As true golf fans are keenly aware, the PGA Tour extends from the beginning of January all the way through to late fall.  This is quite a stretch, and with that comes times in the season where the public consciousness tends to fade away from tour results.  But this year is completely different – when Tiger Woods declared himself on hiatus until further notice it was almost like he knocked the PGA Tour back to 1992-level coverage.  Yes, we still have the Golf Channel, but does anyone else notice the limited air-time that golf is given by some national networks?  Even in his absence Tiger is proving to be the most influential person in the game by a WIDE margin.

Pat Perez looks to hoist another crystal trophy by the end of this weekend. Photo Credit: Icon SMI

I hope everyone enjoyed Nate Pigott’s first article for us here in the fantasy golf wing of Rotoexperts.  I could definitely tell Nate has some solid fantasy golf knowledge and everyone will be the beneficiary of that over the course of the season.  The George McNeil pick?  Chock that one up to a rookie mistake!  Just kidding, Nate – great job!

It just seems like…..well a year ago…. we were prepping for the Bob Hope Classic, eventually won by the fiery Pat Perez.  This event is known for slow play, corny celebrity hosts, and a shallow field.  Apologies to Mike Weir, but if he is the headliner this week we know that we aren’t having normal issues with the salary cap!

Bob Hope Classic
Purse - $5,100,000.00
Winner Share - $918,000.00
FedEx Cup Points – 3500 (500 to winner)

Course – Silver Rock Resort & PGA West, La Quinta, California
Prepare for some LOW, LOW scores.  Five rounds on amateur friendly courses will definitely not test PGA caliber players, and the longest of these two tracks measure 6,950 yards!  It is birdie season in California.  The only thing that might slow down the players will be the fact that they are forced to watch BAD golf from amateurs.  Brace yourself for some Ray Romano hilarity as he shanks a 4-iron and then talks about it for five minutes.  No wonder the elites avoid this event like the plague.  The winning score by Perez in this five round event was 33 under par. 

Weekly Picks –

Scott Verplank
Verplank tees it up for the first time in 2010 after rolling through a 2009 season that saw him make 19 out of 24 cuts, including six Top 10 finishes.  The 46-year-old showed no real signs of slowing down as he produced his lowest scoring average (69.99) over the course of the past five years, and finished a stealthy 10th on the final FedEx Cup standings.  The Oklahoma State graduate has a nice history at this event, with a tied second, a tied eighth, several Top 25s and only one missed cut (in 2008) over the course of the past several years. 

Justin Leonard
Justin is appearing in his second event on tour this year after missing the cut at last week’s Sony Open. Luckily for Leonard he has a strong track record at the Bob Hope in the past, with a win in 2005 and a second place finish in 2008.  Leonard has completely recovered from a harrowing case of the “Butch Harmon Disease” – a malady that occurred in 2007 when Harmon’s swing coaching completely shattered Justin’s confidence.  We look for another strong performance from Justin this week in an event in which he normally cashes big checks. 

Charles Howell III
Howell is a normally quick starter each season, and 2010 was no different with his tied-fifth place finish at his first event of the year (Sony Open of Hawaii).  That $200,000 payday is similar to hot starts he had in early season events in 2009 (tied fourth at Sony Open), 2008 (tied eighth at Mercedes Championship, and 2007 (tied second at Sony Open).  Howell had a solid 2009 as he moved from 141st to 119th in the World Golf Rankings so he appears to be out of that underwhelming “fog” he found himself in earlier in his career.  Despite what many think has been a disappointing career in comparison to expectations Howell always is a solid earner with an average of over $1.5 million in winnings each season.  This fact, along with the lack of Top 25 ranked golfers schedule to participate this week makes CHIII a solid pick in California.

Chad Campbell
Campbell is another example of a solid player that is coming off a strong finish – tied eighth at last week’s Sony Open.  Campbell’s 2009 was defined by his failure in the playoff at the Masters, eventually won by Angel Cabrera.  What is lost by many was the fact Campbell was good enough to make the playoff.  We shied away from Campbell in the summer as we feared a post-Masters lull, but a new year is upon us and Chad’s average score in the Sony Open was 67.75, salty enough for his psyche to appear to be completely “recovered.”

Pat Perez
We always go “back to the well,” so to speak, when a champion returns the year after he wins the title.  Even with a fiery (read – temper prone) personality like Perez! Perez won the 2009 Bob Hope by three strokes by shooting a cumulative 33-under (keep in mind it’s a five-round event).  Pat finished in a tie for 10th at the SBS Championship and made another cut at the Sony Open last week, so he appears to be primed for a Top 25 this week.  Perez has earned over $1.6 million for three consecutive years, so keep him in mind as a low-cost alternative over the rest of 2010 as well.

Webb Simpson
Simpson put on an early-season rookie of the year push in 2009, finishing tied ninth, tied fifth and tied 19th in three of his first four PGA events, earning over $400,000 during that stretch.  The tied fifth was at last season’s Bob Hope Classic, and he was 27 under during that event.  Simpson hit the rookie wall during the summer, but if we are basing our picks from empirical data he is a no-brainer this week.  Simpson also helps in salary cap leagues with his lower-than-average cap value.  We predict Simpson will have another strong week at the Bob Hope and should be competing for an outright victory at some over the course of 2010.

Mike Weir
It takes a special kind of player to excel in the Pro-Am events, as most of the PGA tour members are as finicky as a thoroughbred and dislike the slow play of those fan-friendly formats.  Most elite players avoid it like a forced trip to the swine flu ward, but Weir’s personality allows him to thrive in this environment to the tune of a tied third at last year’s Bob Hope and a tied second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.  Weir’s scoring average decreased from 70.63 to 70.42 last year despite the fact that he lost ground in the FedEx Cup standings (sixth down to 29th from 2008 to 2009).

John Merrick
Well, look at that: another suggestion, another high finish in the 2009 Bob Hope.  It is not rocket science to come to these conclusions, and it makes sense as you can’t factor in any true “momentum” picks as we just started the season.  Merrick finished in solo second place last year at “The Hope” and earned three other Top 10s over the rest of the season.  He will never be considered a no-brainer pick until he wins a title. Still, we like him this week (and season) for the same reason we liked Steve Marino the last few years – he can obviously play but just is not at the forefront of the fantasy golf world yet. 

Salary Cap Options –
Are you over your cap limits with the above selections?  Here are some low-cost alternatives for your review:

Briny Baird – Solo 12th at the Sony Open; still looking for that first win on tour.

Jeff Quinney – Coming off a very strong 2009; Top 20 at Sony Open

Jason Dufner – Another exciting second-year player who won a FedEx Cup Playoff event last season.

Overheard on the Range –
Fred “Boom Boom” Couples announced earlier that he would be “full time” on the Championship Tour by 2011.  We doubt he will miss a specific tournament in Augusta, Georgia in the spring moving forward!  Robert Allenby’s runner-up finish at the Sony Open was his seventh second-place finish of his career….Tiger Woods’ streak of participating in the Ryder Cup is in danger – due to new rules only the current calendar year counts towards selection, meaning that coach Corey Pavin might have an interesting choice to make for his wild card pick if Woods  does not automatically qualify. 

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Greg Kinzer watched more PGA coverage than expected this weekend after the Dallas Cowboys got destroyed by the Vikings  Contact Greg at greg@rotoexperts.com to discuss Wade Phillips' future in Dallas,  or if you want to discuss other fantasy golf topics.

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