Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

October 13, 2009 10:25am CDT

Hot Topic of the Week

The Folly of Fall
The introduction of the Fall Series has proven fruitful for the folks on the PGA Tour, a list of benefactors that includes Tour officials, members, sponsors, and spectators (including those of us who can enjoy a prolonged fantasy season as a result), and while the state of today's economy has some suggesting this Tour could be susceptible to necessary changes (such as a revised schedule due to failing interest from potential sponsors... after all, the market is down and companies are pulling back funds), this season's stretch into October is proving as intriguing as any.

For instance, there are some of us who are pondering how large the potential fields for next year's majors may be with all of the singular, newly-crowned winners that are earning entry into the crown-jewel events of each season. The US Open is going to be crowded next season and revised inclusion incentives to make the field at Augusta National for The Masters may serve as the basis for talks between the Tour and those events to revisit those decisions. The allure of The Masters is the elite field presented, but the points of entry are becoming too easy for some to find, and that could compromise the attraction to those events.

There are also some of us who are starting to ponder how many of the top golfers in the world will consider making more trips to Europe. The failing American dollar makes the temptation to play for gains that are increasing in value overseas almost too much to bear, and there is reason to believe that such events will lessen the PGA fields we see next season. After all, we already miss the Tour's major players enough, and the growth in schedule has made that more evident than ever.

Maybe we would be wise to devise a fantasy game based on the World Golf Rankings, eh?

Regardless, this current series of tourneys, at the very least, provides closure for the typical golf fan. The Tour takes just a short handful of weeks off before revving up overseas once again, providing fantasy addicts one of the longest seasons to play in professional sports. Those won't draw much attention from top golfers either, so think of this Fall Series as preparation for getting an edge in those early days next season.

If the pros are going to get another shot at correcting the wrongs of this season and line their pockets with opportunities for the future, why shouldn't fantasy owners do the same?

Stock Up

Tim Petrovic
Rarely known as a perpetual competitor on the Tour, Petrovic has been grinding his way to a living in professional golf since 1988. He sits at No. 58 on the current Money Leaders list but the surges come in small doses, touting just 15 cuts made in 28 PGA starts this season but also boasting five top-10 finishes. However, the second half of the season has proven rather lucrative for Petrovic, making him a low-tier option to target no matter the course of venue.

Since finishing T63 at the Travelers Championship to put June to an end, Petrovic has filed nine starts. Over that span he has suffered just two missed cuts (the PGA Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship) while the rest of brought reward to faithful fantasy owners. The span includes (in order) T31 at the AT&T National, fifth place at the John Deere Classic, seventh place at the US Bank Championship, T25 at the Buick Open, T24 at the Wyndham Championship, T46 at The Barclays, and in his last outing, third place at the Turning Stone Championship.

He rarely gets the credit he deserves but with strong accuracy ratings and a proven feel for the game, the Fall Series could be an optimal environment for fantasy owners to keep Petrovic on the mind and, possibly, on the roster.

Stock Down

Andres Romero
Last season Romero used his first PGA victory along with consistent success and ability to earn respect as one of the top rising international stars of the game. He is young, he is talented, and he can swing with the best on the Tour.

This season he has carried that same tradition forward by filing some of his best finishes on tracks the bring the world's elite out to play, but those finishes fail to impress and the work that has come between has been nothing short of disappointing.

For instance, in the more difficult tourneys of the season (including the majors) Romero has fought hard to stay in the hunt: T46 at the WGC CA Championship, T49 at The Masters, T47 at the US Open, T13 at the British Open.

In between it has been a run of missed cuts with an occasional break into the weekend that still fails to impress: missed cut at the Honda Classic, missed cut at the Houston Open, missed cut at the Zurich Classic, missed cut at Quail Hollow, missed cut at THE PLAYERS, missed cut at the St. Jude, missed cut at the Buick Open, missed cut at the Legends Reno-Tahoe, and a T64 at his last outing in the Turning Stone Resort Championship.

The swing stats echo the concern as Romero manages to rank among the Tour's top 100 in just one category (driving distance, ranked 25th on Tour). That won't get it down on these tracks and it seems unlikely to bring a reversal of fortune at the TPC Summerlin this week.

Official World Golf Rankings

RANK / PLAYER / PTS AVG
1 Tiger Woods 16.17
2 Phil Mickelson 8.04
3 Steve Stricker 7.71
4 Paul Casey 6.37
5 Henrik Stenson 5.88
6 Kenny Perry 5.72
7 Padraig Harrington 5.71
8 Jim Furyk 5.42
9 Sergio Garcia 5.36
10 Geoff Ogilvy 5.14
11 Lee Westwood 5.10
12 Martin Kaymer 4.96
13 Stewart Cink 4.83
14 Sean O'Hair 4.68
15 Vijay Singh 4.30
16 Lucas Glover 4.24
17 Camilo Villegas 4.22
18 Rory McIlroy 4.17
19 Zach Johnson 4.12
20 Retief Goosen 4.03
21 Ian Poulter 4.00
22 Ernie Els 3.92
23 Anthony Kim 3.89
24 Robert Karlsson 3.70
25 Hunter Mahan 3.62

PGA Money Leaders

PLACE / PLAYER / MONEY
1 Tiger Woods $10,508,163
2 Steve Stricker $6,332,636
3 Phil Mickelson $5,332,755
4 Zach Johnson $4,583,213
5 Kenny Perry $4,445,562
6 Sean O'Hair $4,316,493
7 Geoff Ogilvy $3,866,270
8 Jim Furyk $3,761,715
9 Lucas Glover $3,692,580
10 Y.E. Yang $3,489,516
11 Retief Goosen $3,232,650
12 Nick Watney $3,221,421
13 Brian Gay $3,152,445
14 David Toms $3,009,053
15 Dustin Johnson $2,977,901
16 Hunter Mahan $2,869,949
17 Stewart Cink $2,821,030
18 Rory Sabbatini $2,733,791
19 Kevin Na $2,724,825
20 Padraig Harrington $2,628,377
21 Angel Cabrera $2,625,472
22 Paul Casey $2,582,181
23 Jerry Kelly $2,553,030
24 IanPoulter $2,431,001
25 Matt Kuchar $2,237,493