LATE WITHDRAWALS: None (as of Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET)
Man, what a rough few days. (Yes, I’m going to whine for a second straight week).
First, I go out on Friday and shoot a 98 at Colony West, two weeks after carding a best-ever 79.
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Anthony Kim's breakthrough win in Charlotte could lead to bigger things, maybe this week.
(Getty Images)
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On Saturday, the soccer team I support in England gets relegated to the lowest division in real English professional soccer. Later, I get all depressed about Eight Belles being put down after the Kentucky Derby. (I love me some horsies and actually went to Calder Race Course for the first time in years two weekends go).
And then on Sunday, Anthony bloody Kim goes and chooses to win in one of the weeks I didn't pick him! After all I did for the former Sooner last season, promoting his $75k behind in every event from basically January to September, give or take the odd week.
I mean, CBSSports.com and I give thousands (OK, maybe hundreds) of people a reason to turn on their television every weekend to see how their Fantasy picks are doing, and you would think the least these guys could do is come through for me with a win IN THE WEEK THAT I PICK THEM!
Then, just when I'm getting over Kim's win, I get to work on Monday and discover that the Excel file I had been entering all my Fantasy picks, results and standings from every week in has vanished mysteriously from my desktop. WHAT THE FRED FUNK!?!?!?!
They say things come in threes, so it looked like I had one more thing to go. Maybe a hernia at the gym tonight or my stimulus rebate check from George Dubya bouncing? Then, as I write this, I find out that Scarlett Johansson is now engaged -- a sad thing for not just me, but all manhood.
So with all that out of the way, I can take an objective look back at the Wachovia Championship.
Kim did what we had all been expecting him to do sooner or later by putting together four solid rounds and winning his first PGA Tour event. I just didn't think it would come against such a stellar field as this. Kim finished third in putting average and in the top 25 of all the other major statistical categories, and you have to think he might be able to continue his fine play again this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Also finishing well in Charlotte were Ben Curtis, who put together a superb final round of 65 to claim second place and only his second top-25 of the season; Jason Bohn, who now has two top-six finishes in his last three events; and Dudley Hart, who now has back-to-back top-sevens.
Not doing so well were Luke Donald, Stuart Appleby, Steve Stricker, Trevor Immelman, Justin Rose and Woody Austin, who would have all cost you over $240,000 last week, but earned you a big, fat zero. Ouch.
Those six guys will all get a chance to redeem themselves this week, however, when they take part in the so-called 'fifth major' -- the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. They will be joined by 138 more of the best golfers in the world as they take on a course featuring one of the most renowned holes in golf -- the par-3 island green 17th.
A look back at the champions in this event -- Craig Perks aside -- tells you all you need to know about the caliber of the Players. Woods, Mickelson, Scott, Duval, Love, Leonard, Couples, Nicklaus, Floyd, Trevino, Kite, Norman and Elkington are all on the list. Of course, we have a $1 million cap in this game for a reason, and you saw what happened last week with all those big names missing the cut, so there are no guarantees that the expensive guys will come through for you.
Looking back at the stats from the last 10 years, the usual greens in regulation stands out, but putting and driving distance aren't nearly as much of a factor as they sometimes are at other events. None of the last four winners has finished in the top 10 in putting average or the top 30 in length off the tee. That tells me that avoiding the big mistakes and picking and choosing your birdie opportunities are big keys at TPC Sawgrass -- two things that veteran, solid players do more often than those brazen youngsters.
On the 17th Green ($200,000 and above)
Adam Scott ($290,250) -- I'm giving Scott a second chance to redeem himself after his faux pas two weeks ago when he didn't tell me he was coming back to play the Byron Nelson because his game was in such good shape. A T8 last week was nice, but I want a third win this season for my record. After Tiger, Scott is the second hottest golfer in the world right now.
Padraig Harrington ($270,750) -- Paddy has struggled a little in his last three trips to Sawgrass, but he had back-to-back runner-ups there in 2003 and 2004, so he definitely knows his way around the track. Four top-15s in five U.S. stroke play events this season tell me his game is in decent shape and he put together a solid T5 at the Masters, the last event on a really tough course and a really tough field.
Retief Goosen ($222,000) -- It has been feast or famine with Goosen at TPC Sawgrass, with five missed cuts and three top-15s in nine trips. I think he's still under many people's radar because of his awful 2007, but he has three top-20s in his last four PGA Tour starts. His stats aren't pretty this season, but we all know what this man can do when he's on his game.
On Dry Land ($75,001-$199,999)
Bart Bryant ($166,750) -- While Bryant has never been a factor in this event, he is playing some superb golf right now. He has four top-15s in his last five events, including a third last week and a runner-up at the Arnold Palmer. Third in scoring average on tour this season, Bryant has been around to know what it takes to win an event like this as two of his three titles have come at the Memorial and the Tour Championship.
Pat Perez ($150,500) -- Perez was a forgotten man midway through last season, but put together six top 25s in his last 10 events of 2007 and has five already this season, including three top-15s in his last four events. Seventh in the all around ranking, Perez had a stellar round of 65 last Saturday at the Wachovia and finished T3 at the 2006 Players.
Steve Flesch ($111,500) -- While a lot of people will be going with a certain other lefty this week at TPC Sawgrass, I think Flesch is a better bargain at this price. He has four straight top-30s and was in contention at the Masters before fading with a 78 on Sunday. His history in this event isn't anything to write home about, but he's been playing some solid golf since the middle of last season.
In The Drink ($75,000)
Jose Maria Olazabal -- I'm going with three veterans in this category that have a nice history at TPC Sawgrass. Ollie has back-to-back top-10s in the Players, but his game isn't in the best shape right now. Thing is, the man has one of the best short games in the history of the sport and if he can somehow hit fairways this week, I can see a top-25 not being out of the question.
Tom Lehman -- To say I'm not a fan of Lehman's would be a massive understatement, but the guy knows how to score in this event. In 16 trips he has five top-10s and 10 top-25s. A T8 at the Arnold Palmer has been the only highlight of Lehman's season so far, but a T23 at Sawgrass last season was the first of seven straight made cuts, so maybe this week will provide another trigger.
Bernhard Langer -- Langer is a regular on the Champions Tour these days, and also a regular feature in the top 10. His results so far this season have been T3, T8, T35, won, T5, won, T15, T34 and T6. Pretty good start to his old-guy career, eh? OK, so this week’s course is a lot longer and he'll have to go four rounds for only the second time this season, but Langer has only missed the cut twice in 22 trips to Sawgrass and has four top-10s.
My Golf Challenge Lineup
Scott, $290,250; Harrington, $270,750; Goosen, $222,000; Flesch, $111,500; Olazabal, $75,000.
Last Week
Jim Furyk $214,00 (T7); Vijay Singh (T17), $89,600; Kevin Sutherland (MC) $0; Andres Romero (T40) $22,428; Lucas Glover (T69) $12,928. Total -- $339,356 (9.675th). Segment Two -- 6,488,568 (3,089th). Overall -- $10,079,737 (4,825th).
Congrats to 'KnowsPickinGolfers', whose lineup of Kim (won), Curtis (second), Furyk (T7), Cink (T8) and Ryan Moore (MC) was good enough for $2,436,800 and win by $67,172.
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