St Jude Classic / Women’s PGA Champ Fantasy Gold Mine
By Sam Belden
The Ladies Dream Golf Pick-4 contest is working with a very strong field for the LPGA’s second major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Whether you’re playing Pick-4 for free or playing for cash prizes the options are the same and some of the choices are going to be tough.
Group 1 – It’s tempting to plug Lydia Ko into the anchor spot for the Pick-4 Challenge. She’s solidly leading in the world rankings and she’s already hoisted the ANA Inspiration trophy. She’s certainly primed to win the Women’s PGA Championship and make it 3 majors in a row. But Ko has some serious competition in the form of Ariya Jutanugarn, who figured out how to close the deal after her ANA Inspiration stumble. Jutanugarn’s the hottest player on the Tour right now and by the numbers her game’s more powerful than Ko’s.
The other players in Group 1 – Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, In Gee Chun, Ha Na Jang – are all going to play back-up to the Ko-Jutanugarn battle. Look for them on the front page of the board come Sunday, but Ko and Jutanugarn are going to duke it out for the top spot and we’re going with Jutanugarn.
Group 2 – Here your choices are very broad. Among the Americans in the field, look for Cristie Kerr, Jess Korda, and Brittany Lincicome to deliver strong games. But the Americans aren’t necessarily going to be the dominant players in this group. Englishwoman Charley Hull has the kind of game that should play well at Sahalee, as does Norwegian Suzann Pettersen; and Japan’s Haru Nomura is an emerging talent on the Tour whose game is trending in the right direction at the right time.
If you want an American on your team, go with Cristie Kerr. If you want a certain high finisher, go with Haru Nomura.
Group 3 – The Tour’s 2 German players, Sandra Gal and Caroline Masson, are both solid picks from Group 3. They’ve both shown games that will get them to the weekend, and that’s what you’re looking for from Group 3. But there are several sleepers you need to consider. England’s Holly Clyburn is having a very good rookie year on the Tour and should do well and American Katie Burnett has shown some moments of sheer brilliance and has been working hard on her game. Either would be a sound addition to your Pick-4 team.
Denmark’s Nicole Broche Larsen is very appealing. Broch Larsen plays on the LET, so LPGA fans aren’t familiar with her game, but it’s going to be very competitive because Sahalee is the kind of track that will bring out her best.
Gal or Masson would be safe picks but I’m liking Broche Larsen.
Group 4 – This pick has a crap shoot element to it – who among the lowest-ranked players in the field is likely to make the cut in this high-pressure, elite event? I’ll give you two choices: Joanna Klatten and Laetitia Beck. They’ve both sparked in the past month and if either of them can put two solid round together they’ll survive to the weekend, which about all you can ask of them. I’ll pick Klatten over Beck only because she’s more experienced and therefore more likely to be able to manage the pressure.
Next: ProGolfNow Weekly Fantasy Factsheet
Follow ProGolfNow on Twitter and like our Facebook page to get up-to-date fantasy golf tips and other commentary on the FedEx St Jude Classic and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.