After another successful week for me at the Cadillac, we move on to the Valspar Championship. Decent field for a relatively under the radar tournament. As always in 50/50s, gotta pick guys who make the cut.

Jack’s Picks

Daniel Berger ($8,400) — Only missing one cut since October, Berger’s been consistent. Four times in the top 15, twice in 10th, and then the playoff loss at the Honda. Really good pick here I think. Especially if you’re playing tournaments, since there aren’t many $8,400 players that can win.

Ian Poulter ($8,600) — After being on the Berger train for a few weeks, I came to my senses. How is a 21 year old unproven rookie basically the same salary as Ian Poulter? Sure, Poulter hasn’t won a stroke play tournament on the PGA Tour, but no reason to pick the young guy over Poulter. Come on Jack, get it together. Luckily, I realized this before the picks were due and changed it. Unluckily for everyone else, I updated this after the tournament ended. My bad.

Matt Kuchar ($10,300) — Kuchar is the model for consistency. Do I even need to justify picking him?

Brendon de Jonge ($6,500) — Another high percentage of cuts made player who I’ve picked before. Also coming off a t10 in Puerto Rico, so there’s some confidence there, even if that wasn’t a top tier tournament.

Ryan Moore ($9,400) — Solid player who’s playing solidly. I’ll put him in the Kuch category of players who don’t really need to be justified.

Lee Westwood ($9,600) — Playing his third tournament in a row now, all the rust is shaken off. Really high on Lee Bestwood this week.

John Peterson ($5,500) — One of the picks that I actually have to justify. I was running out of salary at this point. Usually I like to pick lower players first, and then pick the “better” players with the money left over. I accidentally went the opposite route here and needed to pick a low guy, and Peterson seems like the best with 9/10 cuts made this year. I’m not looking for high finishes for a player with this salary, but him making the cut would help the team out — and I fully expect him to do that.

Mike’s Picks

Alright, just getting into the Draft Kings scene now after some prodding from Jack. Going be playing the same 50/50 game, which is quite a bit different than any fantasy golf I’ve played in the past, so there will be some getting used to. I guess the focus is on players making the cut? I don’t know, we’ll see. This week’s course has a reputation of being one of the more difficult “regular” courses that the tour stops at, so I’m going to be looking at gamers that play well on tough tracks. First timer over here, so take that for what it’s worth, but I like at least 5 of these guys to see the weekend.

Henrik Stenson ($12,100) – It looks to me like Henrik is returning to the form that we saw from him a season and a half ago. Solid results his last couple of appearances, but he’s only played in three events, which makes me a little weary. Overall, his upside is worth it.

Matt Kuchar ($10,300) – Seems kind of like a no brainer as he is a top ten machine and does well on harder courses (well, any type of course really). I think he’s a better pick than three of the four guys ahead of him, regardless of salary, so he’ll be my team anchor.

Patrick Reed ($10,200) – Only $100 separates Reed and Kuchar, and with his play over the last couple of years, and the last few weeks in particular, he’s also worth the price tag. Reed could easily have a couple wins on the season, and being 9/9 in cuts made helps ease the conscience of any consistency issues he’s had in the past.

Brendon de Jonge ($6,500) – BDJ has been a solid, cut-making machine. His salary seems quite low to me, so he is a great value. Not sure what else to say about him, odds are he’ll make the cut and finish about 25^th.

Shawn Stefani ($6,300) – Another guy who seems to show up week after week without making much noise in the way of headlines. If anything, his salary seems even lower than what it should be compared to BDJ’s.

Andres Gonzales ($4,300) – The only real toss up in my picks, Andres has played pretty solidly this season, and much so than he has in past years. My concern with him is his ability to keep it together on a course where par may not be a bad score. Either way, his salary allows me to take three top flight guys so I think it’s a good tradeoff.