Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

June 10, 2008 3:00pm CDT

- Tiger's Knee
From all reports, things are going well. Tiger has played one round of nearly 18 holes, blowing off the 18th after hitting his drive to find a group of fans and photographers waiting at the green, and another round of nine in recent days leading up to the event… and those are the practices we know of.

I would venture to bet he's played more but has done so quietly. Why not let the competition believe you could possibly be hampered? More importantly, we should discuss just how concerning this scenario may be. He's coming into a major with no recent competitive experience to work his game into shape, and we must admit this is a worry.

It is difficult to imagine a situation that allows us to question Woods on the course, much less on a course he's been playing since the deep reaches of his days as an amateur. The USGA didn't give him a break either, pairing Woods with the primary source of challenge in Phil Mickelson and another star on the verge of joining the exclusive group we refer as the elite in the game, Adam Scott. It may be that the desire is to motivate Woods to overcome any health issues that may linger. We've seen his ability to raise his game when Phil is chomping at his heels… but we've also seen Lefty emerge in that scenario.

In the end, I find no reason to keep Woods out of your fantasy lineup. The course, the event, the competition… it all speaks towards strengths for the man we must view as the only challenger to Jack Nicklaus as the best in the history of the game.

- The Course

More often than not, the astute fantasy golf enthusiasts should be asking one question each week, one query that will help your efforts and lead to success much more often than not. It has nothing to do with the field or the event but has everything to do with the environment.

What skills will be tantamount to winning this tourney?

The South Course at Torrey Pines has been renovated for this very occasion and now plays at 7,643 yards. That is 379 yards longer than any other course that has hosted the US Open and approximately 400 yards longer than the average PGA venue that hosts weekly events.

Of course, if you know anything about the U.S. Open, you also know (a) the rough will be grown to lengths rarely seen outside of the sod farm, (b) the greens will be as treacherous as the Andes and as slick as the old parquet floor at the Boston Garden, and (c) the final scores on the top of the final leaderboard are likely to come in well over par.

You need to go long, you need to be accurate off the tee, you need precise iron work, you need to hit greens with accuracy in or under regulation, and your putter better be sound.

In other words, you need a well-rounded game. Last year proved the long bombers are capable of taking advantage of the situation, evidenced by the work of Angel Cabrera and Bubba Watson. However, Jim Furyk finished second (his second consecutive year doing so), and he carries the same distance off the tee as the muni hound.

Going long will certainly help, but it is not supreme.


~ Hot Hands ~

- Dean Wilson
He rarely enters the fantasy conscience, but Dean Wilson, a veteran of 16 PGA seasons, has quietly enjoyed a strong season.

Through 18 PGA starts, Wilson has missed a total of six cuts. Four of those came in the first five weeks of the season with his most recent missed cut coming in late April at the Byron Nelson. That's nine weekends qualified for play in his last 10 PGA starts.

Over that span, Wilson has been a contender. During that 10-start span he has finished outside of the top 30 just three times (T42 at the Zurich Classic, T55 at the AT&T Classic, T73 at the Memorial). More importantly, Wilson has found his best performances against the best fields, finishing T12 at the Wachovia Championship, T10 at THE PLAYERS, and T13 at last week's Stanford St. Jude.

His stroke numbers indicate there is no facet in which he excels (116th in Driving Accuracy, 69th in greens in regulation, 82nd in putting), but his overall skills allow Wilson to compete much more often than not.

We just don't realize he's there.

~ Cold Feet ~

- Chad Campbell
I must admit I've been watching Campbell with the intent of using him here for some time, and now that time has come.

To be fair, there have been flashes of a return to prominence, including a T2 at the Shell Houston Open and a T10 at THE PLAYERS. It wasn't that long ago that these top finishes were a weekly event for Campbell, but this season, the grind has been much more damaging.

Over his last eight PGA starts, a stretch that includes the Byron Nelson and the Memorial, Campbell has qualified for weekend play just twice (those previously mentioned finished at Houston and THE PLAYERS). That is six missed cuts in eight PGA starts, and we aren't including a couple of early withdrawals that come up along the way.

Campbell is currently riding a streak of three missed cuts coming in to the U.S. Open, a stretch that has seen five of six rounds of golf come in with scores well over par (including a 76-81 posting at the Memorial). With that in mind is difficult to view Campbell as anything but a player to avoid.


- FedEx Cup Standings
RANK PLAYER POINTS
1 Tiger Woods 17,745
2 Phil Mickelson 15,617
3 Justin Leonard 11,792
4 Kenny Perry 10,623
5 Ryuji Imada 10,531
6 Stewart Cink 10,058
7 Geoff Ogilvy 9,973
8 Vijay Singh 9,252
9 Boo Weekley 9,068
10 Anthony Kim 8,868


- US Ryder Cup Point Standings
RANK PLAYER POINTS
1 Tiger Woods 8,665.627
2 Phil Mickelson 4,244.570
3 Stewart Cink 3,581.747
4 Jim Furyk 3,117.386
5 Justin Leonard 2,982.248
6 Kenny Perry 2,532.100
7 Boo Weekley 2,469.042
8 Anthony Kim 2,216.806
9 Zach Johnson 2,046.291
10 Steve Stricker 1,991.120


- PGA Money Leaders
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Tiger Woods 5 $4,425,000
Phil Mickelson 13 $3,872,270
Justin Leonard 15 $2,897,948
Geoff Ogilvy 13 $2,584,685
Stewart Cink 13 $2,516,512
Kenny Perry 16 $2,481,100
Ryuji Imada 14 $2,336,647
Vijay Singh 13 $2,326,017
Sergio Garcia 11 $2,309,940
Boo Weekley 16 $2,116,030


- Official World Golf Rankings
PLAYER EVENTS AVG PTS
Tiger Woods 40 19.44
Phil Mickelson 44 10.21
Adam Scott 48 5.86
Ernie Els 56 5.72
Geoff Ogilvy 46 5.62
Justin Rose 47 5.44
Sergio Garcia 52 5.22
Steve Stricker 47 5.21
Vijay Singh 59 5.14
Jim Furyk 51 5.09


- World Money List
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Tiger Woods 6 $4,846,717
Phil Mickelson 13 $3,872,270
Justin Leonard 15 $2,897,948
Geoff Ogilvy 13 $2,584,685
Stewart Cink 13 $2,516,512
Kenny Perry 16 $2,481,100
Sergio Garcia 13 $2,394,672
Vijay Singh 14 $2,345,793
Ryuji Imada 14 $2,336,647
Anthony Kim 13 $2,227,095