Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

July 8, 2008 10:00am CDT

- Tiger and the great beyond…
If you follow the game of golf, you are likely to have read a recent article by a prominent industry voice focused on a growing realization that an evolutionary change for the game may be in order.

More to the point, the article puts direct light on the possibility of a new international tour coming to existence, a tour constructed, promoted, and progressed by the man described in the piece as, "the Oprah of sports." In other words, Tiger Woods has surpassed the game as the most recognizable and adored international personality associated with greatness in athletics. In the recent list published by Forbes Magazine ranking the most powerful celebrities in the world, regardless of profession or venue, Tiger ranked #2 (topped only by, you guessed it, Oprah). Forbes notes Woods is banking approximately $115 million in gross annual income, and while this number actual pales in comparison to income of many celebrities associated with other industries, the rank is not rooted in income, but rather as a meter of international influence.

From there, the focus turns to the PGA, the stage that has served as Woods' launching pad for worldwide domination. After Tiger earned his first Masters win in 1997, the Tour negotiated a $1-billion television agreement. The annual Tour purse sum in 2008 has grown to a number nearly four times the cumulative total offered during that season. Punch up any site offering news on the Tour and you are likely to see some headline about Tiger topping the page… and he's not even playing.

Now the world is ready to ponder the thought of a new league built solely around his persona and allure. There are reports indicating a group of international investors (many of whom rank as major financial benefactors from the oil industry, just to insure you understand how much money and power we are talking about here) has already approached Tiger about such a venture, hoping to design and build a new professional golf tour that will include events held around the world.

Think about it… where is the risk? The broadcast audience and advertising dollars already follow Tiger with every step he takes. Sponsors will be more than eager to engage in a bidding war to back such an effort, and they will come from all areas of the globe. The reach of the game can be broadened, and, more importantly, the reach of Tiger (and all of those investors hoping to sell in international markets) will be grown.

As we stand today, Tiger plays in just a handful of tourneys outside of the four majors. He could continue to place focus on his chase of Jack Nicklaus in that aspect (if that is his desire, and most would likely agree that it is) while building this new Tiger Tour, attending the four majors each season (none of which are run by the PGA, just to clarify) while moving those peripheral appearances to venues of his choice on a Tour he, at least in part, owns and operates. He can build an international empire while sponsors and investors tag along for the ride and all the financial rewards that come with it.

The PGA simply acts as an organization that is allowing opportunity for Tiger to make that charge today. They are much more reliant on him for success than the reverse, a fact proven by their own efforts to grow an international presence. The World Golf Championships, a series devised by the Tour to encourage and recruit fans of the game around the world, has become a nuance of the schedule rather than a force and foundation for the PGA. The European Tour is more of cousin to the American side of the Tour as well, rarely viewed as the bastion of international competition, more aptly described as a convenient solution for the international contingent of players that hail from that side of the world should they choose to making golf a profession.

Put Tiger at the head of the effort and suddenly international events matter, evidenced the Dubai Desert Classic (the only European event, outside of the Open Championship, most American fans can name… for Tiger is there every year, and most fans know he owns a stunning property adjacent to that venue). From there, the world is his oyster. He will eclipse the international fame achieved by the current leader in the clubhouse (Michael Jordan), he will surpass that name listed ahead of his own on the lists Forbes will produce in the future (Oprah), and he can become the global icon so many in the world of entertainment yearn to be.

Charity, fortune, infamy… it seems outlandish to attach such lofty goals to a professional golfer, but with Tiger, it seems to be nothing more than the next logical step. Name any other athlete so readily equipped to surpass the organization that he plays for. That is what makes this scenario seem more of an inevitable future than a dream to be pondered.

The only obstacle between the thoughts of what could be and the fruition of reality may be time (and Tiger is only approaching the prime years of his career).


~ Hot Hands ~

- Tommy Armour III
Without looking or researching the subject, name the oldest player among the PGA's top 50 as listed on the current Money Leaders list.

That would be Mr. Tommy Armour III, challenged only by one other golfer for the illustrious title (Steve Lowery, just four days from being exactly one full year younger than TA III), and he's earned a spot on the list with an early-season win. Our Hot Hand of the week doesn't have an '08 victory on the resume, but he still manages to rank among the top 40 in terms of the value that may matter most, at least for those who choose to earn a living playing golf.

This last week, Armour III finished T3 at the AT&T National, capping a run few have matched during this PGA season. Armour III has finished among the top 10 in three of his last four tourneys, finishing among the top 5 in each of his last two. In fact, TAIII hasn't missed a cut since the first week of April, and if you go back to the tides of mid-March, you'll find two more top-10 finishes.

Expand the view a bit more and you'll find more positive notes. The fourth tourney of the last four he has played… that was the Stanford St. Jude Championship, the 2nd start of that four-tourney string, and he finished T24. Since missing three cuts with one withdrawal over his first six tourneys, Armour III has missed just one cut over 10 starts, and only once has he finished outside of the top 50. To summarize once more with full detail, his last 10 starts have finished as such (in order): T6, T7, MC, T50, T40, T73, 10th, T24, 2nd, T3.

Turn to the swing stats of Armour's campaign thus far and you'll find more support for praise. Thus far, he ranks 51st on the Tour in Total Driving (168, ranked among the top 100 for both length and accuracy), 22nd on the Tour for greens in regulation (66.7%), and 48th in putting (1.777 per green). It all adds up to 3.72 birdies per round, 8th on the PGA Tour (and first among players over the age of 40).

We suggest, despite the hot hand, you may want to avoid TAIII this week at the John Deere Classic (he hits this track almost every year, but rarely leaves with the results he desires, missing five cuts over his last seven starts on this Illinois track), but nearly any other tourney left on the schedule (especially those that come with fields lacking star power) should bring TAIII to mind as you fill the lower spots on your fantasy roster.


~ Cold Feet ~

- Brandt Snedeker
Just three spots behind Armour III on that current PGA Money Leaders list you will find young Brandt Snedeker, over 20 years the junior to TAIII but struggling to make good on the potential we felt would launch him to the top of the Tour.

Earlier this season, we watched Snedeker challenge for top positioning on final leaderboards with regularity. Over his first 10 starts, Snedeker missed the cut just twice, registering four finishes among the top 15 with three of those ranked among the top 10, including a T10 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship to start the season, a T9 one month later at the FBR Open, and a T8 one month after that at the PODS Championship.

Snedeker went on to the first major of the season and the first invite of his career to the most illustrious course the Tour visits each season, taking part in The Masters at Augusta National. Snedeker was in full effect, battling a tough course against the cream of the PGA crop over all four days of challenging golf. Unfortunately, he found his worst performance of the week on the most crucial day of competition, carding his first round over par of the week to finish 77 on Sunday and fall out of the mix for the win, finishing T3.

Snedeker then went on to a now-famous tirade of tears and emotion after coming so close to realizing a dream, and his game on the links that have followed on the schedule may indicate the frustration has yet to leave. In eight starts since The Masters, Snedeker has finished among the top 10 just once yet has carded four missed cuts and three finishes outside of the top 30 (two of those coming outside of the top 50).

That's two fewer starts than he had registered coming into the major with four times the number of missed cuts and only a fraction of the top finishes. More than anything, Snedeker's work with the short irons has failed him, watching his greens in regulation fall to 64.2% (66th on the Tour).

Granted, his best finish during that stretch came at the second major of the season, finishing T9 at the US Open. However, with four missed cuts over his last six starts and what appears to be a total lack of focus in tourneys when the field struggles to match his own talents, it would seem wise to avoid Snedeker when filling out the fantasy roster (at least if we aren't talking about a major tourney).

Until he proves he can win regardless of the week or level of competition, it is difficult to give Snedeker the respect his talent should probably be dictating.


- FedEx Cup Standings
RANK PLAYER POINTS
1 Tiger Woods 22,695
2 Phil Mickelson 15,940
3 Kenny Perry 15,933
4 Stewart Cink 15,039
5 Anthony Kim 13,580
6 Justin Leonard 11,959
7 Ryuji Imada 10,854
8 Geoff Ogilvy 10,660
9 Vijay Singh 10,309
10 Robert Allenby 9,436


- US Ryder Cup Point Standings
RANK PLAYER POINTS
1 Tiger Woods 11,365.627
2 Stewart Cink 4,906.065
3 Phil Mickelson 4,419.030
4 Kenny Perry 3,626.350
5 Jim Furyk 3,466.832
6 Anthony Kim 3,419.310
7 Justin Leonard 3,065.016
7 Boo Weekley 2,591.546
9 Woody Austin 2,200.799
10 Hunter Mahan 2,171.517


- PGA Money Leaders
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Tiger Woods 6 $5,775,000
Phil Mickelson 14 $3,959,500
Stewart Cink 15 $3,718,671
Kenny Perry 18 $3,575,350
Anthony Kim 14 $3,256,622
Justin Leonard 17 $2,945,007
Geoff Ogilvy 14 $2,745,454
Vijay Singh 15 $2,582,531
Ryuji Imada 16 $2,423,877
Sergio Garcia 12 $2,397,170


- Official World Golf Rankings
PLAYER EVENTS AVG PTS
Tiger Woods 40 20.33
Phil Mickelson 43 10.03
Adam Scott 47 5.65
Geoff Ogilvy 46 5.57
Stewart Cink 50 5.48
Ernie Els 56 5.41
Sergio Garcia 53 5.38
Steve Stricker 46 5.12
Justin Rose 48 5.03
Vijay Singh 59 4.94


- World Money List
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Tiger Woods 7 $6,196,717
Phil Mickelson 14 $3,959,500
Stewart Cink 15 $3,718,671
Kenny Perry 18 $3,575,350
Anthony Kim 15 $3,368,347
Sergio Garcia 15 $3,012,182
Justin Leonard 17 $2,945,007
Geoff Ogilvy 14 $2,745,454
Vijay Singh 16 $2,602,307
Ryuji Imada 16 $2,423,877