Fantasy Preview: Transitions Championship

This week it’s off to the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club for the Transitions Championship. The Copperhead Course at IR&GC (as the kids call it) is a par 3-heavy course (five of 'em) featuring the kind of tight fairways that demand precision and mistake-free golf.

As always, the questionable picks dispensed below are based on Yahoo/PGATour.com league rules.

A-LIST
Padraig Harrington: I was going to give this spot to Nick Watney, but it seemed a little too on-the-nose. So instead I’ll tab Paddy, who looked just fine at the Cadillac (T10) and posted a T8 at Copperhead a year ago, including a second-round 65.

Jonathan Byrd: He’s had some nice weekends at Copperhead, going T8 last year and ’07 and T12 in ’09. Considering his strong finish at Doral (68s on Saturday and Sunday) and the fact that I’m contractually and, quite frankly morally, obligated to link to this again, Byrd is indeed the word this week.

B-LIST
Bubba Watson: Hopefully he had himself some green tea, and all signs point to Watson being a go this weekend after missing Doral because of the flu. He’s leading the Tour in GIR (76.8%), coming off a fourth-place Match Play showing and finished third at Copperhead a year ago.

Justin Rose: He always seems to be hanging around at Copperhead, going T13 a year ago and T14 in ’08 (he didn’t play here in ’09). Right now he’s eighth on the Tour in bogey avoidance (11.94%) and his steady play should serve him well this weekend.

Retief Goosen: Goosen has had loads of success at Cooperhead, including wins in 2009 and ’03, and a fifth-place finish a year ago. He was shaky at Doral, but broke 70 twice en route to a T31. That’s good enough to earn at least a bench spot this week.

Vijay Singh: We’ll go in the way-back machine for this one, all the way back to 2004, when Singh set the tournament scoring record at Copperhead (266). Considering how well he’s playing this year (with the exception of the Honda Classic disaster), there’s plenty of reason to feel good about Vijay this weekend.

C-LIST
Martin Kaymer: Through two rounds at the Cadillac he showed why he has no right being on the C-list, shooting 66-70. Sure, he sputtered with back-to-back 74’s to finish T24, but he’s still the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, and thus he’s still a must in your C-list spot.

Charles Howell III: CH3 has a solid track record at Copperhead, including a T2 in 2009 and a T6 in ’07. He already has four top 15’s this year and, sitting fifth on the Tour in bogey avoidance (11.56%), is in good position to make it five.

Thirsty for fantasy golf brilliance? Or is imbecilic chatter your thing? Hit me up on Twitter.

Fantasy picks for the Barclays

A-Players
Ernie Els: The Big Easy has led the FedEx Cup race for 22 weeks, and he has a strong record at the Barclays. Els has seven career top-10 finishes in the event, with six of those finishes at Westchester Country Club. Els misses the cut at the Barclays in 2008 when Ridgewood Country Club last hosted the event.

Luke Donald: The world No. 10 has yet to record a win on the PGA Tour this year, but he has recorded five top 10s. On the European tour, Donald has three top-3 finishes, including a win at the Madrid Masters.

B-Players
Nick Watney: Despite his final-round collapse at the PGA, Watney's game has been solid for more than a month. He tied for seventh at the AT&T and the British, followed by top-20 finishes at the Bridgestone and the PGA.

Rory McIlroy:The 21-year-old continues to impress after his first Tour win at Quail Hollow with top-3 finishes at the British Open and PGA.

Bo Van Pelt: He's quietly had a very good year, with three third-place finishes. Van Pelt could boost his chances for a captain's pick with another solid week.

Retief Goosen: With nine top-25 finishes in 15 events, Goosen has earned more than $2.3 million without a victory (yet) this season.

C-Players
Paul Casey: He needs another solid finish this week if he hopes to be picked for the European Ryder Cup team. Casey was knocked off the team after Peter Hanson won the Czech Open last week.

Matt Kuchar: Kooch has already locked up his first Ryder Cup spot thanks to nine top 10s this year.

Fantasy picks for the British Open at St. Andrews

A-Players
Ernie Els: The Big Easy already has two wins this season on the PGA Tour, and his record at the Open is remarkable: 12 top-10 finishes in 18 appearances.

Tiger Woods: He's been hot and cold this season, but Tiger was right in the mix at Augusta and Pebble Beach. St. Andrews is his favorite course, so it would be hard to imagine he wouldn't be in the hunt on Sunday.

B-Players
Padraig Harrington: The winner of two of the last three Opens is coming off a T5 at the Travelers, his last start before coming to the Old Course. Harrington is also a two-time winner at the Alfred Dunhill Links, which is played at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Rory McIlroy: He's only 21 years old, but McIlroy has proven he can win on the big stage. Coming off a fourth-place finish at the French Open, McIlroy also has good memories at St. Andrews: His worst round in competition is a 69.

Miguel Angel Jimenez: The Mechanic has two wins this year in Europe, and he's finished in the top 15 in two of the last three Opens.

Retief Goosen: The Goose is quietly having a good season, with seven top 10s world wide. He also has a good record at the British -- seven top 10s in 15 starts.

C-Players
Justin Rose: With two wins in his last three starts on the PGA Tour, Justin Rose is the hottest player in the game. He's also played well lately in the Open -- two top-15 finishes in the last three Opens.

Francesco Molinari: Hard to choose just one Molinari, but I went with Francesco. Edoardo won last week at the Scottish Open, but Francesco has a little more experience at the British Open.

Fantasy Golf Picks for The Barclays

The FedEx Cup playoffs are finally here, and the fun starts with views of the NYC skyline as Liberty National Golf Club hosts the world's best players at The Barclays.

Picks are going to be tough this week, since it's the first time many of the players have seen Liberty National. But there are a few players who know the course quite well.

A-Players
Phil Mickelson: There will be a little extra incentive for Mickelson to play well this week. He's sponsored by Barclays, and Mickelson is a member at Liberty National.

Camilo Villegas: He could have possibly won the FedEx Cup last year had he not missed the cut at The Barclays. It's been a few months since he's recorded a top 10, but Villegas has been playing good, consistent golf.

B-Players
Lucas Glover: Driving will be crucial this week, and Glover has said he's been driving it great all year. His record shows it. After winning the U.S. Open, Glover has finished in the top 25 five times.

Zach Johnson: With two wins and seven top 10s, Johnson has a great chance to win the FedEx Cup.

Hunter Mahan: He's yet to win this year, but Mahan has four top 10s in his last six events.

Nick Watney: After a strong start to the year, Watney has struggled a bit in the second half of the season. He's probably not consistent enough to win the Cup, but he's a good pick for one or two weeks.

C-Players
Ian Poulter: The flashy Brit has come up big in the big events this year. Poulter finished in the top 20 in all three WGC events, the Players, the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA.

Retief Goosen: The steady Goose has missed only one cut this year, and he has recorded seven top-25 finishes.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the PGA Championship

It will be hard for anyone to leave Tiger Woods off their roster this week since Woods is going for his third win in as many weeks. But remember he's teased us all year. Woods won every event he played in before a major, and he has yet to win one. Will this week be different?

A-Players
Tiger Woods: He has to win this week, right? Woods has five wins this year, and he lost out to Rich Beem the last time the PGA was at Hazeltine.

Stewart Cink: So much for a post-British Open letdown. Cink finished T6 at the Bridgestone in his first start since winning at Turnberry.

B-Players
Steve Stricker: I always worry about Stricker being able to finish the job on Sundays, but he's been having a great year, with eight top 10s and two wins.

Lee Westwood: Westwood is another guy who is continuing to play well after the Open. He hasn't finished out of the top 10 in his last four events.

Angel Cabrera: His record has been shaky since winning the Masters, but Cabrera is coming off solid finishes at the Scottish Open, the British Open and a T4 at Firestone.

Boo Weekley: Boo has eight top-25 finishes this year, and in his two starts at the PGA he's finished T20 and T9.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: If it's not going to be Tiger this week, I like The Goose. Goosen won earlier this year after struggling with his game, and in his last five starts he has four top 10s. Oh, and he's won two U.S. Opens.

Luke Donald: The sweet-swinging Brit has five top 10s this year, and if not for a wrist injury earlier in the year, he might have had even more. He played a great final round at Turnberry to finish T5.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Chances are, with the exception of Tiger Woods, last week was a bad week for most people with a fantasy lineup. Names such as Thatcher, Chalmers and Senden were probably not at the top of anyone's roster. But this week brings the return of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and most of the top-50 players, including Phil Mickelson.

A-Players
Tiger Woods: Six wins in nine starts at Firestone, and Woods has never finished worse than T4.

Paul Casey: This is a big week for the world No. 3. Casey hasn't sniffed a top 10 since Colonial, and he's coming off a disappointing missed cut at the British Open. He has two top-10 finishes at Firestone in the last three years, so look for Casey to return to the first page of the leaderboard.

B-Players
Lee Westwood: He's coming off three straight top 10s, including a T3 at Turnberry, and Westwood tied for second last year at Firestone.

Davis Love III: He's finished out of the top 13 only once at Firestone.

Rory McIlroy: Making his debut at Firestone, McIlroy has missed only one cut this year.

Steve Stricker: With two wins in his last five starts, Stricker is one of the hottest players on Tour.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: He finished T4 last year at the Bridgestone, and Goosen is coming off four straight top 10s.

Luke Donald: In 15 events this season, Donald has 11 top-25 finishes, and he has never finished out of the top-25 at Firestone.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the Canadian Open

Good news for the pros competing this week at the Canadian Open: Tom Watson is not in the field.

The attention turns to Mike Weir, and the question he gets asked every year: Will he ever win his national open?

Lets hope so. With all due respect to Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink, the golf world could use an uplifting story after seeing so many tough losses this year.

A-Players
Camilo Villegas: Coming off a T13 at the British Open, Villegas has eight top-25 finishes and two top 10s in four starts at the Canadian Open.

Mike Weir: His record shows he's ready to win his "fifth major:" three top-10 finishes since 2003, plus Weir finished T10 at the Memorial and the U.S. Open.

B-Players
Sean O'Hair: Hasn't played great since winning in Charlotte, but O'Hair has two top-3 finishes in the last three years at the Canadian Open.

Steve Marino: Learned a tough lesson on the links last week, but at least Marino put himself in contention. He gets a fresh start this week at an event where he's finished T3 and T15 in two starts.

Jason Day: Day's been knocking on the door for his first win, and he seems to be getting closer. In 13 events, he has five top-25 finishes, including a T2 in Puerto Rico.

Jeff Klauk: He's making his first start at the Canadian Open, but Klauk is coming off a T4 in Milwaukee.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: The Goose has a hot hand right now, with three straight top-10 finishes.

Luke Donald: He seems to be getting his form back after a wrist injury early in the season. Donald also finished T5 at the British.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the St. Jude Classic

Like a lot of fantasy players, I'm a sucker for the big names (Thanks for the win last week, Tiger!) But this week at the St. Jude Classic, the sexy names might not be the best picks for your fantasy roster.

Phil Mickelson and John Daly headline the field, but they both come in with several question marks. Padraig Harrington has missed two of his last three cuts and has zero top 10s this season. Sergio Garcia has also yet to finish in the top 10. And since winning the Players Championship, Henrik Stenson has missed two cuts on the European Tour.

Fortunately there are still plenty of guys with a good shot to win this week, starting with the defending champion.

A-Players
Justin Leonard: He has two wins in the last four years at the St. Jude, and Leonard is coming off a great Texas Swing where he finished T5, T16 and T13 in three events in his home state.

Camilo Villegas: Spiderman has a new sidekick on the bag this week: Joe LaCava, one of the best caddies on tour. Plus, Villegas has a solid record at Southwind, with two top-20 finishes in three years.

B-Players
David Toms: Since 2002, Toms has finished in the top 5 four times, including back-to-back wins in 2003 and 2004.

Jason Day: It's his first time in this event, but Day has played well the past two events, finishing fourth at Colonial and T27 at the Memorial.

Tim Clark: It will be interesting to see how Clark fares in his first event since his tough loss at Colonial. But Clark has been playing solid golf since the Masters, so I expect him to bounce back with a strong finish this week.

Woody Austin: I know, I know. I advise picking against players like Mickelson and Garcia, but I recommend picking Aquaman?! It's a stretch, but Austin won the St. Jude in 2007, and he has finished in the top 30 in his last three events.

C-Players
Scott Verplank: He has consecutive top 10s at Southwind, plus Verplank has five top-25 finishes this season.

Retief Goosen: The Goose might be ready for another run at the U.S. Open. He won earlier this year at the Transitions, and he is coming off consecutive top-25 finishes.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the Quail Hollow Championship

With the Tour in Charlotte this week for the Quail Hollow Championship and then the Players Championship next week, the A-list players are out of their post-Masters hibernation. With an abundance of big names, it's time to start making some tough decisions about which players to start this week.

A-Players
Phil Mickelson: One could argue Phil is playing better than Tiger right now, plus Phil also has an excellent track record in this event: three top 10s in five starts.

Tiger Woods: I almost sat the World No. 1 this week, but it's hard to pick against Tiger. Even though he didn't play well at the Masters, he still finished T6.

B-Players
Nick Watney: After a great start to the season, Watney missed his first cut of the year last week in New Orleans. I'm not ready to give up on him yet. He's never missed the cut at Quail Hollow, and I think with some extra time off last week he'll be ready to contend.

Rory Sabbatini: Some poor putting on the back nine cost Sabbatini a win last week. However it was his second straight top 10 and third consecutive top-20 finish.

Adam Scott: Not a sexy pick, since Scott has missed three straight cuts, but he's too good of a player to stay down for long. In four trips to Charlotte, Scott hasn't finished out of the top 25.

Sean O'Hair: Quail Hollow hasn't been kind to O'Hair, but he's been very consistent this year. In nine events he has finished out of the top 25 only once -- a missed cut at the Transitions.

C-Players
Robert Karlsson: The big-hitting Swede isn't a household name, but he's 11th in the World Golf Rankings and one of the best choices from the C-players.

Retief Goosen: Charles Howell III is a better choice this week, but I've used him a lot this season, so the Goose gets the second spot this week. Besides, Howell is coming off another tough loss, while Goosen is playing for the first time since the Masters.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the Masters

Hello, friends. It's time for the first major of the year, and it can't come soon enough. We've got Tiger and Phil peaking at the right time, Padraig Harrington going for a third consecutive major, Greg Norman returning to Augusta and a crop of youngsters ready to crash the champions dinner.

So what does this mean for your fantasy roster this week? Not much, besides remembering the names Woods, Mickelson and Harrington.

A-Players
Tiger, Phil and/or Harrington are obvious picks this week, but here's a few others to keep in mind. (For the record I am starting Tiger, with Phil coming off the bench if needed.)

Geoff Ogilvy: His driver looked a little shaky last week in Houston, but a lot of guys looked terrible on a tough course in 50 mph wind. Still, he finished T6. I don't think he'll win this week, but he's due for a good showing at Augusta.

Stewart Cink: The Georgia Tech grad is often overlooked as a favorite for the Masters, but he's finished in the top 20 every year since 2004, including a T3 last year.

B-Players
Zach Johnson: Until the Lords of Augusta change the course again, it's hard to not pick against a guy who's won a green jacket since 2006. Plus, Johnson already won this year and finished third at Bay Hill.

Lee Westwood: He finished T11 last year at the Masters, then nearly won the U.S. Open, plus he has two top 10s on the European Tour this season.

Fred Couples: Hopefully the momentum of a great week in Houston carries over for the 1992 champion. Couples missed his first cut at Augusta last year, and I am sure he is motivated for one last run.

Tim Clark: He has two top 10s this season, and since 2003 Clark has finished second and T13 twice at the Masters.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: The Goose is back after winning at the Transitions, and oh by the way, he hasn't finished out of the top 20 at Augusta since 2001.

Henrik Stenson: As long as he can avoid the numerous water hazards at Augusta (sorry, couldn't resist), Stenson has a great shot. He comes in with consecutive top-20 finishes at the Masters, and his caddie used to loop for Nick Faldo, owner of three green jackets.