Bryan Douglass

Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

June 23, 2009 8:55am CDT

~ Hot Topic of the Week ~

What We Learned

With the second major of the season in the books, we take time to reflect on what we've learned (and yes, this is a total ripoff of the Dan Patrick Show... I'm tired from watching golf for five days).

- Sergio Garcia was one of the surprising names near the top of the leaderboard - yes, more surprising than Lucas Glover, not as surprising as Duval. Still, Garcia has been an absolute train wreck this season, rarely joining the top-20, much less the top-10. This week he got his putter in the game and he made good rescue shots, and those are traits that could put him right back in contention at the Travelers.

- Even when Tiger is off his game, he's not. We've known and seen this all season long.

- We have no idea if Duval can parlay this performance into a move back towards significance. His ranking will launch, but it's hard not to when you're coming from 862 (or was it 882 they flashed during rounds on Sunday... it's all a deluge of quick-hit golf). He showed just enough error to let us know that trouble still lies ahead. Only time will tell, but this Denver resident was glad to see the local boy make good (and also glad to hear my wife compare my physique to his, just great).

- I was not as surprised by Lucas Glover's ability to persevere as I was by Mike Weir's inability to do the same. Weir has been as strong as any player in these tight-and-challenged scenarios, and much more often than not he is the one that sets the pace. I wish I could have watched his entire round from beginning to end, for I am betting it came down to four or five bad strokes that set him back. When Glover completed the win everyone started with the "another nobody that will fade with the one surge" talk, and I wondered if they would point to a guy like Weir in such a conversation. It wouldn't be fair, as the guy has 12 cuts made in 14 career majors and he's been in the mix for top finishes in more than a few. If you had him on the roster this week you left feeling satisfied, finishing T10, and while he doesn't have a ton of trophies, he has more than his fair share of shots at them.

- Hunter Mahan is making a trend of going strong at the US Open, and he almost always follows with another strong outing at the Travelers.

- Anthony Kim's last six starts on the Tour: T4 at Quail Hollow, missed cut at THE PLAYERS, T71 at the Texas Open, missed cut at the Byron Nelson, T54 at the Crowne Plaza and T16 at the US Open.

- Sean O'Hair was one bad Sunday (76) away from earning the full focus of this piece. Our love affair continues to blossom; I know, it's sickening.

- Ross Fisher is officially becoming our choice for the "European Star that Needs to Dedicate More Time to the PGA" award this season. He may or may not come cheap in your fantasy leagues, touting just seven starts on the Tour this season, but more often than not he is playing well. He went deep into the WGC Match Play Championship, he was another 76 (this time on Friday) away from a much better spot than T30 at The Masters, he followed with T29 at Quail Hollow (75 on Sunday), and this week finishes in a tie for fifth. He's an outstanding talent that could challenge at majors with consistency. Keep that in mind when we travel back over the pond to his home course.

~ Hot Hand ~

Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson has been hot of late and should compete at the Travelers.

The kid has had his fair share of struggles in the past, but this season appears to be his launching ground as his consistency continues to impress. Watson is generally known for hitting the long ball. Now he's becoming known as one of the rising talents on the Tour to watch out for.

He started strong, putting a missed cut at the Sony Open in the rearview to finish T25 at the Bob Hope, T25 at the FBR Open (an outstanding field on a very difficult TPC Scottsdale course), T7 at the Buick, T17 at the Northern Trust, and then the wheels fell off. The T72 at the WGC CA Championship is understandable, but consecutive missed cuts at the Transitions Championship and the Arnold Palmer led to T42 at The Masters and another missed cut at the Zurich Classic.

Since then, lights out: T2 at Quail Hollow, T37 at THE PLAYERS, T23 at Memorial, and T18 at the US Open. He's on his game folks. Jump onboard while you can.

~ Cold Feet ~

Padraig Harrington
Short and sweet... this guy won consecutive majors to close the '08 season. Very, very few ever win a major. Even fewer win multiple. It's an exclusive club to win two in a row.

Since finishing T11 at the Arnold Palmer in March, Harrington has filed the following: T26 at the Houston Open, T35 at The Masters, missed cut at Quail Hollow, T49 at THE PLAYERS, missed cut at the Memorial, missed cut at the St. Jude, and (yes) missed cut at the US Open.

That says it all.

Official World Golf Rankings

RANK / PLAYER / PTS AVG
1 Tiger Woods 10.51
2 Phil Mickelson 8.59
3 Paul Casey 6.96
4 Sergio Garcia 6.40
5 Henrik Stenson 6.13
6 Geoff Ogilvy 6.03
7 Kenny Perry 5.54
8 Steve Stricker 5.43
9 Vijay Singh 5.11
10 Jim Furyk 5.95
11 Padraig Harrington 4.75
12 Camilo Villegas 4.67
13 Sean O'Hair 4.45
14 Robert Karlsson 4.35
15 Anthony Kim 3.96
16 Rory McIlroy 3.81
17 Ian Poulter 3.81
18 Lucas Glover 3.71
19 Ernie Els 3.65
20 Lee Westwood 3.62
21 Zach Johnson 3.60
22 Ross Fisher 3.57
23 Mike Weir 3.52
24 Luke Donald 3.35
25 Retief Goosen 3.32

PGA Money Leaders

PLACE / PLAYER / MONEY
1 Phil Mickelson $3,810,561
2 Tiger Woods $3,480,163
3 Geoff Ogilvy $3,346,454
4 Zach Johnson $3,305,441
5 Steve Stricker $3,193,458
6 Sean O'Hair $3,123,964
7 Kenny Perry $2,812,241
8 Brian Gay $2,740,535
9 Lucas Glover $2,646,053
10 Nick Watney $2,587,386
11 Paul Casey $2,560,610
12 Rory Sabbatini $2,419,619
13 Jim Furyk $2,195,007
14 Dustin Johnson $2,116,595
15 David Toms $2,025,115
16 Ian Poulter $1,965,116
17 Retief Goosen $1,910,768
18 Kevin Na $1,890,219
19 Angel Cabrera $1,713,196
20 Tim Clark $1,707,776
21 Mike Weir $1,675,329
22 Brian Davis $1,609,951
23 Charley Hoffman $1,545,078
24 Jerry Kelly $1,528,557
25 John Rollins $1,450,465

FedEx Cup Point Standings

PLAYER / FEDEX POINT
Phil Mickelson 1,616
Zach Johnson 1,609
Tiger Woods 1,551
Steve Stricker 1,543
Geoff Ogilvy 1,533
Brian Gay 1,468
Sean O'Hair 1,434
Kenny Perry 1,374
Lucas Glover 1,356
Nick Watney 1,289
Paul Casey 1,139
Rory Sabbatini 1,115
Dustin Johnson 1,038
David Toms 1,027
Jim Furyk 1,001
Retief Goosen 992
Charley Hoffman 889
Tim Clark 884
Kevin Na 870
Mike Weir 826
Steve Marino 806
Ian Poulter 801
Charles Howell III 795
Luke Donald 791
Pat Perez 791

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