AimPoint PGA Tour Picks

Fantasy Golf Preview

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 80 points for the season, or the equivlant of picking a Top 3 finisher or better each week.

Winner = 10 points

2nd Place = 5 points

3rd Place = 3 points

Top 10 = 1 point

2009 Fantasy Golf Preview Total:  16 Points

2009 Fantasy Golf Preview Weekly Average:  8.0 Points

Last week: 

My best week on the young season picking the winner in Zach Johnson and getting a point for Charles Howell III’s Top 10.  Even Ogilvy was in the mix until a collapse on Sunday.

 This week:

1. Justin Leonard

Leonard won this event in 2005 and finished 2nd here last year.  Justin did not play the Sony last week but did finish 5th at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.  A Top 10 this week should be a shoe in for the 23rd World Ranked golfer.

2. Chez Reavie

Going off the radar again this week.  Reavie only has one start here, a T5 finish last season.  With two Top 25 finishes in two starts this year it’s safe to say that he is playing good golf.  Look for good golf to be great golf this weekend.

3. Bill Haas

Bill Haas got a Top 10 finish last week which bodes well for this week.  Just look at Haas’ finishes at the Bob Hope over the last four years:

T16, T27, T19 and T34

Not spectacular but consistent. Don’t count on Haas missing the cut this week and another Top 10 is more than likely.

Two weeks in the books and already this season is shaping up to be a great one.  Congrats to K.J. Choi who got his 7th career PGA Tour win at Waialae.  His wire to wire win makes him an early favorite to claim a major this season.  

This week the Tour arrives in California for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the only five round event on tour.  Players must endure a grueling four course in four days schedule (Classic Club, PGA West, La Quinta CC and Silver Rock) so expect some inconsistent scoring from day to day. 

Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
The Classic Club (Host Course) – Palm Desert, California

The Classic Club is the host course, meaning those that make the cut will be playing here for the second time on Sunday.  Last year harsh winds were howling on Sunday and there were not very many low scores.  Keep an eye on wind conditions this year as well as this could have a huge impact on scoring.  Of the other three courses La Quinta is the hardest, leaving PGA West and Silver Rock (new this year, replacing Bermuda Dunes) as the best opportunites to get low scores (for those in Yahoo! Golf leagues).  Wink wink!

Charlie Hoffman stepped up last season, eagling the 72nd hole to force a playoff with John Rollins in which he won on the first playoff hole.  Charlie is certainly a amongst the favorites to win this week and not a bad value bet at 40-1.

Past winners here include Justin Leonard, Chad Campbell, Phil Mickelson (not playing this year) and Mike Weir.  All of these players should be in contention on Sunday barring a blow up round on one of the difficult courses.  Except for Phil of course, not playing is certain to keep him off the leaderboard.  Hopefully his play won’t, but more on Phil next week.

Those that have come close here include Justin Rose (3rd and T10 last two seasons), Scott Verplank (three career Top 10’s) and Mr. Blow up himself Lucas Glover who shot an 80 last year in the final round  (and killed me in my salary cap league last year, but I’m not bitter).  

The weather looks clear thus far, so hopefully we are in store for some great golf.  I’m going with John Senden this week (two Top 10’s in three years), only because he’s on my Rotoff team and I need some help.  Come on Senden, win one for the Shlinkster!

Won’t Win:  Phil Mickelson

Could Win:  Mike Weir, Justin Leonard, Scott Verplank

Won’t Blow Up Again:  Lucas Glover

Preview

Phil Mickelson starts in his first tournament in 2007 at this week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. It will be interesting to see how he responds after a disappointing second half of the season in 2006. One does not need mention his melt down at the U.S. Open. One does not need mention his double bogey on 18 to finish runner up at the U.S. Open. One does not need mention that he would have joined Hogan and Woods as the only other golfer to win 3 majors in a row.

That meltdown and an awful showing in the Ryder Cup (one need not mention) has Mickelson driven to play better this year. Lefty has changed his driver and worked with a personal trainer during the off season to improve his stamina. Rumor has it that Phil is close to becoming a ninja.

Chad Campbell won this event last year by 3 strokes over Jesper Parnavik and Scott Verplank. There will be some low scores, as this is a five round tournament. There are 4 total courses for the early rounds, two of which were designed by Arnie himself. The Classic Club is the main course which will be played by those golfers that make the cut after round 4.