Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

September 23, 2008 9:07am CDT

- A new contender?
There are many revelations and observations the fans of golf may have left the Ryder Cup experience with this week. Boo Weekley is a star (and a bit of a redneck… doubt he’d argue that). Lee Westwood can be a bit moody. Jim Furyk is that good. Oliver Wilson wasn’t ready for the big stage. Justin Rose doesn’t always choke. Sergio Garcia doesn’t win each and every time he dons the Ryder Cup gear. Steve Stricker is the most underrated putter on the Tour. Hunter Mahan is rising. Mickelson… who knows. However, there is one undeniable fact fans should have taken from the experience.

If you are looking for the man who will rise and challenge the greatness of Tiger, it is Anthony Kim.

The kid has been as good as advertised this season, entering the ’08 PGA Tour as one of the more talented young duffers the golf world has seen over recent seasons and now ready to leave the season as one of the world’s elite. Fans note his style (check out the belt buckles if you have missed them thus far), those who love to play envy his stroke, and anyone that’s ever held a putter should hold his work on the greens in the highest regard.

This season has put Kim on the map, getting wins at the Wachovia Championship and the AT&T National (with a handful of top-10 finishes at other top tourneys), but the work put forth at this year’s Ryder Cup was nothing short of phenomenal.

Consider the setting. Kim was left on the bench as the American entered Saturday afternoon foursomes, a set of matches that left the Americans with a draining lead over the Europeans that ended with a shift in momentum that seemed to suggest the battle would be as hard fought as any Ryder Cup of years past. Kim had played well but failed to stand out during his time with Phil Mickelson in the day and a half before that Saturday, and as a result he watched his team struggle to separate from the competition going into the final day of action.

Then, captain Paul Azinger shocked us all, listing Kim as his starting option for individual matches, and he would face the man that has come to represent the definition of domination on the Ryder Cup stage. Sergio Garcia was considered the best player the Euros had to offer, and his track record at Ryder Cup events has been matched by only one (his captain Nick Faldo). His overall record through four Ryder Cup tourneys: 14-4-2. He had not suffered a loss in foursomes (going an amazing 8-0) and had yet to lose on opening day (also 8-0) coming into this year’s Ryder Cup. In team matches, Sergio was 13-1-2 overall. He hadn’t lost a pairings match since his visit to the Belfry, and that was six years ago. In 2004, Garcia went 4-0-1. In 2006, he went 4-1-0. Euro team captain Nick Faldo owns the record for all-time Ryder Cup points, and Garcia is on the verge of breaking that record and is just 27-years-old. This was the opponent Kim would face to open the day of individual play, the matches that would decide the winner… and he was stellar.

Kim took the lead on the 2nd hole with a birdie, put his foot on the pedal at #6 with a winning par, and then put up another winning hole at #7. Sergio got a point back on the turn with a birdie at #10, but Kim didn’t let him enjoy the surge for long, putting up birdies at each of the next three holes. Garcia was not only laid to rest, but he suffered the worst defeat of the day, allowing Kim to set the tone and put the Americans on the path to a dominating Ryder Cup win.

Fans of international play won’t forget this for some time, but fantasy owners should keep this very match in mind next year. Kim is as dedicated as any golfer on the Tour. He has the game to compete with the great one, and he has age on his side. There is every reason to believe we have just witnessed the birth of the next great golfer, and while few have filled the role and maintained elite play, Kim is one who could break the mold.


~ Hot Hands ~

- K.J. Choi
He did not play in the Ryder Cup, but he’ll be on the prowl at the TOUR Championship this week and is poised to make a run for the oversized check.

Choi has long been respected as one of the best in the world, but this season has been full of peaks and valleys for the Korean master of swing. Always one of the more active golfers on the Tour, Choi was all over the globe this season and started with a string of top finishes, including a win at the first tourney of the season (the Mercedes-Benz Championship), a T5 finish at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, and several top-10 finishes at other various tourneys.

That was followed by the major season, starting with the annual trip to Augusta National, and the luster seemed to fade for Choi. He finished 41st at The Masters, missed three of the next four cuts he faced, and suffered multiple failures and disappointments in between. After a T49 at the AT&T National, it seemed time to jump off the Choi bandwagon had come and fantasy owners started seeking alternative options.

Since then, he has shined. Choi posted consecutive T16 finishes, first at the Open Championship followed by the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, two of the top fields of the season. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship (rumored to be hindered by the flu), but he jumped right back into the fray when the FedEx Cup playoffs commenced, finishing T12 at The Barclays, T21 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and topped with an outstanding T5 at the BMW Championship.

Now he has two weeks of rest and looks to put another win on the board at the FedEx finale, the TOUR Championship. This course sets well for his long-hitting, risk-taking style and could produce yet another beneficial result for those who choose to add Choi to the fantasy roster.


~ Cold Feet ~

- Andres Romero The minds of the PGA have all but awarded this season’s Rookie of the Year award to him, and moments of greatness, despite the T44 finish, at the BMW Championship has us believing a rise could be on tap for the TOUR Championship. However, while Romero is certainly one of the more talented young stars in a league in need of fresh faces, the recent returns suggest fantasy employment is not advisable.

Romero made his name with a win at the Zurich Classic, touting a surprisingly strong field this season. Followed by an astounding T8 at The Masters, there was reason to believe this young Argentine duffer would rise through the ranks and become a weekly competitor.

However, in eight of his last nine starts around the globe (and in 10 of his last 12), Romero has failed to finish among the top 30 on the final leaderboard. The T7 at the PGA Championship shows he can play with the big boys, but the lackluster finishes surrounding the surge (T36 at the US Open, T44 at the AT&T National, T49 at the Scottish Open, T63 at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, just to name a few) make it all too difficult to fill the name “Romero” in your starting fantasy lineup.

Entering this FedEx final, Romero has posted scores of T55 at The Barclays, T50 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and T44 at the BMW Championship. His regular-season success pushed him forward and those finishes were just enough to keep him on the positive side of the cut line. This week, gamble on another name.


- FedEx Cup Standings

RANK PLAYER POINTS
1 Vijay Singh 122,651
2 Camilo Villegas 112,050
3 Sergio Garcia 110,900
4 Jim Furyk 109,130
5 Mike Weir 109,068
6 Anthony Kim 108,919
7 Justin Leonard 108,138
8 K.J. Choi 106,846
9 Phil Mickelson 106,701
10 Ben Curtis 106,202


- PGA Money Leaders
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Vijay Singh 22 $6,473,694
Tiger Woods 6 $5,775,000
Phil Mickelson 20 $4,779,375
Kenny Perry 25 $4,543,394
Padraig Harrington 15 $4,313,551
Anthony Kim 21 $4,246,765
Sergio Garcia 18 $4,102,224
Stewart Cink 21 $3,843,261
Justin Leonard 23 $3,664,502
Jim Furyk 25 $3,217,714


- Official World Golf Rankings
PLAYER EVENTS AVG PTS
Tiger Woods 40 16.68
Phil Mickelson 46 9.14
Vijay Singh 59 7.71
Padraig Harrington 54 7.53
Sergio Garcia 52 6.78
Ernie Els 56 5.33
Henrik Stenson 49 5.31
Steve Stricker 45 5.19
Jim Furyk 53 5.11
Anthony Kim 50 4.94


- World Money List
PLAYER EVENTS EARNINGS
Vijay Singh 23 $6,498,728
Tiger Woods 7 $6,196,717
Phil Mickelson 21 $4,817,356
Sergio Garcia 21 $4,717,067
Kenny Perry 25 $4,543,394
Padraig Harrington 20 $4,468,790
Anthony Kim 22 $4,357,097
Stewart Cink 21 $3,849,610
Justin Leonard 23 $3,663,738
Jim Furyk 25 $3,215,127