In this week’s RotoWire Golf Rundown, Keith Stewart of Read The Line and RotoWire’s Len Hochberg discuss whether the WM Phoenix Open should end on Saturday before they move on to the Tiger in the room. Yes, Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour this week at the Genesis Invitational. What should we expect from him? And why hasn’t he ever won at Riviera? What type of player does well there? Finally, Keith and Len offer their favorite DFS and betting picks for the week.
Here we go it’s time for the Roa wire rundown I’m Keith Stewart from Reed the line of course I’m joined by award-winning fantasy article writer Senior Golf editor there at RotoWire that’s of course Len hawber Len pleasure to see you I am out here in La where you
Call home so it’s 8:15 our time and I’m so happy to see the sun now one thing I am happy to get away from is that Waste Management Phoenix opened Not only was the weather terrible I’m not sure it was safe there on Saturday now being on site
And inside the ropes is kind of a is kind of a crazy setting you know like you feel like you’re in the middle of the malstrom but I I always wonder like what does that look like on TV I saw what it looked like on social media but that’s really not 100% usually
Representative of everything that’s going on what was it like when you were watching the event this past weekend on television yeah I you know I am clouded because I am watching on television along with following on social media and I sort of know what’s going on there in
General so I I I don’t think the the full extent of the debauchery comes across on television much like at the Super Bowl on Sunday they we heard there was a Streaker they don’t show it if there’s any action in the stands uh they’re not going to show that we might
Hear that so yes I mean we could hear how loud it is and they’re showing you know people without shirts and uh and stuff like that so we know there’s a lot going on but I don’t think you get the full extent of it uh you know NBC is not
Uh going to show us all the the lowest of the low there but uh I can imagine I can only imagine what it’s like there just from the sheer number of people not to mention the alcohol well I it was unbelievable I I don’t think I’ve ever been to an event
That had so many people at it you know they they don’t really the Thunderbirds don’t release the numbers anymore um at one point it was 250,000 people that would show up on Saturday that they would let in but we all know the problems they had with the gates and
Everything this past Saturday and they estimated maybe 400,000 people were inside I mean um there’s no doubt they lost control but in some ways I’m not sure that they’re the only ones that didn’t lose control I’ve concerns when it comes to the number one player in the
World I mean he was going for a three repeat this weekend and I to get I want to get your opinion on this before we get into LA and we get into the Genesis Invitational Scotty grabbed the lead he’s the number one player in the world Scotty grabbed the lead on Sunday in
That final round on the front nine and then by the middle of the back nine he let it go what’s your impression of Scotty sheffler right now I mean between the putting um issues and you know his Elite ball striking and how all this is coming together um I know it isn’t
Somebody we’re going to bet at 5 to one but but I’m curious what your perspective is on the number one player in the world right now yeah I’m I’m fascinated because we have the number one player in the world who is coming up on a full calendar year a full year
Anyway 12 months since he last won the PLAYERS Championship was ju just a few weeks away now next month in March if you want to include the hero knock yourself out I’m not going to include the Hero World Challenge so just the fact that the number one player in the
World is not winning any tournaments is mindboggling but it also speaks to Shefler how good he is everywhere else but the green that he can just rack up top five after top five after top 10 and um you know I’m actually surprised though that once he had the lead that he
Lost it uh that was a I don’t know if that’s happened much in the past year he’s always been circling the lead circling the lead but I don’t know how many times he’s had the lead and lost it so that’s pretty trouble I Len I tell you I couldn’t believe the
Body language I was walking with his group and he three putts for par on 13 when he’s got an eagle putt from 20s something feet uh the next hole he doesn’t get up and down misses a short putt the next hole the par five he doesn’t capitalize I mean could you ever
Remember a time and his name’s gonna come up today but could you ever remember a time that Tiger Woods wasn’t a train killer that when he took the lead he ever let it go I mean it’s just it’s it’s very interesting to me and of course we end up with our sixth straight
You know 100 to one or greater long shot to win you know Nick Taylor started the week somewhere between 150 and 175 to one I mean it’s crazy what’s going on in the PGA Tour yeah and uh I don’t know I said last week that I expected it to end last
Week but I really expect it to end this week uh with the small field and all the top guys there uh except Matthew Pon uh wherever he might be this week but yeah it’s crazy it’s uh you know it’s not good for the tour you want your stars
There on Sunday we don’t need Charlie Hoffman or J Monahan doesn’t need Charlie Hoffman and Nick Taylor dueling it out while the Super Bowl is going on uh not the best situation and I I I do think it will be better this week uh weatherwise and Every Which Way all
Right well let’s Head West from Scottdale out to LA so from the desert to Hollywood right from one number one player in the world to the number one player for a very long time Tiger Woods is showing up this week not only as the host but as a competitor at the Genesis
Invitational can we have any expectations at this point on tiger um if he plays once a month or so is is this something that he could actually do or what do you feel like tiger Tiger’s going to do this week at Riviera yeah well first of all tiger
Showing up this week after after the last two weeks on the PGA tour pretty much went off the rails could not have been better timing for the tour for J Monahan for whoever has a vested interest in this and it’s just like your white knight coming in at the last
Minute to save the day so that is great uh for the tour and and just from you know anytime Tiger shows up it’s great for all of us when we last saw him at the hero he was playing pretty well and it’s always been a case the last few
Years it’s been a case of more can he walk then can he play golf um and it looked like he’s he says he’s walking better after that latest ankle surgery last spring he says he’s better than he’s been so I don’t know maybe I’m gonna fall into the Trap again but I
Think he can play pretty well this week I was out there last year uh and saw him play especially that first round I think he shot 69 two under 69 he looked pretty darn good for someone who hadn’t played in a while so I think he can do it um
Six tournaments is once a month you know the players next month then the four majors that might be a little bit aggressive he always seems to break down at some point but for this week and Rivier is not a terribly hard walk other than maybe 18 it’s pretty flat otherwise
I think he can you know you know make the cut everyone’s going to make the cut this week I think he can do border TW top 25 yeah you bring up a good point there about the cut so we have a field of about 71 guys that are going out and
Tiger wanted a cut and the Signature Events weren’t going to have one so they said the top 50 in ties plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead which could be everybody or it could those top those final 20 guys could get cut or so if you
Know we get a rabbit that goes out there and shoots maybe 15 under for the first two days and a couple guys don’t play very well it’s it’s kind of interesting how that cut came together but uh as as far as I’m concerned mean you mention it
You know having tiger back in the field I mean in my world FanDuel alone has like 20s something plus prop bets just on tiger right tiger will be the most popular bet to make or miss the cut um and it it’s it’s it’s absolutely phenomenal what it does to the energy of
The event being here on site when you know the last two weeks yes the weather was a little bit of a distraction but we had some stars there you know we’ve had Scotty the last two weeks guys like Max hom Jordan spe you know we had a
Signature event at Pebble and I mean I tell you it it’s it’s electric on a Monday and a Tuesday when you get to the clubhouse and you know Tiger Woods is going to be on the property um it it’s pretty fantastic I mean I think I think I’m cautiously optimistic because I
Think he’s the most healthy he’s been since February 23rd of 2021 when he had that fateful accident so um can he beat half the field would you take him for top 30 L yeah I you know depending on the number and all that but if you’re just
Asking me in a vacuum can he finish in the top 30 I think he can I think he was headed there last year he had a bad final round yeah the number there is like roughly two to one so I mean it’s a lot better than having him make the cut
Which um you know against the field of 70 to get in the top 50 certainly favors everyone to make the cut but um what’s interesting about Riviera though when it comes to Tiger he’s played here eight times as a professional and I mean he hasn’t finished top 10 here since
2004 what is it about this golf I mean tiger should play good everywhere right what is it about this golf course that you’re featuring this week for all of your DFS value picks and for your stars right that’s special about Riviera that maybe tiger may have struggled with over
The years yeah you know quite frankly it makes no sense because if you would describe what it takes to win at Riviera which is a can be a brutally hard Golf Course a single digit winner on occasion depending on the conditions and you know what Tiger Woods is and can do you would
Just think that he would be there every year uh I just you know at this point I think it’s just coincidence happen stance uh circumstance all kinds of stances and things like that it just makes no sense that he doesn’t do well here because it really requires you to
Use every Club in your bag and just have a complete all-around game and that’s just the definition of Tiger Wood so I I don’t have a good answer to your question other than it makes no sense and it just defies all logic well I mean to support or validate your feeling
There that it makes no sense 28 of the last 31 winners here have finished tied 22nd or better at the Masters Augusta National Golf Club is a huge comp course for this I mean in fact year year after year going to Riviera on the PGA tour it’s probably the best golf course that
They play that’s not a major championship venue and it’s just it’s pretty it’s unfathomable that he hasn’t played better here considering the number of times he has teed it up here I mean the Fairway like what do you need to do here specifically well they have 37 Acres of Fairway that’s pretty tight
The fairways bend a lot 12 of the 14 driving holes have dog legs um the greens are on the larger side but they’re very they sit it weird angles and they’re very difficult to hit they’re top five of the toughest to hit on tour so Strokes game approach
Especially from in that 175 plus range and even over 200 right um we’ve got we’re back on POA Anu grass which tends to be very bumpy now these are somewhat smoother than Pebble or Tor because we’re not on the coast but it still seems to drive these guys nuts and if
You’re not hitting a ton of Greens in regulation you’ve got to be good around the green so that’s why I think that the guys that play well here you know Bubba three wins in the last 10 years you’ve got Phils one here Adam Scott all Green dret winners last year’s defending champ
You know the name the tour won’t mention John ROM because he’s gone right John ROM won the Masters last year any1 here so if you’re building out a betting card or DFS lineup there’s nothing wrong with looking for a little history you know that maybe doesn’t include Tiger Woods
But definitely includes Augusta Asal now speaking of which we start to mention I allude to some names there let me walk you through the ladder of DFS play and let’s start with the 10K range I mean we got some Heavy Hitters there are all of them playing well and who are you
Grabbing at the top of the board yeah and the top three on the board Scotty sheffler Rory mroy Xander schafle the thing that jumped out at me when looking at the three of them collectively none of them has ever had a Podium finish at top three here at this
Tournament Rory had a fourth uh about five or six years ago so and then and they played it all played it at least five times it’s one of the things to key on this week it’s a very hard Golf Course to come in and do well your first
Time certainly to win your first time but they’ve had a lot of experience the course knowledge you talked about the trickiness and the the Angles and things like that so playing here a lot certainly helps you get better but they really haven’t and they’re too pricey
For me so I’m going to avoid Sheffer another thing that’s really important here is putting inside of 10 ft you talk about the POA traditionally very low success rate maybe about 50% inside 10 feet um Scotty Sheffer is not uh GNA be on my card this week so I’m GNA go all
The way down to the lowens to Victor havin now Victor hain’s never had a Podium finish either but he finished fourth and fifth in his first two visits here and that was before he knew how to use his wedge and now he’s a lot more experienced with the course with with
His short game uh he would be my first guy the top guy that I play and then a couple other guys p and morawa former Champion here now former runner up here these guys could have played this course a number of times California guys and they’ve succeeded here yeah you know
That’s interesting you bring up H I was going to bring him up when we get to the 9ks and we’re here um the last two weeks he hasn’t been great in fact he missed the cut in the desert but his history here is tremendous so you would take
Home this week I would and you know the last two weeks have been such uh odd circumstances and quirky and granted you know if you’re a professional golfer if you’re a professional athlete you’ve got to be prepared to play and compete in all kinds of situations uh that said if
He didn’t okay we can maybe excuse it by the weather and the starting and the stopping and all of that but he’s played well here A bunch I think he’s yeah uh I wouldn’t I would completely dismiss what happened the last two weeks and turned tooma this week well in your world and
In my world there’s a ton of names that are popping in that 8K range I don’t know where to start come give me a couple of hints in this 8000s well these are guys in the lower nines and I was really surprised to see
Them in the lower n9s I mean I guess you have to there’s to everybody good is here so somebody’s got to be in the lower n9s but Patrick can’t leay at 93 and Justin Thomas at 91 uh they played well here before Klay another California guy UCLA has played this course a ton
Through The Years uh I think you know those two might be the between their their skill set and their price might be the best bargains among the upper guys so I do like them and Adam and then Adam Scott who you talked about who we talked
About he’s won here a couple of times once sort of and once really and um you know and the Augusta connection and he played well last week uh just a great ball Striker and a better putter than and we always think he is the numbers are better they just look so shaky over
The over the ball sometimes but he’s in the low eights and I like him and actually he’s my favorite play in the eights proper oh all right anybody else in the eights to catch your eye no you know I uh I mean you know I can dip into the
Upper sevens which are near the eights but uh on my article there’s only one guy in the 8000s you know Justin Thomas is almost in the 8000s but only Adam Scott in the eights all right so if we’re going to skip down to the sevens then um will zal torus sits down there
Great course history here can wial tus be trusted yet and do you find value for him in the sevens I can’t I think he can be we saw him play at Tory Pines and granted the field not nearly the same as it is here but it’s another long hard
Golf course with kakuya grass and um you know at least some similarities there and so he tied for 13th a few weeks back so yes he’s still not able to putt very well but it seems the rest of his game is pretty close to being where it was
And he’s played well here before um two I think he was fourth last year 15th one other time uh so I do like him at 79 and this may be an odd pick right below him at 78 uh JT Poston coming off a Miss cut last week looking at JT poston’s numbers
This year we just think of him as a putter extraordinaire well he’s putting is very good but not Elite this year he’s really had a very balanced attack he’s doing well pretty good to good in every Strokes gained metric and that’s just what you’re looking for here at
Riviera as I mentioned every Club in the bag will be important this week so he’s playing pretty well and last week’s miscut does not concern me with with posting either and one other way down at to 7,000 Harris English another guy just never flashy in any one area but solid
Pretty much across the board yeah I like that Harris English pick and you know to see him in the low sevens reminds me of like now we’re looking at the sixes and in these limited Fields there’s some names that pop down there which one catches your eye the most um that
Probably shouldn’t be in the sixes based upon his recent play you know it’s interesting about the sixes because we have only 70 guys and you mentioned maybe everybody could make the cut so a lot of 6000 so don’t fear you know putting two or three expensive guys in
Your DFS lineup and then having to go into the sixes they’re going to play the weekend and then you can catch lightning in a bottle but I think the guy you might be talking about is Kurt kyama he’s at 69 um you know he is for me he’s
A really tough guy to back because he has such great weeks and he has such bad weeks he’s really inconsistent um he won at uh Bay Hill a year ago um you know not the exact comp but tough field tough Course Long course uh so he can do it in
These conditions played well last week uh he would be a good play at 69 in my estimation and amelan Grio also just great uh ball Striker it’s his ball striking actually a little bit off this year but his putting he’s top 25 in Strokes gain putting so I do like him as
Well and you know what and then there’s another guy way down at $6,500 who I think can find a place in your lineup and his name is Tiger Woods oh tiger making making lens 6K range I love it I love it um all right a couple
A couple leans that I have on the betting front as far as outrights go uh my first click of the week had to be Sam Burns uh after watching him and his ball striking out in the desert I I’m I’m impressed I mean he’s got three straight
Top 10 going from the AMX to the pebble to wmpo and and now he rolls into a place where he’s played five times he’s at a top three finish he’s at a top 25 finish he he’s got the necessary experience here and the thing that kind
Of put me over the edge with him and he’s sitting right in that like plus 2500 range so he’s in that lower middle tier if someone’s gonna break the streak of the six straight long shot winners I want a guy that can score from close
Range and Sam Burns is number one in the field in bogey avoidance and what that tells me is he’s making a lot of putts on inside 10 feet those places I just mentioned two of them are po places places where the greens are bumpy and the guy has confidence with his flat
Stick he’s also good with his short game and what’s nice about Sam Burns right now is that last week he gained a ton on approach his ball striking was really on point shot 64 on Sunday so I love him as an outright play and then the other one
It’s been an odd year you and I would we would admit that right so if the trend is to take people at Riviera that have experience or maybe to have high odds I’m going to go with neither of those and I’m going to take the kid I’m gonna
Take lwig oberg right he’s sitting right there at 20 to1 plus 2,000 and of all the guys at the top he seems to be the one that has a little bit of Unfinished Business from Pebble Beach I mean he was sitting there in the runner-up position
With one round to go and he wasn’t given the opportunity and what do you need to do there I mean at the risk of being redundant you and I have said it you got to be an elite driver check you’ve got to be a great long iron and approach
Player check you’ve got to be a good putter on POA he was second at Pebble check I mean you just go right down the list and if you run the numbers and you’ve seen this and I bet a lot of people and their models he was way up
There but then they say oh you need to have played here five times before and Augusta and all these things well if you’ve already bought a future on him at Augusta why wouldn’t you think that he’s not going to play well here I mean I I think legitimately with Tiger Woods on
The property I’m in no way shape or form saying that lwig is a generational talent but in order to build that resume you need a signature win and this is the type of place where I like I said last week Scotty Sheffer was not a killer and
I feel like this kid’s a killer he’s won on both tours he went to the Ryder Cup hasn’t even been in a major yet so is there something special here does he have the it Factor we will certainly find out but I think if anyone can Buck
The trend of experience there and be a debut time that has tremendous success at Riviera I think he’s definitely got the skill set to do it and you know what Len Before I Let You Go I got one quick question I know you’ll be out there this
Week I know we’ll get to be together but for anyone that’s in the area planning to go to Riviera to watch the tournament where’s your favorite place to watch from gosh you know I really try and get to as many holes as possible when I’m
Out there it’s just so much fun um you know number six it’s it’s just a fun hole you could see the it’s a part three it’s the one with the bunker in the middle of the green uh you could see the t-ball you could see the ball land on
The green you could position yourself and then if somebody happens to hit it on the wrong side of the bunker and you can see they have to maybe chip it over the bunker or play the angle on the green and go up high and come on down
That’s a fun place to do it and of course there’s no better place uh than 18 maybe not until the weekend and Saturday late Saturday and Sunday but you sit on that Hill surrounding the small green and you see the guys come up the Fairway at one of the great closing
Holes in all of golf with the clubhouse right behind you there and it’s a festive atmosphere not like uh Phoenix at all it’s very reserved and all but it’s fun and it’s light and uh and that is a great place to end to watch the end of
The tournament you can be really close to the golfers there hey folks that’s why he’s the expert you know those are two great choices I I’m going to try to get to as many holes as I can throughout the the course of the week and let’s hope that that wet weather that maybe
Coming on Sunday holds off long enough that we can get a dry week done on the PGA tour in any event you know you Len and I will be back next week to cover the PGA tour again on the RTO rundown thanks for joining us Len I’ll see you
Out here they needed a dry week at Phoenix a little too much alcohol we uh yeah h
