T55

69th

T11

Luke List

$7,200

T22

T21

MC

MC

MC

Martin Laird

$7,200

DNP

T47

MC

MC

MC

Ben An

$7,100

DNP

T8

MC

DNP

DNP

Greyson Sigg

$7,100

T25

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Mathew NeSmith

$7,100

MC

MC

T17

DNP

DNP

Nate Lashley

$7,100

MC

MC

W/D

T12

T29

Russell Knox

$7,100

MC

T16

T37

T18

T29

Beau Hossler

$7,000

DNP

MC

MC

MC

T20

Danny Willett

$7,000

DNP

DNP

DNP

MC

DNP

Mark Hubbard

$7,000

DNP

MC

T43

DNP

DNP

Nick Taylor

$7,000

T33

T47

MC

T40

T20

Adam Long

$6,900

MC

69th

MC

1st

DNP

Michael Thompson

$6,900

MC

T5

MC

T9

DNP

Patton Kizzire

$6,900

T22

53rd

MC

MC

T42

Troy Merritt

$6,900

MC

MC

T68

DNP

MC

Doug Ghim

$6,800

T59

T5

MC

DNP

DNP

Stewart Cink

$6,800

DNP

DNP

MC

DNP

T20

Erik Van Rooyen

$6,700

DNP

T56

DNP

DNP

DNP

Lucas Glover

$6,700

T33

MC

MC

T12

T29

Aaron Baddeley

$6,600

DNP

MC

MC

T18

DNP

Chez Reavie

$6,600

MC

MC

MC

T28

T36

Andrew Landry

$6,500

MC

T64

1st

T28

2nd


Email the Fantasy Golf Report here.

No comments: