For years, I've made fantasy golf picks, power rankings and given betting tips about PGA Tour events.
I've looked at two main factors, current form and course history, and tried to bring those together to offer selections and my best guess as to who will contend in a given week.
However, I developed a weekly rubric which offers a clear-cut ranking system based on data points weighted in a formula. So far, it's been a tremendous success. Here's a look at the PGA Tour winners in the restart and where they landed in the model:
Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial: Daniel Berger – No. 21RBC Heritage: Webb Simpson – No. 7Travelers Championship: Dustin Johnson – No. 10Rocket Mortgage Classic: Bryson DeChambeau – No. 2Workday Charity Open: Collin Morikawa – No. 11the Memorial Tournament: Jon Rahm – No. 6WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational: Justin Thomas – No. 6PGA Championship: Collin Morikawa – No. 13The Northern Trust: Dustin Johnson – No. 20Safeway Open: Jon Rahm – No. 2
Let me walk you through the rubric's tenets and show off this week's results.
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How the rubric works
The reason I'm calling this a rubric is because I think a model implies a guess about how the tournament will play out. I don't think any model can do that. There are plenty of factors data can't quantify, including luck of the draw, playing partners, hole locations, weather and sheer random stuff.
That's why the rubric is rooted in things we can quantify more broadly without getting too into the weeds. I don't believe specific statistics matter for each course. Each player is different, and they achieve their best results slightly differently, as our Course Fit tool indicates. A player can perform well on most PGA Tour courses doing things their way, and their past performance on a course is best indicative of their fit, not where they rank in certain categories.
That said, the biggest chunk of my rubric relies on strokes gained, as well our derivative, Quality Strokes Gained, which weights a player's strokes gained against the depth of field they face. The rubric looks at this data over the longer term and medium term to derive a player's quality across the tour and across different fields.
Next, the rubric accounts for two factors I look at every week: current form in the last five PGA Tour events played and their average strokes gained on the host course in the last three years.
All told, the model is designed to point out quality players and boost those middling players who have good current form or good course history.
2020 Safeway Open rankings
You'll see with the rubric that I've listed the top 50, as well their current betting odds and DraftKings price.
This week we kick off a new season in California wine country with the Safeway Open. Silverado Resort hosts the event again, and our model likes some of the usual suspects. The model does not like Phil Mickelson, even though I do.
Click header to sort; the better their position, the more the rubric likes them
POSPLAYERPTSDK PRICEDK RANKODDSODDS RANK1Kim, Si Woo0.93108001200012Snedeker, Brandt0.839300114000133Varner III, Harold0.7799100143500124Hubbard, Mark0.7578100235000165Cauley, Bud0.7068600195000166van Rooyen, Erik0.609940010300057Lowry, Shane0.565102003250038Dahmen, Joel0.53495009300059Norlander, Henrik0.52385002060002110Redman, Doc0.5069200133000511NeSmith, Matthew0.481640089125005512Davis, Cameron0.4789001640001313Reavie, Chez0.453960083000514Furyk, Jim0.42877002760002115Gordon, Will0.42182002260002116Ryder, Sam0.411670066125005517Ventura, Kristoffer0.40370004680003218Schenk, Adam0.469005280003219Streelman, Kevin0.39190001540001320Gooch, Talor0.33973003460002121Garcia, Sergio0.333990053000522Burns, Sam0.33287001850001623Glover, Lucas0.32480002460002124McCarthy, Denny0.31679002560002125Wagner, Johnson0.279630097250009526Hoge, Tom0.26869005280003227Nimmer, Bryson0.22680059125005528Tringale, Cameron0.21375003060002129Rodgers, Patrick0.2176002860002130Steele, Brendan0.2051000042500331Hoffman, Charley0.18975003060002132Perez, Pat0.18700046125005533Piercy, Scott0.17472003780003234Grillo, Emiliano0.159970073000535Spieth, Jordan0.159980063000536Straka, Sepp0.15471004180003237Baker, Chris0.152640089200007938Percy, Cameron0.139660073200007939Stuard, Brian0.135710041150006740Higgs, Harry0.127720037100004541Power, Seamus0.119670066150006742McNealy, Maverick0.11773003460002143Huh, John0.108630097250009544Duncan, Tyler0.10384002160002145Stallings, Scott0.101690052100004546Martin, Ben0.097670066125005547Merritt, Troy0.08771004180003248Mickelson, Phil0.0721060022000249Malnati, Peter0.059670066200007950Schwartzel, Charl0.047780026800032
By: Ryan Ballengee
Title: 2020 Safeway Open model and fantasy golf rankings
Sourced From: thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2020/09/08/2020-safeway-open-model-and-fantasy-golf-rankings-120380/
Published Date: Tue, 08 Sep 2020 14:03:10 +0000
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