Ryan Noonan
2 years ago
For those who are new, Vivid Picks is a simple fantasy sports game where you pick multiple players to go over or under their assigned line.
Even if you already bet or play other DFS-style pick-em games, Vivid Picks offers a few unique selling points:
If you haven’t signed up, you can do so here with our exclusive code “BetspertsGolf.” If you’re a new Vivid Picks user and take advantage of our promotion, you can get full access to Betsperts Golf, including the Rabbit Hole, for just $5! More details here.
Each week, I’ll be posting this free article with a few of my favorite plays for each tournament, some reasons why, and what I would play each leg to. Also, join our Vivid Picks Discord.
Per my request, our friends at Vivid have lowered Stephan Jaeger’s birdie number down from 5 to 4.5, so let’s take advantage. (1 entry per user; $50 max play).
The skill and course fit that I’m targeting this week is centered around plus-distance off the tee, ideally carry distance, along with strong long-iron play. Stephan Jaeger was the 54-hole leader at last month’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, another driver-heavy track with a leaderboard that could resemble what we see at Vidanta this week.
Jaeger ranks second in this week’s field in birdie or better rate, both overall over the past 12 months and specifically in the first round.
What used to be a weakness is now a strength for Emiliano Grillo. His ball-striking is always excellent, but his recent putting performances have been noteworthy, resulting in more consistent finishes week in and week out. Grillo gained nearly a full stroke per round on these paspalum greens last year on his way to a T5 finish. He’s 12th in this week’s field in first-round birdie or better rate, and his late afternoon tee time fits a trend of him performing significantly better with a PM start time versus first thing in the morning.
This line feels inflated based on Mav McNealy’s recent T6 showing at the WM Phoenix Open. He’s an excellent putter, but the rest of his game leaves a lot to be desired as he rounds back into form post-injury, and he’s a pretty poor course fit for Vidanta. He ranks 110th in this field in strokes gained tee-to-green over the past 12 months and is middle of the pack or worse in most other key metrics, like 200+ yard proximity and going for the green rate (GFG%). McNealy finished at 3-under (T60) here last year, and he needs a 3-under 68 in Round 1 to beat us here.