So many professional sports organizations make questionable scheduling decisions. The NFL just decided to move the Pro Bowl to the week before the Superbowl, meaning the best players on the two best teams will not be available. Major League Baseball schedules all of their playoff games at night, forcing many East Coast fans to either miss the last few innings or stay up until the wee hours of the morning.

One week after Geoff Ogilvy defended his title at the SBS Championship, can Zach Johnson do the same in the Sony Open in Hawaii. Photo Credit: Keith Allison

On the other hand, the PGA usually nails it’s scheduling. What’s that? The entire continental United States is frozen? Wherever will they play golf this week?

Oh, that’s right; the PGA tees the season up with back-to-back tournaments in Hawaii. Mahalo very much.

This week the pros will take a puddle-jumper from Maui to Honolulu and test the grounds at Waialae Country Club in the Sony Open in Hawaii. Last year Zach Johnson shot four rounds in the 60’s to earn a two-shot victory over Adam Scott and David Toms.

Sony Open in Hawaii
Purse - $5,500,000.00
Winners Share – $990,000.00
FedEx Cup Points – 3500 (500 to winner)

Course – Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, HI (Par 70)

Waialae Country Club is definitely an HD course, as in TV viewers will want to watch this game in high-definition. The course rests between the Koolau mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Those of us stuck in the frozen part of the country will feel a tinge of jealousy as the pros attack this 7,000 yard course with the sun bouncing off the ocean waves in the background.

The course is set up for low scores with two reachable par fives and a handful of easy par fours. The four par-three holes are fairly challenging, especially numbers four and 17. I’d expect the winner to finish with a score around 15-under. This is the first full-field event of the season.

Weekly Picks

With only one tournament in the bag, the 2010 PGA Tour season is barely underway. The SBS Championship at least provided some insight, but selecting fantasy players is still a bit of a gamble. However, there are a handful of reliable players that can be trusted.

Zach Johnson
So let’s just get this little cliché out of the way. The 2010 PGA Tour started with Geoff Ogilvy repeating as the winner of the SBS Championship. Zach Johnson won the Sony Open in 2009, so naturally he should also repeat.

That’s not much of a reason to recommend a player in fantasy golf, but when you consider the fact that Johnson finished at -12 last weekend (all four rounds under par), and started the 2009 season by scoring -15 at both the Mercedes-Benz Championship (Kapalua Resort) and the Sony Open, it’s hard to not see Johnson as one of weekend’s favorites.

Steve Stricker
It’s difficult to argue against the world’s third-ranked player, especially when numbers one and two aren’t in the field. Sticker shot 15-under at the SBS last weekend, and his score improved round-by-round (73-70-68-66).

Stricker’s disappointing 6-under performance at last year’s Sony Open may scare some fantasy players away from this A-lister. However, Stricker finished tied for fourth in 2008 and 2007. Fantasy players who started Stricker at the SBS may want to look elsewhere, but everyone else should start the man from Wisconsin.

Retief Goosen
Retief Goosen finished tied for sixth at the SBS last weekend, including an outstanding -10 on Saturday and Sunday. This one-time fantasy A-list player is a B-list bargain this week. In December at the Nedbank Golf Challenge Goosen dominated through three rounds, only to shoot a 75 on Sunday and lose by two strokes. The defeat led Goosen to switch to a belly putter, which paid off at the SBS where he finished second in putting average. If Goosen’s putter remains hot, he should finish in the top ten.

David Toms
The best thing about Toms is that when he wins, we all get to enjoy the onslaught of, “Ground Control to Major Toms” headlines (okay, so maybe that’s the worst thing about him). On a more serious note, Toms tied for second last year and won the tournament in 2006. He’s also never finished outside the top-25. If past results aren’t enough reason to start Toms, he is in the middle of a 15-round streak of par or better at this tournament (13 rounds in the 60’s, including a course record 61 in 2006).

KJ Choi
KJ Choi won the Sony Open in 2008, and tied with Stricker for fourth in 2007. Fantasy players may want to load up on Choi starts early in the 2010 season, as he has a history of fading down the stretch. Three of Choi’s six Top-25 finishes in 2009 came before March. Choi’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, and this tournament may be one of the few times that he has any value.

Rory Sabbatini
Two seems to be the magic number for Rory Sabbatini when he plays in Hawaii. The South African finished second last week at the SBS, highlighted by a final round 63. In the Sony Open, Sabbatini finished second in 2006 and 2008. Sabbs hit Greens in Regulation nearly 85 percent of the time last weekend, which is 20 percentage points higher than his 2009 average. If he can consistently hit the small greens at Waialae he’ll be in contention on Sunday.

Jerry Kelly
Of all the C-list fantasy golfers, Kelly has had the most recent success at the Sony Open. Kelly has had four consecutive top-25 finishes since 2006, and he finished third in 2008. He missed the cut in 2005, but in 2004 he finished tied for fifth, in 2003 he finished tied for fourth, and in 2002 he won. Kelly is an absolute steal this week.

Troy Matteson
Troy Matteson played solidly last week, but he wasn’t too impressive. However, he’s had some recent success at Waialae with a tie for 23rd in 2009 and a tie for eighth the year before. Matteson finished his 2009 effort with two PGA Tour Top-10s at the Ginn sur Mer Classic and the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.

Salary Cap Options –
The “tiered” format isn’t the only fantasy golf game around, so here are a few low-budget options for players working with a salary cap.

Nick O’Hern
O’Hern finished 2009 playing extremely well in Australia. His final U.S. Tour appearance was a fourth place finish at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.

George McNeil
McNeill only started playing in this event in 2007. His three results: tied for 13th in 2007, tied for 17th in 2008, and tied for 7th in 2009.

Ryuji Imada
Imada is a bit of a long shot, but he does have two top-25 finishes in the past three Sony Opens.

Nate’s News Notes:

John Daly is going to garner plenty of media attention at this tournament (and probably break a lot of fashion rules at the same time), but he certainly doesn’t have any fantasy value. He’s never finished in the Top-25 at Waialae, and his game doesn’t fit the tight set up.

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Need more fantasy golf advice? Email natepigott@rotoexperts.com or follow Nate at twitter.com/superfan99.

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