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:  3.14 Points

Think you can pick better?  Leave a comment with your 3 picks for the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open.  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.

Congrats to Brad who was the only one with points last week.  He picked Paul Casey to come out of the Snead bracket and got 5 points for his 2nd place finish.  In two weeks Brad has a 1st and 2nd place finish.  Will you be picking a 3rd place golfer this week?  For your skills you win a free Rotoff Golf Draft Kit.  Please contact me through the site for access instructions.

Beat the Expert Leaderboard

Last Week:

What a crazy week.  No Tiger (well not on the course anyway), no Phil, no #1 seeds after round two and no Americans in the final four…er……..final eight.  Until the Sergio and Poulter feud on Saturday there was little drama and not much following.  Match Play is always a weird animal that hardly lives up to the hpye.  Although the first round is always one of the best golf days of the year.

Even weirder then the tournament itself is trying to pick how it will all play out.  Of my projected bracket winners none made it to the sweet sixteen.  Stricker was out in the 1st round in one of the bigger upsets in the tournaments history.  Ogilvy, ZJ and McIlroy all crapped out in the 2nd round.  Luckily I did not fall to far on the BTE LB for suffering my third shutout of the season.

This week:

Many months ago it seemed I may be in attendance for this week’s party in the desert but it was not to be (I’ll get out there to visit one of these days Mike and Kari, miss you both).  But just because I won’t be drinking beer on the 16th hole this Saturday doesn’t mean I won’t be drinking beer at the Hart while watching the party on TV.

 The West Coast swing comes to an end in Phoenix this weekend with the newly named Waste Management Phoenix Open (formerly the FBR Open).   This event is notorius for drawing the biggest (and most tipsy) crowds on the PGA Tour.   With more then 70 years of history it’s one of the oldest active events on Tour.  And while I’m tempted to take Phil this week (I’m actually tempted to take Phil every week he’s in the field) I’m going with something a little different.

1. Robert Allenby

2001, the same year as the space oddyssey, was the last time Mr. Allenby won on the PGA Tour.  It’s an oddity in itself.  Since that last victory he has forty eight Top 10s.  Coming off an early exit in last week’s Match Play, Allenby has a good track record in Phoenix with only one missed cut in seven starts including a T2 in 2000 (a whole year before the space oddyssey).  He did not play this event last year but with two Top 10s under his belt in just three starts in 2010 you can bet Allenby will be in the mix this weekend.

 2. Camilo Villegas

I think I mention this every time Villegas comes up.  A streaky player to this point in his career, when he is putting he is very hard to beat.  That his putter came to life last weekend enroute to a 3rd place finish in Match Play should not be taken lightly.  Camilo has missed half the cuts here in four starts but had success in 2006 with a T2.  It’s only his second start on the PGA Tour this year, as he’s been spending more time on the European Tour.  With three Top 20s in his last three events worldwide there is no better time to consider Spiderman. 

3. Kevin Na

After two straight Top 10s at Bob Hope and the Northern Trust, Na struggled on the weekend at Pebble beach with back to back 74s.  Still, two Top 10s in four starts on the West Coast is setting up for a career year for Na.  And it only gets better this week where Kevin has three Top 10s in four starts and no missed cuts.  This is a golden opportunity for Na to get his first career PGA Tour victory.

Rotoff Golf Bonus:

 The 2010 Waste(d) Management Phoenix Open Drinking Game:

For every eagle donate $4 to your bartender or host for another drink 

For every mention of Tiger Woods take a sip

For every mention (or highlight) of Tiger Woods HIO on 16 take a chug

For every mention of Phil Mickelson’s clubs take a drink

For every mention of Phil Mickelson’s ASU ties take a chug

For every mention of the attendance take a drink

For every mention of drunk patrons take a sip

If you see a patron drinking take a drink

When a drunk patron yells “Get in the Hole” take a social drink

When you’re crawling on the floor take a cab home

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