WGC-HSBC Champions Preview: Matsuyama's the Man in China

It's tough being a golf fan in autumn. The best players are often absent from the field, the actual golf is played in the middle of the night on a couple of occasions and, more often than not, the outcome is entirely unpredictable.

Unpredictability is good for the casual fan, but not so much for the fantasy golf player. Fortunately, with some of the biggest names in golf playing a bit more in fall, some of that unpredictability has eroded. See last week's winner, Justin Thomas, who was named Player of the Year just a few weeks ago and is possibly the best golfer on the planet. Is he the biggest name? Certainly not, but if he keeps racking up the wins, like he's done this calendar year, then it won't be long before he's one of the biggest draws in the game.

That's neither here nor there, though. We were talking about how hard it is to be a fan of golf this time of year. For those who follow this game, through the watered-down fields and the late nights/early mornings, I salute you. If you are following purely out of love of the game, that's the definition of dedication. But if you are like me, you follow to absorb knowledge for the upcoming season. Yes, the season has started, but most fantasy leagues wait until the calendar flips before drafting, so these six weeks are, in essence, the preseason. Preseason for us, but reality for the guys actually playing and that's an important distinction as everyone teeing it up is giving their all, 100 percent of the time.

It's important, however, to know what to look for as more than a few rookies have looked like world-beaters in fall, only to come back down to earth when the calendar flips. It's wise not to get too excited about the young players, rather it's the players who have been out here for a while, maybe on the brink of a good season, those are the golfers to pay attention to during fall. Even if it's just a small amount of attention, everything helps come January.

This week: WGC-HSBC Champions - Sheshan International - Shanghai, China

Last Year: Hideki Matsuyama shot a final-round 66 on his way to a seven-stroke victory over Daniel Berger and Henrik Stenson.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama struggled down the stretch of the 2016-17 season, but he seems to have shaken off his struggles already as he posted a top 5 in his first start of the new season at the CIMB Classic. His rack record here isn't great, but he annihilated the field last year, so he obviously has a feel for this course.

Daniel Berger

Berger has risen through the ranks so quickly on the PGA Tour that he's now a golfer you might not want to use during fall season. If you aren't worried about holding him back for next year, then this might be a good time to use him as he's played well here in his two starts, with a runner-up and a T11.

Phil Mickelson

Unlike Berger, Mickelson is now a golfer you don't have to worry about saving for the spring/summer portions of the season ... with the possibly exception of the West Coast swing, of course. The reason to take him this week would be his two wins at this event and two additional top-15s.

Dustin Johnson

It's always difficult picking golfers like Johnson this time of the year because you never know how invested they are. That said, DJ was invested enough to win here in 2013 and finished inside the top 5 just two years later. I wouldn't use him during fall, but if you're feeling lucky, go for it.

Francesco Molinari

It's no surprise that many regulars on the European Tour have played well at this international event, so I'd be remiss not to mention at least one Euro. Molinari played well stateside last season, so there's reason to hold onto him for the 2018 portion of the season, but he also has plenty of value this week as well. Molinari won this event in 2010 and finished T6 last year.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Xander Schauffele

Perhaps this is a case of once bitten, twice shy, as I had Schauffele listed at the top of my "Consider" list last week and he played horribly, or perhaps he's finally hit the wall. Schauffele played at an extremely high level on the PGA Tour for quite a while until last week, and it just might be a case of him needing an extended break.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat

If we are going to lend credence to European Tour players because of the locale, then we can use them as players to avoid as well. Aphibarnrat made some noise on the PGA Tour a couple years ago, but he's been pretty silent since and his track record here is lacking.

Li Haotong

Haotong came upon the scene at the Open Championship where he posted a top-3 finish, but he didn't accomplish much after that event and hasn't played well at this event in his career. Haotong will also have added pressure on him this week as the highest-profile Chinese player in the field.

Jhonattan Vegas

Vegas has yet to get it going this season as he's failed to finish inside the top 30 during either of his starts this season. His only start in the past five seasons at this event resulted in a T45 last year.

Charl Schwartzel

Schwartzel has played well at this event over the years, but he hasn't done much in his last three starts here. In those three starts, he's failed to finish better than T30, which in a short field, isn't very good. Schwartzel has also failed to get going this season either, with a T28 and a T48, both as part of a short field.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Pat Perez (T5) - $302,937; Season - $1,086,217

This week: Francesco Molinari - This really comes down to weighing who might play well this week, with who I'll miss not having in the new year. The winner is Molinari, who has played well at this event before and doesn't have nearly as much value next year as the other golfers on the list like DJ, Matsuyama and Berger.

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: N/A - (N/A); Streak - 1

This week: N/A - N/A