This week the PGA TOUR heads overseas to Malaysia to take on Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. It’s a short, par 72 track. It requires precision, not distance off the tee.
Ball-in-hand will likely be in use given the rain showers forecasted throughout the week. That means easy greens to hit, so scrambling may not be all that important this week.
Players to Watch
Sergio Garcia… The Surge Protector basically called it quits when he skipped the first two legs of the FedExCup Playoffs. Hate that attitude, but love the Spaniard this week. He crushes no-cut events and also plays well overseas. I think he’s the class of this field and I am debating on using him in my One-and-Done league this week. With 75 percent or more of the league likely to be on Ryan Moore, its a good chance to gain some ground if Moore finally falters at KLGCC.
Ryan Moore… The obviously play of the week. He will be heavily owned in all formats. He’s a solid play, but likely worth a gamble to underweight him in GPPs just in case he doesn’t get back inside the top 10 this week.
Henrik Stenson… With a knee procedure on deck in December, you wonder if Stenson is just using this as a primer to warm back up before next week’s HSBC. He’s right there with Sergio as class of the field, but way overpriced on DFS sites. The added news of knee concerns puts me in full fade mode.
Richard T. Lee… Not to be confused with Richard H. Lee that you may be more familiar with on the PGA TOUR. This Canadian has top 20s in both of his trips to Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. Fire him up as a deep sleeper.
Pat Perez… He missed four cuts all of last year but is already 0-for-2. On a short track like this one, I expect Patty to bounce back in a BIG way this week. I’m seeing a top 15 in his future.
Harris English… Since the start of 2013-14, nobody in the field has gained more strokes on short courses than this man right here. Boom goes the dynamite. I like Harris to contend yet against this week.
Jerry Kelly… Are you seeing a trend here? Short course studs. Fire them all up.
Cameron Smith… I will keep riding him until further notice. At his age, he’s still developing the distance, so I like his chances on a short position golf course like this one.
Gary Woodland… Ryan Moore is the obvious course horse but Woodland is right behind him with a pair of runner-ups in his two trips here. Give him a strong look.
Anirban Lahiri… The winner of the 2015 Maybank Malaysian Open, Lahiri will feel very comfy this week at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. He’s always overrated in the OWGR, but he’s no slouch. It’s really just a matter of time before he burst through with some major PGA TOUR success.
CIMB Classic Cheatsheet… Head over to Daily Fantasy Solutions and grab this week’s DraftKings cheatsheet for just five bucks. This includes guys that fit the stat profile, golfers that are in good form, course history, recommended cash game targets and more! I love hearing about the success people are having with the weekly DraftKings cheatsheet so check it out!
Top 25 for the 2015-16 CIMB Classic
1. Sergio Garcia
2. Kevin Na
3. Hideki Matsuyama
4. Henrik Stenson
5. Ryan Moore
6. Harris English
7. Paul Casey
8. Gary Woodland
9. Justin Thomas
10. Adam Scott
11. Patrick Reed
12. Keegan Bradley
13. Kevin Kisner
14. Pat Perez
15. Jerry Kelly
16. Tony Finau
17. Danny Lee
18. Charles Howell III
19. Anirban Lahiri
20. Rory Sabbatini
21. Kevin Chappell
22. Brendon de Jonge
23. Brendan Steele
24. Daniel Summerhays
25. Cameron Smith