Fantasy Golf Picks for the BMW Championship

With the exception of a few picks, my fantasy lineup didn't change much from last week. It's always hard to predict how a golfer will play in any given week, but I am mostly sticking with the players who have been solid in the playoffs. If $10 million doesn't inspire you to play well ...

A-Players
Padraig Harrington: If he can stay away from the big numbers, Harrington just might win his first event since the 2008 PGA.

Tiger Woods: Woods has won almost as many titles in Chicago as his buddy Michael Jordan. A win this week would give Woods five titles at Cog Hill, while Jordan won six title with the Bulls.

B-Players
Steve Stricker: After a T2 at The Barclays and a win last week, Stricker climbed to No. 1 in FedEx Cup points. In the last two BMW Championships, Stricker finished in the top 10 both times.

Zach Johnson: Since winning his second title of the year in May, Johnson has finished out of the top 20 only four times.

Sean O'Hair: He's coming off a T8 at the Deutsche Bank, and O'Hair is starting to play like he did earlier this season when he finished out of the top 25 once in ten events.

Angel Cabrera: Cabrera has finished in the top five twice in his last four events, and he needs a good week to remain in the top 30.

C-Players
Retief Goosen: The Goose has found his game again after dropping out of the top 10 in the world rankings. In 18 events this season, Goosen has five top 10s, and he is coming off a T8 in Boston.

Scott Verplank: With two top 10s in the playoffs, Verplank has moved to fifth in the FedEx Cup standings.

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 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 HP Byron Nelson Championship

The Texas Swing rolls into Irving this week for the Byron Nelson Championship, where the marquee players should be left off of your fantasy roster. Phil Mickelson was the headliner until the sad news came out about his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Defending champion Adam Scott will get his game turned around eventually, but he has missed five straight cuts. Anthony Kim is another player who is struggling with his game. Kim has yet to factor in a tournament since the Mercedes in January.

A-Players
Justin Leonard: The native Texan got the Texas Swing off to a great start with a T5 last week, Leonard's fourth top 10 of the season.

Mike Weir: Weir has only missed two cuts all season, and he is coming off a T14 at the Players.

B-Players
Hunter Mahan: Mahan has rarely had an off-week this season, with seven top-25 finishes in 11 starts.

Charley Hoffman: Not only does Hoffman have two top 10s in three starts at the Nelson, but he is also coming off a T9 last week at the Texas Open.

Bo Van Pelt: Van Pelt has yet to miss the cut at the Nelson, and he's had a solid season with six top-30 finishes in 12 events.

Briny Baird: Baird gets an extra boost this week after winning everyone free lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's.

C-Players
Ian Poulter: The flashy Englishman is getting closer and closer to his first win in the U.S. after a T5 in Charlotte and a solo second at the Players.

Scott Verplank: The 2007 winner and Dallas native has five top-25 finishes in 11 events this season.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the Verizon Heritage

With the wild finish at the Masters in the rearview mirror, the PGA Tour unwinds this week in Hilton Head. It's the week after a major, but there are still plenty of big names to consider this week when filling out your roster.

A-Players
Camilo Villegas: After a solid T13 at the Masters, Villegas, who has four top-12 finishes this season, comes back to Harbour Town, where he finished T7 last year.

Jim Furyk: He's never won at Harbour Town, a course perfectly suited for his game, but Furyk has five career top-15 finishes, plus he had a good week (T10) at Augusta.

B-Players
Rory McIlroy: In his tour of America, McIlroy has yet to finish out of the top 20, including a T20 last week at the Masters.

Tim Clark: With five top-15 finishes this year, Clark, like Paul Casey in Houston, is too good of a player not to have a W on the PGA Tour.

Davis Love III: Now with the pressure of trying to get into the Masters off his shoulders, Love can concentrate on simply playing golf. And if we wins this week, Love will get an invite to next year's Masters.

Boo Weekley: Two starts, two wins at Harbour Town. Hard to pick against that record.

C-Players
Scott Verplank: He had three top-15 finishes in March, and Verplank hasn't missed a cut at Hilton Head in 10 years.

Ben Crane: He has a solid record at Hilton Head, plus Crane has two top 10s this season.

Fantasy golf picks for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Choosing two players from the A-list is usually an easy task. You normally have a choice between five or six of the top players, so you feel confident one of them will bring you loads of points.

But this week it wasn't a whole lot of fun. Padraig Harrington didn't look sharp at the Buick; Phil Mickelson has only broken par one time in six rounds; Vijay Singh is playing his first event since knee surgery; Kenny Perry hasn't played at Pebble Beach since 2003; and Jim Furyk is making his season debut. This week might be a good time to save a big name for later in the season.

Also don't forget there are multiple courses this week, so it might be beneficial to sit a player if he's on one of the tougher courses. Last year Spyglass Hill was rated the toughest course, followed by Poppy Hills and then Pebble Beach.

A-Players
Jim Furyk: While it's risky taking Furyk this week, he's known for knocking off the winter rust in a hurry. In Furyk's last two trips to the AT&T he finished T-14 and T-6.

Mike Weir: After opening the season with a T-3 at the Hope, Weir missed the cut at the FBR. But I'm sticking with him this week based on his great record at the AT&T: six top 10s in 11 appearances.

B-Players
Davis Love III: The two-time AT&T champ has seven career top 10s at Pebble Beach, and he is still looking for an invite to the Masters. A win would be the easiest way in.

David Toms: A healthy David Toms is back to his old self again. Toms has two top-5 finishes in three events, and his other finish was a T-25 at the Hope. His record at the AT&T isn't great, but he hasn't played there since 2002.

Sean O'Hair: He hasn't finished out of the top 25 yet this season, and despite his poor record at the AT&T I think he's due for a solid finish.

D.J. Trahan: He's 4-4 in cuts made, and he's only finished out of the top 20 once.

C-Players
Matt Kuchar: Kuchar carried the momentum of a final-round 64 at the Hope to a T-6 at the FBR Open, plus he's made his last two cuts at the AT&T.

Retief Goosen: Since December, the Goose has played solid golf all around the world, including a win over Darren Clarke at the Sunshine Tour's Africa Open. The only drawback? This is Goosen's first time playing the event.

EDS Byron Nelson Championship

The Tour is back in the Lone Star state this week, so that means your fantasy roster should be filled with guys from Texas, right? Whoa there, cowboy. Last year, Scott Verplank became only the third Texan in 43 years to win the Nelson. Here’s who we like this week.

Nelson Picks

Luke Donald: A quick recap of Donald’s last four tournaments: 2, Cut, T20, Cut. Going by those results, Donald is due for a good week. Plus, he has two straight top-10 finishes in this event, and he hasn’t finished out of the top 20 since missing the cut in 2002.

Trevor Immelman: The Masters champ is making his first appearance since donning the green jacket, and it would be easy to pick against him due to fatigue, etc. While only one guy (Tiger Woods) has won the next tournament following a Masters victory, 15 of the past 20 Masters champions have finished in the top 25. In short, if you’re looking for some safe points, take Immelman.

Adam Scott: He’s the only top-10 player in the field this week, and Scott could use a win to lift his spirits after an illness hampered his preparations for the Masters. Scott recorded a T3 in his only appearance at the Nelson in 2006.

Anthony Kim: Kim was great television last week as he tried to catch Boo Weekley in Harbour Town. Kim knows he is close to winning his first tournament, and it showed last week as he seemed to live and die with every shot. His desire to win could hamper his efforts, but look for him to cash another big paycheck this weekend.

Scott Verplank: The defending champion has only one top 10 finish this year, and he has missed the cut in three of his last five starts. But Verplank, a friend of the late Byron Nelson, had only one top 10 entering last year’s Nelson, and he won. Verplank seems to find magic at this tournament, and look for him to find it again this week.

Sleeper

Rod Pampling: He’s missed five of his last eight cuts, but Pampling has two-straight top-10 finishes at the Nelson, and he hasn’t missed the cut since 2003.

Players to Avoid

Justin Leonard: It’s hard to go against a guy who (A) Is having a great year, and (B) Is from Texas. But Leonard is playing for the fourth straight week, and he hasn’t done very well in this tournament. In 14 trips, he has only two top-10 finishes. 

Sergio Garcia: The 2004 champion would be a great choice every week if putting wasn’t a factor in golf. Garcia’s struggles with the flat stick this year are well known, and so far, things aren't looking any better on the greens for Sergio.