Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

November 3, 2009 9:05am CST

Hot Topic of the Week

It's a Different Game

With the circumstances of the fantasy golf environment this week - we are one week away from the final tourney of the season and the vast majority have secured whatever finishing spot they will have earned in fantasy leagues this season, those that are in position to make a difference get a new-found shot of hope with the freshly-added HSBC Champions becoming the fourth in a WGC series that offers double the reward and thus double the power of the field, and it's a tourney that wasn't part of the Tour before this season - we felt it best to concentrate on this one week before waxing poetic on the season that was.

Consider this there are only 78 golfers in this field yet several of the world's elite will not be on hand (Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, to name a few) while several who are far from worthy of the field (Zhang Lian wei, Jason Dufner, Jeppe Huldahl, again, to name a few) will be in the mix. This may be the most definitive split between roster-worthy and not we have seen this season.

Also consider this: The bulk of the field has limited experience on the course, many without a competitive round ever played in China, much less in Shanghai or at the Sheshan International Golf Club. Those that have played (especially those that have done so with success) also carry a distinct advantage in facing the HSBC Champions this week.

It's a unique mix of variables for fantasy owners to consider but one fact remains as true as ever. Now is not the time for screwing around, and if you have the option to do so, you need to reach for the big dogs. Tiger will be in the hunt, and while he may not have a win on this track, he has several starts, and as always that means he has several top finishes. Phil Mickelson is a former champion on this course, as is Sergio Garcia. Y.E. Yang, the man that stared down Tiger for the final major of the season, is also a former champion.

It is a course that favors excellence and a field that struggles to stand in its way. Keep that in mind as you fill your rosters for the week and things are likely to work out well.

Stock Up

Lee Westwood
While we normally search for golfers coming fresh off the previous week, the odd circumstance of cancellation for the Viking Classic has put those plans on hiatus. However we can adjust thanks to the equally special circumstances of the tourney ahead.

The HSBC Champions will be inviting the world's elite, from all corners of the globe, to Shanghai for an international battle and thus we turn to a view that matches the environment. Westwood hasn't played on the American side of the Tour since the final major of the season, but the string of success he's built both on the PGA and European Tours has gone much longer and is as impressive as any you'll find in professional golf today.

To start the string, go back to the European stop at the BMW PGA Championship, the 21st week of the season (we are entering week 45 today). That represents Westwood's last missed cut in competitive golf this season.

Since then he has filed 12 starts on both the PGA and European Tours with the finishes coming as follows: T27 (European Open), T23 (US Open), second place (Open de France), T8 (Scottish Open), T3 (British Open), ninth place (WGC Bridgestone Invite), T3 (PGA Championship), T23 (European Masters), T8 (Mercedes-Benz Championship), T9 (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship), WIN (Portugal Masters), and T9 (Volvo World Match Play Championship).

In short, that's 12 starts with nine finishes in the top 10 (including two T3 finishes at the final majors of the PGA season).

That is truly hard to comprehend, and now he's taking that show to China.

Stock Down

Geoff Ogilvy
We stick with the slant towards the week ahead by taking a look at the weeks behind, and while there have been a few minor surges from Ogilvy over the season, his work coming down the stretch, be it on American, European, or Asian soil, has been worrisome.

Understand Ogilvy came into the season with a bang. His wife struggled during his efforts in 2008 with concerning health issues associated with the birth of their first child, and Ogilvy was clearly distracted. Once that situation settled he hit the Asian and Australian Tours to tune up his game and found great success, finishing T3 at the HSBC Champions (then a part of the Asian circuit, today serving as this week's stop for the PGA Tour), the winner at the Australian PGA Championship, and T6 at the Australian Open. He followed with a win at the first tourney of the '09 PGA season (the Mercedes-Benz Championship), found another win seven weeks later at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championships, and appeared to be well on his way to a fantastic season.

In 17 international starts since, Ogilvy has found the top 10 just three times, and his work in recent weeks is even more disappointing. Over his last eight starts Ogilvy has suffered the missed cut at the British Open, T22 at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, T43 at the PGA Championship, missed cut at The Barclays, a lone surge with a seventh-place finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship, T55 at the BMW Championship, T16 at The TOUR Championship, and a missed cut last week at the Singapore Open.

If you pay to have Ogilvy on the fantasy roster, you haven't gotten your money's worth. He did play well at this event last season but the lack of momentum has to be considered, so keep it in mind as you fill out your card for the week.

PGA Money Leaders Bubble Watch

NOTE: The members of the top 125 on the PGA's Money Leaders list at season's end will be guaranteed Tour status for next season. Those that fall out will be playing with uncertain futures. Thus we turn to the cut line, the true source of motivation for these final events, for these closing weeks of the season.

PLACE / PLAYER / MONEY
115 Ryuji Imada $706,394
116 Cameron Beckman $704,086
117 Michael Bradley $698,547
118 Jeff Quinney $696,331
119 Roland Thatcher $681,631
120 Richard S. Johnson $676,878
121 Ricky Barnes $672,437
122 Steve Flesch $668,052
123 Robert Garrigus $657,204
124 Rich Beem $636,831
125 David Duval $623,824
--- CUT LINE ---
126 Chris Riley $613,027
127 Jeff Maggert $611,316
128 Tim Herron $602,453
129 Matt Jones $593,313
130 Jimmy Walker $589,833
131 Will MacKenzie $586,836
132 Nicholas Thompson $571,778
133 Todd Hamilton $570,445
134 Stuart Appleby $562,837
135 Joe Ogilvie $540,850