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

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Total:  52 Points

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Weekly Average:  1.67 Points

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 PGA Championship.  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.

There was no weekly winner last week but congrats to Dr. Peerless (Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy) and Brad (Jim Furyk and Stricker) who both tied with 2 points.  It was enough to give Brad a slight cushion in his #1 spot atop the BTE LB.  It should definitely be interesting down the stretch run as just six weeks remain in the PGA Tour season and Brad holding a slight four point lead over #2 McClung. 

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Last Week:

What the hell happened?  Tiger Woods looked like Sir Charles out there.  Forget the women, forget the “mental” part of the game, there’s something else going on here.  And not very many are talking about it.  Tiger’s body (and game) have completely broken down.  Now that may be a bold statement but even if it’s not adjusting to golf without PEDs, there is something else besides a “mental” block going on behind the curtain.  How do you go from super-human to sub-par?  Most likely we’ll never know.  Odds are good that Tiger bounces back from this someday but that day appears later then sooner (and not this week).

Both Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia looked good in spurts, finishing T22.  I missed a golden opportunity to gain ground on the field and with just a handful of events left in the PGA Tour regular and playoff season my performance this season is no where near my pace from 2009. 

This week:

The PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits for the first time since 2004, ironically the last year Tiger was not #1 in the World Golf Rankings.  This is about as wide open a major as I can remember in the Tiger era.  And the first time that Tiger is not the odds on favorite out of Vegas.  The whole golf world is changing before our very eyes.  While it may hurt for the short term I compare it to (not to get political) America’s dependance on oil.  It might be time for the PGA Tour to ween itself off it’s Tiger dependancy. 

Sure a winning Tiger is good for ratings and good for golf.  Hell, part of me wants to see Tiger get back to somekind of dominance.  But on the other hand it might be time for the PGA Tour to come up with another game plan.  Tiger won’t be around forever and the dropping ratings this season are just the beginning of their worries.  Let’s not kid ourselves.  Golf is entering a brand new world.  And just in time for Glory’s Last Shot.  I’ll be honest.  I have no idea how this weekend will turn out.

1.  Rory McIlroy

Ah to be young again.  You might say the glass is half full if Rory McIlroy could get the win on Sunday.  In his only appearance in the PGA Championship last season, Rory finished T3.  He already has a Top 3 major finish this year (T3 at the British) and is coming off a Top 10 last week.  It would be one hell of a story if Rory could pull out a major win at the young age of 21.  Something not accomplished since Tiger at the 1997 Masters.  It would almost be too perfect.

2.  Ernie Els

Ernie Els has two Top 10s in the PGA in his last four tries, including a T6 last year.  Don’t be fooled by Ernie’s disappearing act last Sunday.  He is playing as well as anyone on tour right now and has the experience to handle the weekend pressure at a major championship.  Several years ago when Mr. Els set his goal to be #1 in the world many thought the idea absurd.  A win this week and that once lofty goal would be in his sights.  Expect at least another Top 10 from Ernie.

3.  Jim Furyk

It just makes sense to round out my picks with the seasoned pro.  Jim Furyk is enjoying a career year.  Even though he has not faired well in this event recently (no Top 10s the last seven years), he is coming off two straight Top 10 finshes.  With only three missed cuts this season you can count on Jimmy to be around on the weekend.

Sleepers (outside World Top 50):  J.B. Holmes and Vijay Singh

AimPoint PGA Tour Picks

Coming Soon

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

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Total:  37 Points

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Weekly Average:  1.68 Points

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 St. Jude 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.

Cal gets his first weekly win of the season nabbing 3 points on Ricky Barnes 3rd place finish.   Not only does he win a FREE 2010 Rotoff Golf Draft Kit but he also moves into a tie for 7th on the BTE LB.  Cal, contact me to claim your Draft Kit and congrats!   (I’m sad to say I left Barnes on my bench on my Rotoff Golf team, I might have to start copying your picks)

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

One point wasn’t bad considering no one picked the winner in Justin Rose.  Though Stewart Cink only had one round in the 60s he was consistent all week and finished T8 for my single point of the week.  Keep an eye on Stewie with the U.S and British Open’s looming.  Jeff Overton was primed for a third straight Top 10 finish thru 54 holes before a final round 73.  He ended up T12, one stroke away from points.  Not sure what the hell happened to Nick Watney who shot 74-82 and missed the cut badly.  Guess I should have gone with Phil Mickelson after all, though he only does well when I don’t pick him.  Not sure how I’m going to play that next week.

This week:

I can’t remember the last time the top three golfer odds out of Vegas for a tournament in the states were all Englishman.  Infact this might be the first.  Add to that one Justin Rose (another Englishman) winning his first PGA Tour event last weekend.  Is this a sign of things to come?  Can a Brit win at Pebble?

All ranked in the Top 15 in the world, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington will have their work cut out for them at the St. Jude Classic where no Brit has ever won in 60+ years of tournaments played.  Those are some long odds.  Albeit there probably hasn’t been a lot of Englishman in the fields until recently with the tournament positioned right before the U.S. Open.  Not nearly the monster field we saw last week but enough names to make it interesing one week before the Battle at the Beach. 

1.  Zach Johnson

Coming off a win just a few weeks ago, which suprisingly is his only Top 10 of the season, Zach Johnson has a great opportunity at hand.    He only has one career start here but it was a T5 in 2006.  Though ZJ was not impressive last week with only one round in the 60s squeezed between two 73s and a final round 74, he is still only weeks removed from winning.  I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt this week and assuming he can find that same form.

2.  Rory McIlroy

If any Brit is going to break the winless streak in Tennessee it would surely be young Rory.  Already getting that first win off his back earlier this season, Rory has the long game that fits this 7244 yard course right.  No corse history to speak of so we’ll have to rely on recent play for this pick.  Rory finished T10 last week in one of the toughest fields of the year so this week should be no challenge.  A win right before the U.S. Open would be amazing for Mr. McIlroy, though I’d be happy with another Top 10.

3.  David Toms

David Toms is the darling pick this week and his track record here cannot be ignored.  He has seven Top 10s in his last eight starts including two wins back to back in 2003 and 2004.  In seventeen career starts he has only missed the cut twice and both of those came in his first appearances.  Suprisingly Toms has yet to finish in the Top 10 in 2010 but is coming off his best start of the year, a T13 at Crowne Plaza.  But better yet was his four straight rounds in the 60s with a final round 65.  Expect the streak of 60s to continue at TPC Southwind where Toms dominates.

AimPoint PGA Tour Picks

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

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Total:  22 Points

2010 Fantasy Golf Picks Weekly Average:  3.67 Points

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.  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.

Ed gets the job done for a second time this year with 11 total points.  He got not only the winner in Dustin Johnson but also gets a point for Phil’s first Top 10 of 2010.  It also moves him into 2nd place overall on the BTE Leaderboard, just two points shy of our fearless leader McClung.  Nice work Ed. 

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

It was a great week for me in getting my first winning pick of the year in Dustin Johnson.  Garcia was on his way to a Top 10 before a +5 final round score that dropped him to T52.  Luke Donald only broke 60 once last week but still managed a T16 finish.  At least no one missed the cut.

This week:

Changing it up just a bit this week with the Match Play.  Instead of three picks I would like everyone to give their bracket winners, though the same point scale will apply.

For the first time in the history of this event there will be no Tiger or Phil.  While some may argue that it will be boring (this event is usually always boring after the first few rounds) it will be a chance for some of the young guns to shine.  This will be our first time in 2010 seeing Villegas, McIlroy and Anthony Kim (seriously can anyone vouch for him really playing the Northern Trust?).  Match Play is pretty much like the NCAA tournament, the first few rounds are exciting and the last rounds rarely live up to the hype.  I for one think the 36 hole championship round is 18 holes to long.  Rarely does the championship match have any real drama.  But I digress.

There are some great 1st round pairings this year.  Vijay vs. Clark.  Garcia vs. Toms.  Villegas vs. DJ.  Always a hard tournament to predict, it really comes down to who is hot and putting well.  It’s definately a grind and expect to see some early round upsets this year  (I’ll call it now, Toms over Garcia).  Having just filled out my Rotoff Golf Match Play Challenge bracket I’m ready to announce this year’s bracket winners.

1. Steve Stricker (Bobby Jones Bracket)

Now #2 in the world there’s not much left for Stricker to accomplish in the golf world except a Major title.  Winning here would be a good start towards that goal.  Over the last seven years, six of the Match Play winners have also got a Major.  It’s hard to argue that anyone outside of DJ is playing better then Stricker right now and I expect that to continue this week.  Being a #1 seed doesn’t hurt either.

 2. Rory McIlroy (Ben Hogan Bracket)

Rory could have an easy go in the first few rounds before having to meet Donald or Allenby in the 3rd round.  In just two events this year on the European Tour, McIlroy has a 3rd place and T6 finish.  If he can continue that success in the states it could be a great year for the youngster from across the pond.

3. Geoff Ogilvy (Gary Player Bracket)

The last time we saw Mr. Ogilvy he was victorious in Hawaii at the season opening SBS Championship.  Geoff has become an elite golfer who has the luxary of picking and choosing his PGA Tour schedule.  It cannot be overlooked that he has won this event twice and has a good track record (3 career wins) in his home state of AZ.  The only real hurdle in his way could be the winner of the Villegas/DJ matchup in the 2nd round.

4. Zach Johnson (Sam Snead Bracket)

ZJ hasn’t played since the Sony so rust could be a factor.  As the #6 seed he could have a somewhat easy draw as no one outside of Paul Casey really scare me in his possible early round matches.  Zach made a deep run (albeit on a different course) in 2006, winning the consolation match for a 3rd place finish.  If he can continue his great short game play (6th in GIR) he should make a deep run.

If you would like to play in the Rotoff Golf Match Play Challenge please get your brackets in before Wednesday at 8:00 am pst.  Good luck.

 Follow the Match Play scoring all week long at the link below:

http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r470/index.html