2010 Greenbrier Classic Preview
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Fantasy Golf Picks
While Erik Planer works on the new Rotoff Fantasy Sports site, I’ll be the guest expert. In addition to leading the Beat the Expert Leaderboard for much of the season, I’ve been covering various fantasy sports for the last two years. I’m currently in the 96th percentile in the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf game and finished in the 92nd percentile last year. You can follow me on Twitter @ericmcclung where I post my Y! lineup on a weekly basis.
As I hold down the fort, the BTE game will continue to roll on. Here’s the point scale:
Winner = 10 points
2nd Place = 5 points
3rd Place = 3 points
Top 10 = 1 point
Think you can pick better? Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. If you Beat The Expert in any week you will win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit (a $9.99 value) with one possible Grand Prize winner at the end of the FedEx Cup season. See here for official BTE rules.
I finally scored some points during my stint doing the expert picks. I led the way with four points: three for Luke Donald’s podium finish and one more for Matt Kuchar’s Top 10. Now just seven points behind the leader, I’m hoping to reclaim the top spot as my tenure comes to a close.
| Rank | Name | Weeks | Weekly Win | Win (x10) | 2nd (x5) | 3rd (x3) | T10 (x1) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E. McClung | 34 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 106 |
| 2 | Brad | 32 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 96 |
| 3 | C. Giles | 26 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 82 |
| 4 | C. Cameron | 29 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 80 |
| 5 | E. Planer | 37 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 66 |
| 6 | E. Hamilton | 22 | 2 | 4 | - | 2 | 13 | 59 |
| 7 | J. Book | 31 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 56 |
| 8 | J. Littlefield | 13 | 1 | 1 | - | 8 | 23 | |
| 9 | Shane | 10 | 1 | 1 | - | 5 | 20 | |
| 10 | Dr Peerless | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 14 | |
| 11 | Bryan | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 10 | |
| 11 | T. Whitehead | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 10 | |
| 13 | R. Slaughter | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | |
| 14 | C. Garner | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Dutch | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
Last Week:
Sparked by a 10-under 60 in the third round, Carl Pettersson won the RBC Canadian Open by one stroke. The Swede missed the cut at the John Deere Classic but finished sixth at the AT&T National with a third round 65. He’s in the field this week at a course where another super-low round could win it.
Runner-up Dean Wilson fired three straight 65s before shooting +2 on Sunday to lose by a stroke. In six prior starts, Wilson had missed five cuts so this strong showing came as a shock. He’s also in the field but will need to show consistency on a regular basis before getting consideration in fantasy circles.
Luke Donald finished third by shooting all four rounds in the 60s. Going back to The Open Championship, the Brit has now shot six straight sub-70 rounds.
Nine players tied for fourth, topped by Greg Chalmers, Michael Letzig and Charley Hoffman who all shot 65s on Sunday which put them in a tie for the best score on the final day.
Paul Casey was my only pick to not record points in Canada. Things started off well with a 2-under 68 but his 3-over 73 put him just a couple of stokes outside of making the cut.
This week:
Sitting in the scenic Allegheny Mountains, The Greenbrier is an exquisite luxury resort located in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. The site was built in 1778 and has hosted many presidents and noted dignitaries. During the Cold War a large underground bunker was built as an emergency shelter for the United States Congress in the event of an emergency.
In 1914, The Old White Course became the first of four golf courses to be built on the grounds. The original design was done by Charles B. Macdonald, the man who coined the term “golf architect”. Macdonald drew much of his inspiration for several of the holes from time spent touring courses in Europe.
In an effort to bring a PGA Tour event to The Greenbrier, the course was remodeled several years ago to blend it’s classic design with today’s game. The field will find large fairways and numerous short holes, which will marginalize the need for long distance drives.
1. Matt Kuchar
I see no reason to jump off Kuchar’s bandwagon now. He’s still first in All-Around Ranking and is coming off a T4 in the RBC Canadian Open. He now has seven finishes of 14th or better in his last 11 starts and three finishes of eighth or better in his last four. Kuchar’s 114th Driving Distance rating won’t matter on this course but his seventh ranked Scoring Average, 14th ranked Greens in Regulation Percentage and 18th ranked Birdie Average will all play very nicely.
2. Jeff Overton
In his last nine starts, Overton has six finishes of 12th or better in addition to four Top Threes. He did miss two cuts in that time so there is a small degree of risk but the potential reward is well worth it. Overton is 16th in All-Around Ranking thanks to ranks of 31st of better in Driving Distance, Eagles, Putting, Greens in Regulation, Scoring and Birdies.
3. Charley Hoffman
Currently playing his best golf of the year, Hoffman is peaking at just the right time. In his last last five starts, he’s shot at least two rounds of every tournament in the 60s. Hoffman has set new season-best finishes in his last two outings, T7th in the John Deere Classic and T4th in last week’s RBC Canadian Open. Sitting eighth in All-Around Ranking with ranks of 12th in Eagles, 21st in Birdies and 23rd in Putting, Hoffman has every tool needed to capture this inaugural event.
