Fantasy Picks for the John Deere Classic

A-Players
Kenny Perry: With his 50th birthday just around the corner, the 2008 John Deere winner has lost several pounds thanks to a new fitness and diet regimen. After a slow start to the season, Perry's starting to see results, with four top-25 finishes in his last six events.

Zach Johnson: A winner at Colonial, Johnson tied for second last year at the John Deere.

B-Players
K.J. Choi: If you're looking for some safe points this week, Choi is a solid bet. He's yet to miss a cut this season, and Choi has made nearly $1.5 million without winning a tournament.

Michael Sim: The John Deere has crowned 19 first-time winners, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Sim pick up his first win this week. The 2009 Nationwide Player of the Year nearly won at Torrey Pines before he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He seems to be doing fine now after a T21 at the Travelers.

Garrett Willis: Since the Zurich Classic in April, Willis has been alternating top-25 finishes and missed cuts: T21-CUT-T13-CUT-T4-CUT-T16. So he's due for a missed cut this week, but I think Willis will do well -- he has five career top-30 finishes at the John Deere.

Chad Campbell: Coming off a T5 in Hartford, Campbell has plenty of good memories at TPC Deere Run, with top-15 finishes in his last two appearances.

C-Players
Tim Clark: The Players Champion quietly tied for 12th at the U.S. Open, and Clark was the runner up at the John Deere in 2007.

Rickie Fowler: The flashy rookie missed the cut last week at Aronimink, but he also has five top 10s this year. With most of the big names taking the week off or playing in Scotland, this is another great opportunity for Fowler to get his first win.

Fantasy picks for the Travelers Championship

A-Players
Kenny Perry: A rededicated, and noticeably slimmer, Kenny Perry has only one top 10 this season, but the defending champion has finished in the top 25 in four of his last five starts.

Bubba Watson: He nearly got his breakthrough win at the Hope and then missed out again at the Transitions. But Watson may be primed for another chance at his first win this week in Connecticut. In his two appearances at the Travelers, Watson has finished T14 and T6.

B-Players
Bo Van Pelt: One of the hottest players on Tour, Van Pelt has five top 10s in his last seven events. He also has two top 10s in his last three starts at the Travelers.

Hunter Mahan: Despite missing his last three cuts, it's hard to ignore Mahan's ridiculous record at TPC River Highlands the past four years: T4, T2, Win, T2.

Stewart Cink: A two-time winner at the Travelers, Cink has six top-25 finishes in 15 events this year, including three top 10s.

Ben Curtis: Coming off a great final-round 68 at the U.S. Open, Curtis has three top-21 finishes in his last four starts at the Travelers, including a T4 in 2009.

C-Players
Brandt Snedeker: He got off to a good start early in the season and then cooled off, but Snedeker is coming off an impressive T8 finish at Pebble Beach.

Ricky Barnes: Proving last year's U.S. Open was no fluke, Barnes has continued his career revival this year with five top 10s and seven top 25s.

Fantasy picks for the Memorial Tournament

A-Players
Ernie Els: The Big Easy has six career top 10s at the Memorial, including a win in 2004, and he's secured two wins at tough tracks this season -- one at Doral and the other at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill.

Kenny Perry: The Tour vet is turning 50 in August, but he's not going quietly to the Champions Tour. Perry is coming off three consecutive top-25 finishes, plus he has three wins at Muirfield Village.

B-Players
Geoff Ogilvy: The 2006 U.S. Open champion tied for 13th last week at Colonial, and he's finished in the top 10 at Memorial the past three years.

Jim Furyk: The 2002 Memorial champion finished second at Muirfield Village last year, and he already has two wins this season.

Robert Allenby: With eight top-25 finishes in 12 events this season, Allenby is bound to win soon. He's making his first start since finishing second at the Players.

K.J. Choi: The 2007 Memorial champion is a solid option to have on the bench. Choi hasn't missed a cut this season, he's only missed the cut once at Muirfield Village and he's finished in the top 25 seven times this year.

C-Players
Angel Cabrera: It's his first time at the Memorial, but the two-time major champion has the game to win Jack's event.

Matt Kuchar: Despite not winning a tournament this season, Kuchar has earned more than $1.9 million, and he hasn't finished worse than T13 in his last three trips to Muirfield.

Fantasy Picks for the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Arnold Palmer's Masters tune-up will have a deep field and should be fun to watch. We won't see defending champion Tiger Woods unless he gives another surprise interview, but we'll see a lot of Sean O'Hair. O'Hair had a rough final round last year at Bay Hill, blowing a five-shot lead to finish second. It is also the last tournament in the winter segment of Yahoo! Fantasy Golf, so make it count.

The Pro Tip: In 2009, 7,100-yard Bay Hill played as the toughest non-major on Tour with a par 70. The course is longer this year, but the par is back to 72. So while it is still a difficult course, there are birdie chances out there. Pick players who smell blood on birdie holes and take advantage by scoring where they can.

A-Group

Ernie Els
Els looks like he is finally overcoming his knee injury that derailed his career over the last few seasons. He is second on Tour in scoring average (69.02) and has five top-20 finishes in six starts this season, with a win at the WGC-CA Championship. He is also seventh in scrambling and looks like a solid start at his firstappearanceat Bay Hill since 2007.

A-Group Bench Player

Kenny Perry
He only has one top 10 this season, but he has made every cut this year and is first on Tour in total driving and consecutive cuts. As far as a bench selection goes, he is a safe pick to make the cut in case Els revisits his form from last season.

B-Group

Jim Furyk
Coming off his victory at the Transitions, he will look to continue his strong play this week as he prepares for the Masters. He is first in bounce-back percentage and ninth in putts per round. If he continues to play with feel and that funky swingcontinuesto work, expect him to put up a solid number this week.

Camilo Villegas
After a week off, he will look to continue his hot start to 2010 and move up in the world rankings. Villegas is first in birdie average and scoring average, third in driving distance and sixth in putting average. He has the all-around game to continue his quick start to the season and lead the young class of the PGA Tour, which has been waiting for a star toemerge.

B-Group Bench Players

Retief Goosen
Four top 25s in six starts makes him a solid bench player. He is fourth in total putting and is playing well. His stats don't inspire confidence, but his T-5 at the Transitions Championship does.

Dustin Johnson
He has cooled off a bit after his fiery start to the season, but he is still a solid fantasy option--especially as a bench player. He is first in driving distance, second in holes per eagle and third in par breakers.

C-Group

Charl Schwartzel
A runner up to Els at the WGC-CA Championship, he doesn't have the minimum starts to be officially ranked for his stats. If he did, here's what they would look like: first in putting average, first in birdie average, first in par breakers, first in scrambling, third in scoring average and first in par-4 birdie or better.

Bench Player

D.J. Trahan
Trahan is having a solid start to the '10 season with four top 25s in six starts (including two top-10s). He ranks ninth in GIR, 13th in scoring average and 14th in all-around ranking.

*All picks for Yahoo Fantasy Golf format. Confused? Check out the Golf.com Guide to Fantasy Golf.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the John Deere Classic

Each week, we'll identify eight players we like -- two A-players, four B-players and two C-players. (Note: This follows the format of many other popular fantasy games.) If you haven't already, sign up for fantasy golf to compete for great prizes.

The pool of "A" players is pretty sparse this week, with Kenny Perry being the obvious choice. The tough decisions lie in the pool of "B" players, especially if you're like me and have maybe used one player too many times. Despite his good play recently, I'm benching David Toms this week, because I can only use him four more times.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of good choices.

A-Players
Kenny Perry: The defending champion has never finished out of the top 25 in eight appearances.

Ryan Moore: After missing three of four cuts, Moore has finished no worse than T11 in his last three starts.

B-Players
Bryce Molder: After a horrible start to the season, Molder has found his game, finishing in the top 25 in his last four events, including fourth at the AT&T National and a T2 at the St. Jude Classic.

Lucas Glover: The U.S. Open champion is not slowing down, and it appears to be working for him. Since his win at Bethpage Black, Glover has finished T11 at the Travelers and T5 at the AT&T National.

Steve Stricker: While he may be out of chances to win the Comeback Player of the Year for a third time, Stricker is continuing his great play this season. He's notched 11 top-25 finishes in 14 starts, including a win and five other top 10s.

Zach Johnson: With two wins and nine top-25 finishes this season, Johnson is becoming a favorite each time he tees it up.

C-Players
Scott Verplank: He's coming off a T9 at the Travelers, and Verplank has six top-25 finishes in 15 events.

Charles Howell III: It's been a rough few months for Howell, missing five of his last six cuts, but he's finished in the top 25 in three starts at the John Deere.

Fantasy golf picks for Transitions Championship

It's NCAA Tournament week, and the only thing tougher than picking a final four is trying to figure out who will win the Transitions Championship.

Some of you might be asking, What's the Transitions Championship? It's not a new tournament, just a new sponsor, Transitions Optical. The event was sponsored by PODS the past two seasons.

What hasn't changed is the golf course. Since the tournament was started in 2000, it's been held at the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort. That means there is a solid track record of how players have done at this event, which should help you set up your fantasy roster. If you need help filling out your bracket, don't ask me. Ask these guys.

A-Players
Kenny Perry: I'm kicking myself for not starting Perry more this season. When he gets hot, he's hard to beat. My only fear is that I'm jumping on the bandwagon too late. But judging by his play at Doral (T9), and his record at this event (never finished out of the top 30), Perry is my man this week.

John Senden: John who? I know, I know. It's a bit of a risky pick since there are more prominent players available such as K.J. Choi and Jim Furyk, but remember, it's a long season and you can only use a player 10 times. Plus, Senden has consecutive T2 finishes at this event.

B-Players
Nick Watney: What a coming-out party last week for Watney. His win at Torrey Pines this year was impressive, but there's a big difference between going head-to-head with John Rollins and Phil Mickelson. Watney not only held his own, but he proved he belongs in the conversation with Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy and Camilo Villegas as the next superstars in golf.

Sean O'Hair: He's without a win this season, and that's probably why no one is talking about O'Hair's great start. Six events and six top-25 finishes, with five of those finishes in the top 15. Oh yeah, and he's the defending champion.

David Toms: Finally healthy again, Toms is back to playing like a top-20 player. The problem is he's currently ranked No. 66 and needs to get inside the top 50 to get into the Masters. With that weighing on his mind, Toms has turned up his game with three top-6 finishes this season.

Steve Stricker: Another guy continuing to post solid finishes, but no W's, is Stricker. In five of six events, he's finished in the top 25, with a second and a T3.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: The pickins remain slim in the C bracket, so that's why I'm sticking with Goosen. He hasn't played very well since a third-place finish at Pebble Beach, but he is a past champion at Innisbrook.

Charles Howell III: A beefed-up Howell has been erratic since he finished fourth at the Sony Open, but he had a nice week in Puerto Rico with the exception of third-round 77.

The John Deere Classic

The list of past champions at the John Deere Classic is not exactly a who's who of big names, so keep that in mind when making your picks this week. Also, watch out for a first-time winner, six of the past nine champions picked up their first W at the John Deere.

John Deere Picks

Kenny Perry: He made it known he wanted to make the Ryder Cup team, so what does he do? Wins two of his last four events, and now he comes to the John Deere Classic where he finished T11 last year.

Tommy Armour III: With top-3 finishes in his last two starts, Armour is quietly having a great run. He has five top 10s this season, and he hasn't missed a cut since April.

Jonathan Byrd: The defending champ may not win this week, only one player has successfully defended at the John Deere, but Byrd has a good history at TPC Deere Run with two top 10s in five starts.

D.J. Trahan: Since his T4 at the U.S. Open, Trahan hasn't finished outside of the top 25, and he has never missed the cut at the John Deere in three starts.

Bubba Watson: Could this be Bubba's breakthrough? With a T6 at the Travelers and a T2 at the Buick Open, Watson is knocking on the door for his first W.

Sleeper

Heath Slocum: He hasn't placed outside the top 13 in three years at the John Deere, plus he has top 10s in two of his last three events.

Players To Avoid

Sean O'Hair: Since winning in March and finishing T14 at the Masters, the 2005 John Deere champ has been M.I.A., making only three cuts since Augusta.

Zach Johnson: The 2007 Masters champ has only one top 10 this year, and he has never finished inside the top 15 in six trips to the John Deere.

Ryan Moore: He's been quiet since losing a playoff to Adam Scott in April, and Moore is coming off two straight missed cuts.

Stanford St. Jude Championship

Sandwiched between two marquee events, the Memorial and the U.S. Open, the St. Jude still draws some big names.Here's some guidance on who to pick, and who to avoid, this week.

St. Jude Picks

David Toms: If there is anyone on Tour who owns a golf course - other than Tiger, who seems to own them all - it's Toms at TPC at Southwind. Since 2002, he has not finished outside the top 10, and he won the St. Jude in 2003 and 2004.

Tim Herron: He also has a solid record at Southwind. Herron hasn't finished outside the top 25 since 2002.

Padraig Harrington: The British Open champion has only missed one cut this season, and he has three top 10s in seven events. He missed the cut last year in his first trip to Southwind, but the player with the most birdies per round on the PGA Tour is always a good pick.

Davis Love III: He's still coming back from injuries, but Love may have found his game Monday when he made it through a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Open after playing four days at the Memorial.

Justin Leonard: He continues to have a solid season, with only one missed cut and four top 10s. Leonard won the St. Jude in 2005, so this could be his time.

Sleeper

Steve Lowery: He is not known as Mr. Consistency, but Lowery finished T6 at the Memorial, and he's finished in the top 20 in his last three starts at Southwind.

Players to Avoid

Vijay Singh: He pulled out of the Memorial with a rib injury, so it's unclear how healthy he is.

Fredrik Jacobson: He's recorded three top-six finishes at the St. Jude, but he's also missed four of his last five cuts this season.

Kenny Perry: He won the Memorial and plans to focus on events where he's done well because he wants to make the Ryder Cup team. It seems odd, then, that he is playing this week. He's only played this event four times since 1998, and he's missed the cut each time.

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

Ben Hogan's old playground welcomes five of the top 10 players this week, including No. 2 Phil Mickelson. But don't be lured by all the sexy names. There are several players with low profiles who have done well at Colonial.

Colonial Picks
Phil Mickelson: The 2000 champion at Colonial hasn't been out of the top 25 since missing the cut in February at Pebble Beach. He's clearly the best player in the field, and he'll play like it this week.

Kenny Perry: Perry is a streaky player, and despite some bad breaks last week, he's definitely on a streak of good play right now. Since 2002, Perry has two wins and a second at Colonial.

Anthony Kim: Kim tasted victory at Wachovia, followed it up with two solid rounds at the Players, then crashed on the weekend to finish T42. After a week of rest, look for him to be in the mix this weekend.

David Toms: Winless since the 2006 Sony Open, Toms's game seems to be coming back. He's had several good, but not great, tournaments this year. He has a good track record at Colonial, notching four top 10s in the past eight starts.

Justin Leonard: Leonard has never missed the cut in 14 trips to Colonial, and in 13 events this season he has seven top-25 finishes.

Sleeper
Nathan Green: How's this for a track record? In two starts at Colonial, Green has yet to finish outside the top five.

Players to Avoid
Rory Sabbatini: There's only one player who defended his title at Colonial: Ben Hogan.

Steve Stricker: The Comeback Player of the Year the past two seasons needs another comeback after missing cuts at the Masters, Wachovia and the Players.

Geoff Ogilvy: He missed the cut at the Players, and he's making his first appearance at Colonial since 2005. Ogilvy's best finish in five starts is 34th.