Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

October 7, 2008 1:28pm CDT

- Something to ponder…
The FedEx Cup has come and gone, and as such we delve into a revised set of statistical reviews to ponder, listed below.

Review those stats and ponder what we have learned. Golf exists as one of the more volatile fantasy options out there. The ability to predict winners is largely based on luck, but as is true in many of the games and competitions we watch, there are wagers laid that prove wiser than others… and often they can be identified early with numbers.

For instance… last week’s PGA Tour stop at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. If you review the numbers built for Average Driving distance, you will notice several names that put up worthy numbers at the New Jersey track. Dustin Johnson (ranked 4th) won the tourney. Tag Ridings (ranked 5th), Harrison Frazar (ranked 8th), and Nick Watney (10th) all played well.

That is information you should store in your pocket for next season.

One last note…

Note the Greens in Regulation statistics provided. This is one of the more overlooked statistics in the game, but rare is the golfer who excels that does not rank well in this metric. The list closely resembles this year’s Ryder Cup team for the Americans, and the other names are often in the mix for wins as well.

~ Hot Hands ~

- Joe Ogilvie
With the Fall Series rounding into form and the end of the season in sight, it seems wise to focus on potential targets that might actually be playing. You’ll see some of the big dogs sitting at home more often than not in these finals weeks, some fulfilling obligations overseas or simply enjoying the bank they rolled during the regular season.

However, a guy like Ogilvie gets the shot to shine with the lack of star power on the links. This week’s stop in Texas has less than a handful of top Tour swingers, but Ogilvie is one of the lower-tier options carrying a hot hand coming in, thus he should be firmly fixed on your radar.

Keep in mind… we are coming out of the FedEx playoffs and the Ryder Cup. It has been some time since the bulk of this field has been on a competitive course. With this perspective, Ogilvie’s recent finishes carry more weight, starting with a T6 finish at the US Bank Championship (played opposite the Open Championship). He followed that with a T21 in a more competitive field at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Two disappointing finishes came to pass when the field filled with the world’s best, going T41 at the Wyndham Championship and missed cut at The Barclays.

However, Ogilvie is back on the rise, finishing at T14 at the Viking Classic followed by an outstanding T10 last week and that Turning Stone Championship. That’s four rounds out of eight under 70, scores that will be needed to compete at the Texas Open this week.

We like his chances.


~ Cold Feet ~

- John Mallinger
For all of the opportunity this kid carries in the bag, Mallinger is heading in the wrong direction. Unlike Ogilvie, the shot of production is rarely found, going all the way back to the mid-season.

Mallinger’s last fantasy-worthy finish came at Memorial, finishing T10 against a top field to start the month of June. Since then, the list of failures read like a headache translated to print.

Start with T65 at the US Open, understandable yet frustrating. Then came T52 at the Traveler’s Championship despite three rounds under 70. That brought a pair of missed cuts, first at the AT&T National then at the Canadian Open, sandwiched around his best start of this stretch, T37 at the US Bank Championship.

The final major, the PGA Championship, was a finish at T60, then T48 at The Barclays to start the FedEx playoffs. Then it was T63 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, followed by T55 at the BMW Championship (officially done at the FedEx), then an early withdrawal from Turning Stone after an atrocious round of 78 to start the tourney.

Right now, Mallinger is toast and may be better served by a prolonged break.


- PGA Money Leaders
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Vijay Singh 23 $6,601,094
Tiger Woods 6 $5,775,000
Phil Mickelson 21 $5,188,875
Sergio Garcia 19 $4,858,224
Kenny Perry 26 $4,663,794
Anthony Kim 22 $4,656,265
Camilo Villegas 22 $4,422,641
Padraig Harrington 15 $4,313,551
Stewart Cink 22 $3,963,661
Justin Leonard 23 $3,844,542


- Official World Golf Rankings
PLAYER EVENTS AVG PTS
Tiger Woods 40 16.00
Phil Mickelson 47 9.06
Vijay Singh 59 7.59
Padraig Harrington 53 7.47
Sergio Garcia 52 7.23
Anthony Kim 49 5.33
Camilo Villegas 51 5.31
Ernie Els 56 5.29
Henrik Stenson 48 5.25
Jim Furyk 53 5.12


- Total Cuts Made
PLAYER EVENTS CUTS MADE
Robert Allenby 26 25
Briny Baird 28 25
Kenny Perry 26 24
Justin Leonard 24 23
Carl Pettersson 27 23
Jim Furyk 26 23
Steve Marino 28 23
Patrick Sheehan 30 23
Heath Slocum 26 22
Mark Wilson 25 21


- Average Drive
PLAYER YARDS/DRIVE
Bubba Watson 315.4
J.B. Holmes 310.9
Robert Garrigus 310.1
Dustin Johnson 309.0
Tag Ridings 303.2
Steve Allan 302.2
Adam Scott 302.1
Harrison Frazar 301.3
Anthony Kim 300.9
Nick Watney 300.3


- Putting Average
PLAYER PUTTS/GIR
Bob Tway 1.721
Ryan Palmer 1.723
Daniel Chopra 1.731
Brian Gay 1.740
Padraig Harrington 1.742
Nathan Green 1.744
Shane Bertsch 1.749
Corey Pavin 1.749
Justin Leonard 1.750
Aaron Baddeley 1.750


- Greens In Regulation
PLAYER GREENS IN REG
Robert Allenby 69.5
Hunter Mahan 69.2
John Senden 69.0
Vijay Singh 68.4
Billy Mayfair 67.9
J.J. Henry 67.5
Kenny Perry 67.5
Woody Austin 67.4
Chad Campbell 67.4
Boo Weekley 67.4