Going forward, we will break our picks into Yahoo! Sports’ player categories so that those of you playing along on Yahoo! or through pgatour.com can directly apply our advice to your team as you see fit. The players we have highlighted are the guys we have chosen to start each week for our team - Red2Black Hack Attack – which can be found in the “Fans of Phil Mickelson” division. Keep in mind that we did not start a team in week #1, so our position in the standings is skewed. Nonetheless, we assure you we will catch up in fine fashion sans complaint.
As the year progresses it gets tougher to make picks, since the number of times a player can be used is limited to (10) for the entire season. Thus, the decisions get trickier each week ... We highly recommend using big-name Euro players when you can, since they won't start on this side of the pond more than 10-15 times.
We are again reaching for some longer-odd players in this week's deep field on a majors-style track in south Fl0rida. These guys will serve you well either way, but the overall picks listed in the second group are the safest plays. Match our best bets to your roster based upon which players you've used already in 2011. And, as always, best of luck to ya!'.
The Honda Classic / Player Picks
A List:
Graeme McDowell (steady as they come)
Lee Westwood (haven't used him yet; now could be it)
B List:
Ian Poulter (grabbing in him while we can)
YE Yang (former champ here)
DA Points (streaking in time for Florida swing)
Vijay Singh (He's hot and with great history here.)
C List:
Fredrik Jacobson (He is hidden and we found him.)
Jason Dufner (huge upside in this event)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are our recommended selections:
“Must-Haves:”
Luke Donald / Graeme McDowell (best talent ratios to field)
Ernie Els / Vijay Singh (history at Honda matched with experience)
Lee Westwood (peeved he lost #1 world rank?)
“Buried Diamonds:”
Steve Marino / Spencer Levin (waiting to bust)
YE Yang / Fredrik Jacobson ("horses for courses" picks)
Marc Leishman / Jason Dufner (undervalued due to lack of exposure)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Heath Slocum / Sean O'Hair (big names with messy games)
Kenny Perry (resigned to senior events)
Camilo Villegas (Yeah, we typed it .. eesch .. risky)
We're really pushing the envelope in risk-reward fashion AGAIN. I mean, we can't appear smart by playing the book every week. We should note - for amusement purposes - that Nick Price will be a guy to watch this week if you are a fan of nostalgia. It's hard not to pull for the ole' man.
Mayakoba Golf Classic / Player Picks
A List:
Brian Gay (2008 champ in weak field)
Rory Sabbatini (ticked he missed match play)
B List:
Spencer Levin (top 20 in 3 of last 4)
JJ Henry (made cut in all 5 outings this year)
David Toms (way undervalued in this field)
Chris Riley (taking a flyer on his history here)
C List:
Aaron Baddeley (hot hand with talent to spare)
Jerry Kelly (better value than Vegas in Mexico)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are our recommended selections:
“Must-Haves:”
Brian Gay / Aaron Baddeley (best talent ratios to field)
Johnny Vegas / David Toms (can't go wrong here either)
Charles Howell III (consistent at last)
“Buried Diamonds:”
Jerry Kelly / Spencer Levin (sneaky solid)
Chris Riley / Briny Baird ("horses for courses" prayers)
JJ Henry (notes above; He's en fuego)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Carl Pettersson (cold and overworked)
John Daly (cold and underworked)
Michael Sim (listed in grouping A why??!!)
Fred Funk (He won here...during WWI I think.)
We're really pushing the envelope in risk-reward fashion AGAIN. I mean, we can't appear smart by playing the book every week. And, keep in mind, we are still rising in the standings while saving some big names for the meat of the season.
Northern Trust Open (Riviera C.C.) / Player Picks
These are the gents we will activate for the Northern Trust in California in the Yahoo!/pgatour.com game. We are going with a team comprised of players we haven't activated yet as the amount of starts per player is capped at 10 for the season. The guys we like best overall are listed in the second set but we're quite okay with the Yahoo! team as well ...
A List:
Luke Donald (top 6 in last 3 trips to Riviera CC)
Louis Oosthuizen (3 wins in a year; 1 already in 2011)
B List:
Steve Stricker (the defending champ)
Andres Romero (tied 3rd, tied 5th last 2 trips here)
Paul Casey (injury risk but lookin' fly on our bench)
DA Points (going with hot hand from last week)
C List:
Robert Karlsson (top 6 in last 4 tourneys worldwide)
Jimmy Walker (2 top 10s in 2011 and fully healthy)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are our recommended selections:
“Must-Haves:”
Dustin Johnson / Matt Kuchar (steady as they go)
Phil Mickelson / Steve Stricker (these 2 are ATM machines)
Luke Donald / Robert Karlsson (notes above for each)
“Buried Diamonds:”
JB Holmes / Louis Oosthuizen (little fanfare, big cardboard checks)
Charlie Wi / Rory Sabbatini ("horses for courses" Riviera guys)
Marc Leishman/ Jimmy Walker (deep down the list with top-of-heap talent)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Mike Weir / Robert Allenby (past success of no use when you play this way)
Stewart Cink / Jim Furyk (faves carrying risk of cuts soon missed)
Ricky Barnes (more hurt than you think)
Jonathan Byrd (risky call here .. still making it)
We're really pushing the envelope in risk-reward fashion AGAIN. I mean, we can't appear smart by playing the book every week. And, keep in mind, we are still rising in the standings while saving some big names for the meat of the season.
AT&T Pebble Beach / Player Picks
These are the players we will activate for Pebble Beach on Yahoo!:
A List:
Dustin Johnson (starter; won this event last 2 years)
Nick Watney (Perhaps we are overusing him early but he can't be benched.)
B List:
Tim Clark (Top 25 in 7 straight starts; Pebble has been kind as well.)
Vijay Singh (Coming back strongly with great history in this event.)
DJ Trahan (T10, T6 last 2 times at Pebble)
Hunter Mahan (cut-making machine to cover Trahan flyer pick)
C List:
Mark Wilson (We'll ride the wave while he can get us productive starts.)
JB Holmes (hot now; likely to be our #1 "C lister" by Sunday)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are our recommended selections:
“Must-Haves:”
Dustin Johnson / Nick Watney (The "A Team" all the way)
Phil Mickelson / Jim Furyk (wish we had room for both on Yahoo!)
Mark Wilson / Tim Clark (notes above for each)
“Buried Diamonds:”
JB Holmes / Vijay Singh (notes above for each)
Gary Woodland / DJ Trahan (buried deep and worth the flyers)
Brandt Snedeker (He's got Pebble karma and is reclaiming his swing.)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Rory Sabbatini / Trevor Immelman (huge names with no luck in this event)
David Toms / John Daly (more faves we are stashing this week with crossed fingers that we don't end up eating the good will we've generated)
Robert Garrigus (can't make a cut at Pebble - or anywhere lately)
We're really pushing the envelope in risk-reward fashion this go-round. Go ahead and stick out your neck along with us!! Your friends, bookies and wives will appreciate your go-for-broke aggression.
Waste Management Phoenix Open / Player Picks
Here are this week's player selections for fantasy golf at The Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. Best of luck to you and glad/hope we can help. Our team is picking up spots in the standings on Yahoo!
A List:
Phil Mickelson (no brainer)
Nick Watney (Kid is hot and not a long shot.)
B List:
Hunter Mahan (2010 champ/top 25 in 6 of last 7 outings)
Bubba Watson (champ last week)
Rickie Fowler (top 25 in 6 straight overall)
Bill Hass (on fire ... totally)
C List:
JB Holmes (2008 champ)
Anthony Kim (healthy and dangerous every week)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are some best bets for you:
“Must-Haves:”
Phil Mickelson (see above)
Dustin Johnson (ho-hum)
Hunter Mahan (see above)
Bubba Watson (see above)
Anthony Kim (see above)
“Buried Diamonds:”
Rickie Fowler (see above)
Nick Watney (see above)
Ben Crane (he gets ignored but why???)
JB Holmes (see above)
Mark Calcavecchia (hidden gem of advanced age)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Chris DiMarco (former champ with 2 missed cuts this year)
Geoff Ogilvy (just back from injury; needs time)
Angel Cabrera (big name no better than T15 last 6 events)
Justin Leonard (missed cut here 3 of last 4 times)
The Farmer's Insurance Open / Player Game Plan
Here are this week’s selections for The Farmer’s Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in Southern California:
A List:
Nick Watney (2009 victor with mad skills)
Tiger Woods (loves this course)
B List:
Justin Rose (all-around good)
Ben Crane (won in 2010)
Rickie Fowler (A star has been born.)
Kevin Na (just keeps improving)
C List:
Charles Howell III (top 10s here abound)
Anthony Kim (scores when focused)
If you are participating in a general league based on salary earnings or best ball, here are some best bets for you:
“Must-Haves:”
Tiger Woods (multiple winner on this course)
Phil Mickelson (coming home to pay bills)
Nick Watney (young and steady)
Ben Crane (living well is paying off)
“Diamonds in the (poa annua) Rough:”
Charles Howell III (Why not?)
Rickie Fowler (golden child to be)
Kevin Na (ready to make some real cash)
“Leave Them in the Clubhouse:”
Mike Weir (missing cuts in bunches)
Alex Cejka (struggling mightily)
John Daly (not his course)
David Duval (can’t figure him at all)
Best of luck this week!
Bob Hope Classic / Player Game Plan
Here are some of the picks we like this week. We did fairly well last week in the Sony. Chad Campbell was a longshot grab who played well and we graded out at a B/B+. We'll move the categories around this week and offer more 20-1 picks than last week in order to help you find some gold in the Main Stream. That's the best way we think we can help you, since the safe picks are more and more obvious as we go.
Have fun with it ... And come back soon!!
Guys we really like to contend at The Hope in California this week:
Matt Kuchar (always and obvious)
Stewart Cink (first start of the year; poised for another solid effort)
Charley Hoffman (yet another guy who's hot and has a proven record here)
Rory Sabbatini (We were wrong last week and look to fix it now!)
Bubba Watson (Gotta' like a white-collared guy from Hillbillysville)
Hidden gems/"No names with game"
Alex Prugh (Learn his name ... This week's a good time to start.)
Kevin Na (He's really rounding out.)
Chad Campbell (still riding his steady mental game)
Mark Wilson (eck ... What the heck?? He's one for one in two-zero,one-one)
Bill Haas (former winner; last 10 overall starts have been silly good)
There will be quite a few chaps in your league jumping on the bandwagons of the following ... Don't go down trying to look wise unnecessarily .. Avoid 'em!!
Matt Bettencourt (upside but we aren't sold just yet)
Pat Perez (former winner)
Vaughn Taylor (He's a decent play but not if you can't have Haas or Watson.)
See ya' soon .. And hey, check out Piers Morgan's new CNN show ... not bad at all.
Sony Open Field/Player Game Plan
The PGA Tour moves to Honolulu, Hawaii this week and with little chance of snow (sorry if you live in Connecticut), the field of players is ripe with potential winners. After internal arguments within our crack staff of R2B fantasy sports analysts - fueled by little more than Diet Red Bull, a wireless router and a viral abhorrence to the thought of being proven wrong - we are proud to present this week's offering of insightful insightfulness on the field:
We break 'em down into subsets of three, because that seems to be what people are apt to do in compulsive fashion.
The "Gimmes:" (Grab them if you can fit them into your cap.)
Steve Stricker - Three top 5s in recent trips to the island
Ernie Els - Two wins in this event
Justin Rose - He's matured into his swing; Two top 20s in Honolulu to date
The "Knee-Knockers:" (Round out your top tier here.)
Matt Kuchar - He's a rock .. Tied for 6th last week
Jim Furyk - Also a rock, though he's often overpriced.
Tim Clark - He's got a great track record here as well.
The "Solid Pars:" (It's cliche to take 'em but for decent reason.)
Robert Allenby - Dude just won't stop pushing for the nest level.
Carl Pettersson - Tied for 4th last week; Has worked hard on his game.
Zach Johnson - Gotta' have a "salt-of-the-earth" type in every squad.
The "Upstarts:" (These guys will surprise you.)
KJ Choi - He's won here before and he's likely hidden on your draft board.
Chad Campbell - Yep, I typed that. I really did .. look again.
Ryan Palmer - He's won here .. the interweb said so. And we like him too.
If you stick to some combination of the group above, you're likely to look savvy about your swing doctors. That said, we'll always know it was us who stayed up all night in the interest of creating good will and, perhaps, some good money for our readers-in-crime. Shoot us an email and let us now if we've helped. We like to be lauded in the interest of sporting camaraderie.
And, in the words of Mike "The Situation" of "Jersey Shore" infamy: "Stay away from the grenades."
The "Grenades:" (They are likely to get ugly.)
Vijay Singh - Breaking down but still "eh." Leave him alone for now.
Charles Howell III - Always good but just "less good" than we hope.
Rory Sabbatini - Again, good but overrated in salary on most slates.
We aren't saying the grenades will miss the cut but we ARE saying they're more likely to leave you at the altar than Julia Roberts on horseback.
Swing away mon frier.
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