Eight employees involved with RotoWire's golf coverage recently took part in a fantasy golf draft ahead of the 2023 portion of the schedule as part of Rick Gehman's initiative to popularize season-long fantasy golf.
We decided to go with Rick's standard model -- an eight-team redraft league with a snake draft and 12 golfers per squad. Starting with the Sony Open in January and ending with the BMW Championship in August, each manager will set a lineup with six golfers each week and face off against another team in a head-to-head contest using DraftKings scoring.
Interested in joining a league? Visit RunGoodFantasy to register for an open league.
Participants
Draft Slot #1: Max Bichsel, VP of US Business at Gambling.com Group
Draft Slot #2: Ryan Andrade, Golf Editor
Draft Slot #3: Len Hochberg, Golf Writer
Draft Slot #4: Peter Schoenke, President
Draft Slot #5: Joseph Szmadzinski, Golf Writer
Draft Slot #6: Ryan Pohle, DFS Product Specialist
Draft Slot #7: Kevin O'Brien, Director of Operations
Draft Slot #8: Andrew Parr, Software Developer
Draft Board
Round-by-Round Analysis
Round 1
My Pick: I landed on Patrick Cantlay -- who I think will go between picks four and six in these drafts -- with the sixth pick. He often looked liked like one of the best golfers in the world over the past year and fits this format well thanks to his consistency. He racked up 12 top-10s in 21 starts in 2022.
Favorite Pick: Jon Rahm - It's difficult to find value in the first round, but I love targeting Rahm at the top of the draft. He closed his year with a pair of wins on the DP World Tour sandwiched around a top-5 at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina. He had a much better year than people give him credit for.
Round 2
My Pick: This might be a little earlier than a lot of people would feel comfortable taking Sungjae Im, but I expect him to continue trending upward, as he has played excellent golf since August. Im also likes to play more frequently than many of the guys in the first couple rounds, which is a nice bonus.
Favorite Pick: Tony Finau - I didn't expect Finau to make it back to me but would've been thrilled if he had. It'll be difficult for him to replicate a year that included three wins in a span of seven starts, but that added confidence should help him become a more consistent threat in majors.
Round 3
My Pick: With the top players teeing it up in 20 elevated events this season, taking Shane Lowry makes much more sense, as he should play a busier PGA Tour schedule than usual. I'm banking on him finding the form we saw early last year when he posted three top-3 finishes in a span of six starts.
Favorite Pick: Cameron Young - The only thing Young didn't do in his rookie season was win, as he qualified for the TOUR Championship after posting six top-3 results. A sophomore slump would be highly unlikely considering how well he drives it and how well he has played on the biggest stages.
Round 4
My Pick: This was probably my least favorite pick of the draft, as Corey Conners struggled this fall. Nevertheless, he's one of the better ball strikers on Tour and regularly makes cuts. He has been overdue for a win for quite some time now, and ultimately, I'm okay settling with him in the fourth.
Favorite Pick: Brian Harman - I debated taking Harman in the third round but was confident he would make it back to me. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. At 35 years old and a short hitter, Harman often gets overlooked. However, he will enter 2023 on the heels of consecutive runner-up finishes.
Round 5
My Pick: In what was an incredibly talented class of rookies, it's easy to forget about Mito Pereira, who nearly took down the PGA Championship. He's an excellent iron player, finishing ninth in Strokes Gained: Approach last season, and posted a top-5 in one of his three starts this fall.
Favorite Pick: Tommy Fleetwood - I don't think you can go wrong with Fleetwood at this point of the draft, even if he does tend to play his best golf overseas. He's trending in the right direction after a prolonged stretch of pedestrian results and is one of the best scramblers on Tour.
Round 6
My Pick: I was aiming to add some length to my team here, and there aren't many guys that drive it farther than Taylor Pendrith. He stormed back from an injury that sidelined him last spring with four consecutive top-15 results. He has a high ceiling for someone in this range.
Favorite Pick: Thomas Detry - A mainstay on the DP World Tour, Detry switched his attention to the PGA Tour after earned a card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. He has played as well as any of the rookies, posting four top-15 finishes in five starts.
Round 7
My Pick: I was happy to see K.H. Lee fall to me here, as the two-time Tour winner steadily improved over the past couple seasons. He's one of those golfers that doesn't do anything particularly great but also doesn't have a true weakness.
Favorite Pick: Patrick Rodgers - While many expected Rodgers to break out several years ago, he may just end up being a late bloomer. He seemed to find something this fall, finishing no worse than T27 over his last five starts, a stretch that included a pair of top-10s.
Round 8
My Pick: Kurt Kitayama is pretty hit-or-miss, as in his 22 PGA Tour starts in 2022 he missed 12 cuts but also recorded four top-3 finishes. I'll need him to be in my starting lineup when he has those spike weeks in order for this pick to pay off, and I expect him to make more cuts in his second season on Tour.
Favorite Pick: Alex Smalley - I think Smalley has the potential to have a breakthrough year after closing the fall with back-to-back top-5 finishes. He's a good all-around player who should play frequently in his sophomore season after teeing it up 30 times as a rookie.
Round 9
My Pick: Jason Day may be outside the top 100 in the Official Wolf Golf Ranking, but he's playing much better than his ranking suggests. He had a busy fall and posted four top-25s in six starts. If he can stay healthy, I wouldn't be surprised to see him become relevant again.
Favorite Pick: Emiliano Grillo - After a quiet start to 2022, Grillo found his game over the summer and has posted four top-5 finishes in 11 starts since July. Although he's had his share of peaks and valleys over the years, the potential is worth the risk at this point of the draft.
Round 10
My Pick: Aaron Rai is in his second season on Tour, and I expect him to have a breakthrough campaign that culminates in a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. He does not hit it far off the tee, but he makes up for it by being one of the most accurate drivers and is solid in all other facets of the game.
Favorite Pick: Nick Hardy - A runner-up finish on the Korn Ferry Tour seemed to give Hardy some confidence, as he finished T14 at the U.S. Open a few weeks later. He played well in the fall and is capable of taking another step forward, as he is above average off the tee and with his irons.
Round 11
My Pick: Gary Woodland has had his share of struggles since winning his first major championship in 2019, but he quietly had a respectable 2022, posting five top-10 finishes. He's still an above average ball striker and a good target late in drafts.
Favorite Pick: Adam Hadwin - Having made the cut in 13 of his last 14 appearances, Hadwin is a reliable pick for this format, even if it's tough to count on him in majors or on longer tracks. Hadwin played in the second playoff event six of the last seven years.
Round 12
My Pick: With my final pick, I decided to go with a rookie in hopes of finding the latest breakout player. I settled on Kevin Yu, a 24-year-old off the Korn Ferry Tour who posted a T3 in Bermuda this fall. He has shown good length off the tee and ranks 15th in SG: Off-the-Tee this season.
Favorite Pick: Brendan Steele - Steele has been held back dramatically by his putter over the last year, but if he is even average on the greens, he could find himself in contention far more often thanks to his above-average distance, accuracy and iron play.
Looking for more information on season-long fantasy golf? Check out RotoWire's Golf Draft Kit for everything you need to know!
