PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP – GOLF PLAYER MATCHUPS

PLAYER MATCHUPS PICKS AND TIPS FOR THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

We have got golf expert Jack Humphrey in to explain how the very exciting  player matchups work, why he loves this game mode to and give us some picks for this weeks Player Championship. 

WHAT IS PLAYER MATCHUPS?

Player matchups is an exciting FanTeam game that enables players to bet on between 3 and 10, designated 1 – vs – 1 fantasy matchups, with the potential to win up to 500X your stake. 

Player matchups essentially act as a fantasy football accumulator, in which the payout increases the more matchups the user bets on. The great thing with FanTeam player matchups is that you are betting against the house rather than thousands of other players. 

The minimum bet for matchups is €1 with €500 being the maximum. If you were to bet €500 in a 10 player matchup you could win €250,000, but for the purpose of this article I will be giving you 3 player matchups I like at the Players Championship with a £20 stake  which would return  £120.

WHY DO I LIKE PLAYER MATCHUPS?

The reason I love player matchups aside from the obvious cash rewards is just the fact it’s a simple way to apply my fantasy knowledge without the need to build or manage a fantasy roster.

The simplicity of matchups means all I have to assess is how well I think certain players/teams will perform that week and just bet on the guys/teams I like, rather than managing transfers/rosters etc. 

The great thing with FanTeam is that I can bet on  player matchups, along with playing daily fantasy and betting outrights all under one app. 

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP PICKS

XANDER SCHAUFFELE VS DUSTIN JOHNSON

My first choice for player matchups this week is Xander Schauffele. 

A battle of two golf elite players here but only one is in any real form. I will be using the strokes gained from tee to green metric this week and Xander currently ranks 32nd in my model over the last 24 rounds on Bermuda grass. Dustin on the other hand ranks 69th in strokes gained tee to green and is losing strokes on the approach and around the green.

The stats back up what we have seen on tour so far this year also, with Xander making all 3 cuts at the events he has played and a 3rd place finish at the Phoenix Open. Dustin on the other hand has only played 2 events and missed a cut at the Genesis Invitational. 

Overall Xander is just a much better ball striker at the moment and that’s what he will need around this golf course. He is a very easy starting point for me and does have a tied 2nd here back in 2019.

JASON KOKRAK VS TALOR GOOCH 

My second choice for player matchups this week is Talor Gooch.

Talor Gooch is coming off a very impressive 7th place finish at a tough Arnold Palmer Invitational. Gooch ranks 24th in this field over the last 24 rounds in strokes gained tee to green and is inside the top 20 in most strokes gained metrics across the board for this event. Kokrak on the other hand ranks 88th in strokes gained tee to green and is losing a ton of strokes around the green. 

Gooch has played double the amount of events as Kokrak on the PGA tour this year and does have a missed cut  in there at the Genesis invitational but it was his performance last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he gained an average of 9.2 strokes from tee to green on the field that gained my attention.

The stats just scream off the page for Gooch this week so I’m very happy to have him as my second option, he also came tied 5th here last year so it’s a course that he likes.

KEEGAN BRADLEY VS BUBBA WATSON 

My last choice for player matchups this week is Keegan Bradley

Keegan the cut maker! This is a very easy one to target for me this week with Keegan Bradley just making cut after cut. 5 events played 5 cuts made with an 11th place finish last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bubba on the other hand we have only seen twice, and while he was impressive at the Phoenix Open (tied 14th) he was bad at the Genesis and missed the cut in the process.

Keegan, who has great course history here with 5 cuts made in the last 5 years, ranks 5th in the field over the last 24 rounds with strokes gained tee to green. Bubba who is wild off the tee but great fun to watch ranks 34th in the same metric but has as many missed cuts here as he does cuts.

Overall I just prefer Keegan’s overall game and course history here, plus the fact he is making so many cuts makes him an easy pick for me this week. 

If I was to add a 4th option I would target Francesco Molinari VS Matthew Wolff, with Molinari being my pick. The same stake bet would return £230 should it hit.

I hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought – especially for those of you that have not played Player Matchups before, but want to give it a go. 

Player Matchups can be played across a variety of sports including, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Golf and Cricket.

Please feel free to message me on Twitter @JackHumphreyKM if you have any questions – all support queries should go to @FanTeamOfficial.

Best of luck to everyone entering – I look forward to seeing those winning slips.

New users can sign up at FanTeam.com 

Existing users can click the graphic below for direct access to the player matchups lobby.