Golfbet Insider: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play/Corales Puntacana Championship

With so much going on this week, let’s jump into it.

The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play begins on Wednesday. Of course, this is an early deviation from the norm of the cadence of Thursday starts among stroke-play competitions, so act now if you’re going to participate in the Dell Technologies Bracket Challenge . It’s free to play, there’s a big prize for the winner and it’s unrelated to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Any winners you select in the Bracket Challenge will not deduct starts from your golfers in the latter.

As per tradition, my bracket is visible and usable via the AUTOPICK option on the interface. The brackets of my gaming partners, Ben Everill and Mike Glasscott, also are there if you want to roll their dice instead.

And now for my annual courtesy: Remember to select a winner of the consolation match and a tiebreaker. Then click or tap on SAVE PICKS to lock in your bracket. If I had a victory for every time I’ve needed to nudge a gamer into those steps, I’d have at least a pair of Walter Hagen Cups on the shelf.

Although the Match Play doesn’t contribute to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, gamers who play the full season don’t get the week off. The Corales Puntacana Championship is in your crosshairs this week.

It’s been 10 years since the release of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” but that message is fresh at Corales. It’s an outstanding week to take chances. For one, front-runners will resist being tempted to throw away months of hard work for a curiosity – they’re gone too far to give up who they are – all the while having as little confidence as ever in rarely used charges in windy conditions. It’s a buckle-in, hold-on kind of experience. For another, starts burned is irrelevant in the absence of typical chalk. There will be some churn in the trenches, all of it is unpredictable and you won’t even need to stay up all night for it.

POWER RANKINGS WILD CARD

Harry Higgs (+275 = Top 20) … Proving that not everything can be or should be measured, because if there was a metric for Strokes Gained: Grit, he’d be right up there this season. It’s a fact that so much is learned through adversity, but you gotta be a willing recipient. He’s plied his craft on conditional status and entertained assistance to confirm that his thoughts are properly positioned, and he’s making it work well enough to have planted seeds that eventually should bear fruit in all kinds of situations. He’s gone about it the right way in a hard profession. Also not far removed from a T7 in Puerto Rico to pay off his spot in that event’s Power Rankings.

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:15 p.m. ET. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

ALSO STARRING

NOTE: These are notables who are not included in my Power Rankings or Sleepers. Connect with me on Twitter if you want analysis, insight and opinion for anyone else.

Emiliano Grillo (+100 = Top 20) … It’s wild how he much he swings in the long-term. After a significant improvement in putting late last season, it’s all but abandoned him in 2023. So, the advice here is to be careful. He’s 3-for-4 at Corales with a T6 in 2021 but limit your diversification to whatever shred of a unit you have remaining.

Patrick Rodgers (-110 = Top 20) … In the absence of a Top 40 market, this’ll do, just limit the buy to a fraction of a unit. Although his form hasn’t been strong since the fall, his cachet rises relatively against the field. He’s also gone for one top 20 at Corales (T11, 2020) and the aggregate of his game is solid and balanced.

Taylor Pendrith (+100 = Top 20) … He’s cooled since last summer, but only mildly, so if you were gleeful that he appeared in the field, you weren’t alone. Placed T34 via a special exemption afforded 10 Korn Ferry Tour grads in 2021, so he knows the layout. Length off the tee has boosted scoring opportunities, so he’ll need a confident putter to make the trip. Also chows down on par 5s.

Michael Kim (+170 = Top 20) … I was bullish entering the season because I believe that he solved what was troubling him for a long time, but the 29-year-old didn’t make any noise until a T11 at Pebble Beach in early February. A month later, he rattled again for a solo fifth in Puerto Rico. Classify me as reluctant and this prop as speculative as I reattach emotion to this potential turnaround in the long-term.

TAP-INS

NOTE: Not everything needs a setup. For a variety of reasons, these lines are too enticing to ignore.

Rafael Campos (+500 = Top 20)

Kevin Chappell (+350 = Top 20)

Brice Garnett (+350 = Top 20)

Richy Werenski (+400 = Top 20)

RETURNING TO COMPETITION – World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

None.

RETURNING TO COMPETITION – Corales Puntacana Championship

None.

NOTABLE WDs – World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

Justin Thomas … Finished fourth at Austin CC in 2018, but it’s the only time he’s escaped the Group Stage. This will go into the books as his one-time allowance to sit out a designated event.

Justin Rose … Unlike JT, the Englishman is not subject to the requirement to play the designated events, but like most, his track record at the Match Play is pedestrian. He played thrice on the Florida Swing and punctuated it with a T6 at TPC Sawgrass, so his form remains strong. It’s laid the foundation for promise at the Masters in two weeks.

NOTABLE WDs – Corales Puntacana Championship

Adam Schenk … Even if he didn’t just settle for a solo second at Valspar, you can understand his desire to take it one week at a time what with the imminent birth of his first child. At 31st in the FedExCup, he can afford to.

Brandon Wu … The PGA TOUR sophomore is putting together a marvelous season, so the week off is well-earned as he can stare at himself sitting 44th in the FedExCup.

Stephan Jaeger … After going 3-for-3 on the Florida Swing, he’s 75th in the FedExCup and in position to continue to control balancing competition with rest.

Greyson Sigg … He’s taking his first break after seven straight on the road, none of which going for a top 50. However, he’s 87th in the FedExCup thanks to a dynamite fall.

Jhonattan Vegas … As recently as March 6, he had planned to play four straight, but after missing the cut in the last two weeks, he’s deviated. Can’t rule out a disconnect with his best self after sitting out the entire fall due to what he described as a “recurrent injury” at the time. Full-season investors are advised to hang on for a little longer to see how he emerges.

James Hahn … In his only appearance, he placed T6 in 2020, but he hasn’t had a top 25 in eight months. Just 4-for-11 this season and 179th in the FedExCup. But just you wait, he’ll end up contributing to at least one DFSer’s big haul at some point. The firepower is flickering but it’s not extinguished.

Ryan Armour … Finished T15 at Corales last year, but he’s resting for the first time in a month. Currently 120th in the FedExCup.

Erik Barnes … The rookie is just 5-for-15 on the season but he’s 122nd in the FedExCup thanks for a pair of top 15s.

Zac Blair … Also committed to and then withdrew early from the Puerto Rico Open. A T10 on Sunday at Copperhead took a bite out of his target to meets the terms of his Major Medical Extension, but he still has a dozen starts to scatter, anyway. Sits 118th in the FedExCup.

Jimmy Walker … After exiting early from six tournaments last season, this is his first of 2022-23. It would’ve marked his debut at Corales. He’s 3-for-11 and 157th in the FedExCup.

Jim Herman … This is his first early WD in two years but his fantasy value is barely above zero. His legend is reserved for outrights.

Anders Albertson … Second straight early WD and fourth of the season. Hung up a T21 in his last start in Puerto Rico, so he’d have been a penny stock in DFS at Corales.

Ryan Blaum … It’s unlikely that a journeyman with 114 PGA TOUR starts and no wins has generated as much buzz about a decision as he did this week. He open-qualified for Corales, but the 18-hole contest was conducted on March 6 and not Monday of tournament week, which is customary. The timing of an early four-spotter isn’t unprecedented, but he opted out of taking the spot when he rose into the field at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club. This gives the 39-year-old a potential toehold on parlaying a cut made into a series of starts for the remainder of the still-young season. That’s called playing the long game, and as the saying goes, it’s nice to have options.

RECAP – Valspar Championship

POWER RANKINGS

Power Ranking Golfer Result

1 Keegan Bradley DNP

2 Sam Burns 6th

3 Adam Hadwin MC

4 Justin Thomas T10

5 Justin Rose T36

6 Denny McCarthy T19

7 Tommy Fleetwood T3

8 Jordan Spieth T3

9 Justin Suh T45

10 Brian Harman MC

11 Matt Fitzpatrick MC

12 Ryan Gerard T71

13 David Lingmerth T27

14 Victor Perez T45

15 Brandon Wu MC

* - For the recommendations below, an asterisk represents a bet that won.

SLEEPERS

Golfer (recommended bet, if applicable) Result

*Wyndham Clark (+140 = Top 20) 5th

Will Gordon (+270 = Top 20) T36

Henrik Norlander T45

Vincent Norrman MC

Adam Schenk 2nd

GOLFBET INSIDER

Golfer (recommended bet) Result

Wild Card: Davis Riley (+188 = Miss the Cut) T19

Also Starring: Akshay Bhatia (+125 = Top 40) MC

Also Starring: Pierceson Coody (+300 = Top 20) MC

*Also Starring: Webb Simpson (+120 = Top 40) T7

Also Starring: Maverick McNealy (+170 = Miss the Cut) T36

Tap-In: HOLE-IN-ONE (-145 = No) … Despite five par 3s at Copperhead, there was only one ace in the last six editions of the tournament. Strong winds project to make it more difficult this week. YES (Ryan Brehm, 17th hole, R1)

Tap-In: Tyler Duncan (+100 = Top 40) MC

Tap-In: Brice Garnett (+300 = Top 40) MC

Tap-In: Zach Johnson (+150 = Top 40) MC

*Tap-In: K.H. Lee (+188 = Top Asian) T19

Tap-In: J..T. Poston (+150 = Miss the Cut) T10

Tap-In: Dylan Wu (+130 = Top 40) T58

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