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 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 AT&T National

Tiger Woods is hosting this week's event at Congressional Country Club, but he'll certainly have something else on his mind: winning the tournament. In the two years since its inception, Woods has yet to win his own event. He tied for sixth in 2007 and missed the event last year while recovering from knee surgery.

A-Players
Tiger Woods: He has seven top 10s in eight starts, including two wins. Plus, it will be easier on Sunday if he just presents himself with the trophy.

Jim Furyk: Tiger's buddy has finished in the top 11 in four of his last five events. Furyk also has come close to winning the AT&T National twice, finishing T3 the past two seasons.

B-Players
Davis Love III: Coming off a T5 at Memorial, Love finished T27 last year at Congressional.

Hunter Mahan: He nearly won another Travelers Championship last week, plus Mahan has finished T8 and T12 at the AT&T National.

Sean O'Hair: In his first event since the birth of his third child, O'Hair has been playing great this year, with six top 10s in 14 events.

Boo Weekley: Boooooooooooo! has been struggling with injuries, but he seems to be back on track, coming off a T14 at the Travelers.

C-Players
Rocco Mediate: Tiger's nemesis at the 2008 U.S. Open has only one top-25 finish this season, but he has yet to miss a cut, and he has a solid record at the AT&T National.

Nick O'Hern: He finished T3 last year at Congressional, and after a string of missed cuts this season, O'Hern has made four straight.

Fantasy Golf Picks for the Memorial Tournament

Good news for the pros this week: Jack Nicklaus is taking it easy on them. Gone are the controversial furrowed bunkers, and the rough is shorter than previous years. The fast greens remain, however, so it's no surprise major champions have done well at the Memorial: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples have all won at Muirfield Village.

A-Players
Tiger Woods: The three-time Memorial champion is still struggling with his driver, but it's not stopping him from finishing in the top 10 in five of his six starts this season.

Paul Casey: He moved up to No. 3 in the world after winning the European Open. Then Casey flew across the Atlantic and finished fifth last week at Colonial.

B-Players
Sean O'Hair: O'Hair is coming off a good week at Colonial, plus he has finished in the top 12 twice in the past three years at the Memorial.

Nick Watney: He's missed two of his last three cuts, but Watney has also never missed the cut in two starts at Muirfield Village.

Dustin Johnson: He's coming off a solid Texas Swing with a T24 at the Nelson and a T4 at Colonial.

Bo Van Pelt: Van Pelt has four top-25 finishes this season, and he's finished in the top 30 at Memorial three of last four years.

C-Players
Ian Poulter: I'm jumping back on the Poulter bandwagon after another top-10 finish last week at Colonial, his fourth in nine events.

Luke Donald: Poulter's fellow countryman has eight top-25 finishes in 11 starts this season.

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 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.

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.

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.

The Memorial Tournament

It's never easy picking a fantasy lineup in this fickle game, but a quick glance at the list of past champions at Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament should give you some guidance. With names such as Woods, Singh, Els, Furyk, Couples, Norman, and, yes, Nicklaus, the game's best tend to shine at Muirfield Village. There is also a history of solid pros breaking out at the Memorial (Lehman, Perry, Choi, Azinger, Strange).

Memorial Picks

Geoff Ogilvy: Coming off a missed cut at the Players, we recommended benching Ogilvy last week, and what did he do? Finished T7. Looks like Ogilvy is back on track, and he has had plenty of success at Muirfield Village, finishing in the top 25 in three of the last four years.

Sean O'Hair: After three straight missed cuts, O'Hair also seems to have found his game after a T26 at Colonial. In his last two trips to the Memorial, O'Hair finished T5 and T12.

Stewart Cink: He is due for a win this year, and he is due for a win at the Memorial. Cink leads the PGA Tour with six top 10s, and he has four career top 10s at Muirfield Village, including a T5 last year.

Paul Casey: In two appearances, Casey has a decent record at the Memorial. He's one of several players making the trip across the pond after the BMW Championship, where he tied for 10th.

Jeff Quinney: Quinney is knocking on the door for his first PGA Tour win. He jumped to the No. 9 spot on the money list after top 10s at the Players and Colonial.

Sleeper

Carl Pettersson: It might be a stretch to call the 2006 Memorial winner a sleeper, but how often do you consider Pettersson for your fantasy lineup? If you're like most people, not often. But maybe you should. He’s been solid at Muirfield Village, and in his last 11 starts this season, he has only missed one cut.

Players to Avoid

Charles Howell III: Howell has played decently this season, but he seems to be shrinking in the big moments. He missed the cut at Bay Hill, the Masters, and the Players. He tied for eighth at the AT&T Classic, but he had the lead after three rounds and shot 74 on Sunday.

Jim Furyk: He has a great record at the Memorial, but we're going on a Furyk diet due to his streaky play this year.

Steve Stricker: Don't mean to kick a guy while he's down, especially a nice guy, but Stricker has made only one cut in his last six events.  Stricker withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday.