Fantasy Lookahead: Kevin Chappell trending in wrong direction after fifth T10
Since placing second at The Players Championship - capping a run of four top 10s in six events - Chappell has missed two of four cuts and hasn't finished higher than 44th. That finish came at last week's Quicken Loans National, after missing the cut at the U.S. Open, while he placed 48th at the preceding Memorial Tournament.
Chappell has picked up three runner-up finishes this season, while making a total of 13 cuts out of 19 events. He has placed inside the top 10 on just two other occasions. His two most recent runner-ups were at marquee events, in The Players and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His unpredictable play and high quality finishes have been immune to a high strength of field.
Course History
This will be Chappell's first appearance at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and his first career World Golf Championships event. His top finishes this year have come on courses where he has had previous experience. Course history means different things to different players but it seems as though it may be essential to Chappell's success.
Statistical Breakdown
Per FantasyInsiders, the following stats have been strengths of previous winners at Firestone Country Club:
Driving Distance (DD)
Par 4 Efficiency 450-500 Yards (P4E)
Strokes Gained: Approach (SGA)
Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB)
Here's how Chappell has fared in the selected statistics thus far this season:
| DD | P4E | SGA | BoB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 38 | 5 | 68 |
In addition to a strong ranking in SGA, Chappell ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 28th in Strokes Gained: Total. He's first on tour with 13 eagles but there are only two Par 5s at Firestone, limiting his potential opportunities. He has scored over par on Par 3s and Par 4s this season.
Chappell will tee off at 10:36 a.m. ET Thursday, but he has shown a strong preference for later tee times this season, shooting over a stroke and a half lower in the afternoons.
Daily Fantasy
The strong field has lowered Chappell's salary, and potentially brought him back into consideration. With course specificity having proven to be a strong factor for him, and a non-ideal early tee time Thursday, he needs to be left for GPPs. Even with a moderate salary he represents plenty of risk.
He's not among the tour's scoring leaders, so the nature of a no-cut event is unlikely to have an impact on Chappell's final results. Owners will need to seek out elite, if not volatile scorers in this price range, and Chappell doesn't fit the bill.
Season-Long Fantasy
Chappell is ranked near the middle of this week's B-List in terms of average weekly performance. Rounds one and three have been his rounds on average, but his strong showing in the opening rounds may be swayed by typically having later start times.
He shouldn't garner strong consideration in the season-long game this week, as owners should have plenty of options to choose from with more than enough remaining starts.