Fantasy Golf Picks

I’m giving myself points for picking winners.  Hopefully my picks can help you win your fantasy golf league this season.  My goal is to get to 111 points for the season, or the equivlant of picking a Top 3 finisher or better each week, based on the point scale below:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Leaderboard

Please post your picks along with me and we will be keeping score all season long.  Winner will receive a prize to be determined.  Just post your picks below in the comments section.

(Busy busy week for me, so this is the short and sweet edition)

Last Week:  Congrats are in order for our first weekly winner of the year.  Craig G. not only picked the winner in Brandt Snedeker for 10 points but added a Top 10 for D.A. Points for a total of 11 points.  Not bad for the first week.  Nice pick’n Craig!  You’re gonna make me have to step up my game.

All in all not a bad week for me.  I got 1 point for Hunter Mahan’s T8 and a near miss with Bubba Watson (finished T13).  So even though Ben Crane missed the cut I will give myself a small pat on the back for getting points last week.  That’s 4 total points on the year and I will take 2nd place thus far.

This Week:  One of my favorite tournaments of the season is here!  The Waste(d) Management Phoenix open, the rowdy rauckus crowd in Phoenix is always entertaining to watch, and that this tournament (usually) falls on SuperBowl weekend is a bonus  (Still stings a bit that my 9ers aren’t playing, a 49ers/Patriots matchup would have been EPIC).  

Mark Wilson, already a winner this year, defends in Arizona this week.  And though not a stellar field, there’s still some names in attendance.  Expect a lot of birdies, the average winning score the last three years is -16.  And don’t forget to brush up on the Waste(d) Management Phoenix Open drinking game rules.

Brandt Snedeker

There is no better play this week than Sneds, coming off a win, he could very easily repeat the feat at TPC Scottsdale.  Brandt has two Top 10s here since 2007 including a T8 in 2011.  Lost in Kyle Stanley’s epic meltdown last week (what?, you thought  I would not mention it) was how money Snedeker was in the final round, with 6 birdies and only 1 bogey.  He usually saves his best for last, but if Brandt can stay hot in the early going we could be looking at an early golfer of the year candidate.  I will (all but) guarantee at least a Top 10 this week.

Camilo Villegas

Another pick I’m feeling good about this week, Camilo Villegas may soon return to his 2008 form that saw him suprise the golf world.  Spiderman struggled early in 2011 before finishing with three Top 10s in his last four starts.  2012 is looking good so far too, with two straight Top 25 finishes.  Not counting his withdrawal last year at TPC Sawgrass, he has a Top 10 and one missed cut in three years.  With that course history and his recent good play, another lock for a Top 10.

Vijay Singh

Vij is far removed from his world #1 ranking, definitley on the down slope of his career, but he still has a win or two left in him and some extra motivation.  Still trying to qualify for the WGC-Match Play, Singh can punch his ticket with a Top 10 this week.  After a brutal 2010, Vij bounced back with bonus points in three events last year (one of them a 3rd place finish in Phoenix) and finished just outside the Top 10 last week.  If he can get the putter going again as in the olden days of Singh, he could be a “sleeper” pick for the Masters.  But I won’t get ahead of myself.  Look for him to contend all week.

Please post your picks along with me and we will be keeping score all season long.  Winner will receive a prize to be determined.  Just post your picks below in the comments section.

The Farmers Insurance Open plays on two courses for the first two rounds.  Golfers will finish on the host South Course for rounds three and four.  The following are the scoring averages for the two courses of the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open:

Round 1 Scoring Averages:

Torrey Pines – North Course:  69.24 (easiest)

Torrey Pines – South Course:  72.85 (hardest)

Round 2 Scoring Averages:

Torrey Pines – North Course:  69.86 (easiest)

Torrey Pines – South Course:  72.86 (hardest)

The following are the scoring averages for the three courses of the 2012 Humana Challenge:

Round 1 Scoring Averages:

La Quinta CC:  69.94 (hardest)

PGA West Nicklaus Private Course:  68.88 (easiest)

PGA West Arnold Palmer Private Course:  69.54

Round 2 Scoring Averages:

La Quinta CC:  69.28 (hardest)

PGA West Nicklaus Private Course:  68.47 (easiest)

PGA West Arnold Palmer Private Course:  69.10

Round 3 Scoring Averages (heavy winds):

La Quinta CC:  72.79 (hardest)

PGA West Nicklaus Private Course:  70.29 (easiest)

PGA West Arnold Palmer Private Course:  71.54

Fantasy Golf Picks

I’m giving myself points for picking winners.  Hopefully my picks can help you win your fantasy golf league this season.  My goal is to get to 111 points for the season, or the equivlant of picking a Top 3 finisher or better each week, based on the point scale below:

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

Leaderboard

Please post your picks along with me and we will be keeping score all season long.  Winner will receive a prize to be determined.  Just post your picks below in the comments section.

Last Week:  A big WHIFF.  Choi (T38) and Stricker (T38) looked good early but both shot over par in the final round to fall down the leaderboard.  Steve Marino was awful, missing the cut by a mile.  A big fat ZERO for me but still with 3 points on the young season. 

This Week:  It’s a new format for the once Bob Hope Classic.  Gone is the five round over four courses marathon with celebrities every day.  Now it’s just your good ole four rounds on three courses sprint ala Pebble Beach.  And unfortunately for golf fans, you’ll still have celebrities trying to golf with the pros.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they actaully showed professional golfers during the TV telecast.  But I digress.

This year the three courses in play will be:

Palmer Private

Nicklaus Private (easiest)

La Quinta (hardest)

Check here for info on how these courses scored last year.  The coures all play pretty similar, though the Private courses play about a stoke less on average.  Of course wind and weather can always make these courses easier or more difficult depending on the day.  That said you want to select your lineup this week based on where golfers are playing the first three days.  Odds are playing golfers on the easier courses will result in better scoring, so select accordingly. 

2012 Humana Challenge Pairings

With that in mind, here’s my prognostication for this week:

Bill Haas

Starting on La Quinta in round 1, I’ll probably hold him out of the starting lineup until day two.  Haas is money here, finishing 2nd last year and winning in 2010.  Removing one course and one day from the tournament should only help as he knows these courses well.   Finishing only T20 two weeks ago at Kapalua, he only managed one round under 60 (69 in R4).  It’s early though and I’m expecting big things from Haasy this week.

Phil Mickelson

If you’re one of the three regulars of this blog, you know that Phil is my favorite golfer.  For that reason I probably over pick him during the year and I’m pretty sure I’ve picked him for his first start all of the five plus years of this blog.  That trend continues.  Lefty had a “down” year by Lefty standards in 2011, with only one win and just seven Top 10s.  He is definitely on the twilight of his career but should still win a handful of majors and a West Coast swing tournament here and there.  Favored this week, how can you not start him?  He’s the biggest name in the field.  Having not played since November (T33 Singapore Open) it’s any one’s guess how his golf game will fare.  This will be his first start in this event (due to the tournament changes I’m sure) since 2007 and he has won this event twice with four career Top 10s.  Go get Phil!

Kevin Na

I’ve got a feeling Na is in for a breakthrough in 2012.  Though he missed the cut last week, he did finish just outside the Top 10 in the season opener (and two eagles back to back is not bad).  Na led the PGA Tour in Putts Per Round in 2011 and if he can continue that trend will better his T15 in Top 10s from last year.  With two Top 10’s here over the last two season’s, this is (bob hopefully) a na-brainer.

Please post your picks along with me and we will be keeping score all season long.  Winner will receive a prize to be determined.  Just post your picks below in the comments section.