Fantasy Golf: Hot Topics

September 8, 2009 9:05am CDT

Hot Topic of the Week

Observations from Stage 2 ~ FedEx Cup Playoffs

- One would think a season that included the first major championship of his career would be tabbed as a success for Stewart Cink, but his fall in the Deutsche Bank Championship. The win at the British Open was one of just four top-10 finishes Cink posted this season, matching the number of missed cuts he found along the way before suffering his fifth this week. As of now his projected FedEx value puts him just inside the cut line for THE TOUR Championship. If he fails to find the weekend at the BMW Championship, he'll be on the outside looking in... a shame considering the final stage is in his hometown.

- For the second week in a row Sergio Garcia improved his FedEx status in significant fashion, moving up 16 spots in the standings following the 26th-place finish at the TPC Boston. As of today he is outside of the top 30 set to make the trip to THE TOUR Championship, but he's within striking distance.

- Kevin Sutherland, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas, and Charlie Wi all enjoyed double-digit jumps in the FedEx Cup standings with their work at the Deutsche Bank Championship, all three finishing in a tie for 15th place.

- The best golfer in the playoff mix you are missing may be Jason Day. He was our Hot Hand recipient in this column last week and added a T19 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Surprisingly he still sits just outside of the current top 30 but his recent play certainly suggests he can get the finish needed to qualify for the finale.

- We've been raving about Dustin Johnson over recent weeks and wanted to note the supreme effort he put forth at the TPC Boston. He led the field in driving distance, averaging a whopping 316.9 yards per drive on the week, and also put up the best numbers on the green, ranked first in the field with 25.25 putts per round. We remain optimistic moving forward... hard not too considering his success. However, consider his lack of accuracy off the tee (186th on Tour) and a potential fall at Cog Hill, where fairways are as lean as deli-shaved ham, is not so hard to envision.

- Do not sleep on Jerry Kelly. We were put off the scent with a missed cut at the PGA Championship followed by a T52 at The Barclays. However, he surged again at the Deutsche Bank with a T11 finish, his fifth top-25 finish over his last seven starts. We are going to tell you why that streak will continue in Stage 3 in the Owner's Edge offering tomorrow... but needless to say the venue that lies ahead may be one of his favorites on the Tour.

- Marc Leishman scored the best round of the week at the Deutsche Bank, shooting 62 on Saturday, but Tiger and eventual champion Steve Stricker nearly matched him, each with a round of 63. Stricker found his low score on Day 1 while Tiger found his on Day 4 when he needed it most (go figure).

- We mentioned Jerry Kelly as the old man of note, but Scott Verplank is giving him a run for his money. The 45-year-old duffer now has two top-10 finishes in these playoffs with five top-10 finishes over his last eight starts. We expect he can keep it going on the tight links of Cog Hill after finishing T2 in driving accuracy and 1st in greens in regulation at the TPC Boston, rising 32 points in the FedEx standings (now listed at No. 5). Those are skills that translate to any course in the land.

- 124: the number of strokes under par Stricker is for the 2009 season thus far. In 20 starts on the Tour this season he has failed to finish among the top 25 just four times. Ten have been top-10 finishes with six coming in the top three. Through the first two stages of the FedEx Cup playoffs he is 25 strokes under par with a second-place finish at The Barclays and last week's win at the Deutsche Bank Championship. If Tiger wasn't Tiger, this would be over.

- And there is our one reason for excitement... Stricker moves into first place with 5,604 total points while Tiger moves down one spot to second, touting 4,695 points. Both players are nearly 3,000 points ahead of Heath Slocum at No. 3 but are within 100 points of each other. For once, we may have the Tiger battle we have all yearned to watch for so long.

Hot Hand

Bill Haas
The younger Haas was so far down the road on the '09 season that most of us quit checking on him. Through 23 PGA starts before the FedEx Cup playoffs he had suffered 12 missed cuts with an additional four finishes outside of the top 30. The T9 at the Sony Open, T25 at the Bob Hope, T11 at the Buick Invitational, T22 at Quail Hollow, and T3 at the Texas Open were all he had offered to fantasy owners this season and those were so few and far between that few were ready give him any sign of hope in the FedEx system.

However, Haas found inspiration at Warwick Hills, home of the Buick Open, with a T18 finish and has carried that momentum forward. He prepared for the FedEx playoffs with a T10 at the Wyndham Championship (shooting 62-69-66-70 on the week), and now he's improving through the playoff. He started with a T24 at The Barclays and improved last week with a T15 at the Deutsche Bank Championship, a week that included rounds of 66 on Saturday and Monday's Labor Day finale. He pushed into the Tour's top 100 in putting (96th) and is on the verge of the top 50 in greens in regulation (56th).

This week at the BMW Championship he may find his struggles off the tee - touting a rank of 113th in driving accuracy - but his ability to rise and find a positive note in a season that was in the dumpster has been inspirational.

Cold Feet

Rod Pampling
The veteran from the world's best island is normally known for his ability to persevere in this format. He grinds with the best and, more often than not, finishes near the top of the final board with 'em. However, over recent weeks Pampling has found life on the links to be rather difficult.

Over his past 10 PGA starts Pampling has filed five missed cuts with just three stops in the top 30. The T8 at the Legends Reno-Tahoe fails to register as a hit worthy of praise while the missed cuts at all three majors during that stretch as well as the T44 at the Wyndham, the T41 at The Barclays, and last week's missed cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship are what stand as the resounding sentiment of the journey.

You don't have to look too deep into the swing stats to see the trouble: 110th on the Tour in driving accuracy, 75th in greens in regulation, 121st in putting. All three were major troubles in these FedEx Cup playoffs and now he doesn't have the right to improve them until that's over (in other words, he's been eliminated).

We suggest you steer clear once he's back on the track as well.

Updated FedEx Cup Point Standings

PLAYER / FEDEX POINT
Steve Stricker 5,605
Tiger Woods 4,696
Heath Slocum 2,855
Zach Johnson 2,481
Scott Verplank 2,266
Kenny Perry 2,195
Padraig Harrington 2,158
Geoff Ogilvy 2,053
Jason Dufner 2,037
Dustin Johnson 2,025
Nick Watney 1,983
Phil Mickelson 1,922
Brian Gay 1,916
Lucas Glover 1,894
Y.E. Yang 1,889
Sean O'Hair 1,874
Retief Goosen 1,864
Jim Furyk 1,858
David Toms 1,724
Ernie Els 1,683
Hunter Mahan 1,682
Angel Cabrera 1,568
Kevin Na 1,563
Jerry Kelly 1,466
Stewart Cink 1,435

Official World Golf Rankings

RANK / PLAYER / PTS AVG
1 Tiger Woods 14.53
2 Steve Stricker 7.99
3 Phil Mickelson 7.61
4 Paul Casey 6.58
5 Kenny Perry 6.06
6 Henrik Stenson 6.00
7 Sergio Garcia 5.68
8 Geoff Ogilvy 5.59
9 Padraig Harrington 5.55
10 Lee Westwood 5.14
11 Stewart Cink 5.09
12 Jim Furyk 4.99
13 Martin Kaymer 4.91
14 Vijay Singh 4.62
15 Lucas Glover 4.47
16 Camilo Villegas 4.28
17 Anthony Kim 4.18
18 Retief Goosen 4.17
19 Sean O'Hair 4.17
20 Robert Karlsson 4.07
21 Ian Poulter 4.07
22 Ernie Els 4.02
23 Zach Johnson 4.01
24 Rory McIlroy 3.84
25 Hunter Mahan 3.75

PGA Money Leaders

PLACE / PLAYER / MONEY
1 Tiger Woods $8,348,163
2 Steve Stricker $6,045,086
3 Zach Johnson $4,127,213
4 Kenny Perry $4,092,987
5 Phil Mickelson $3,939,161
6 Geoff Ogilvy $3,693,245
7 Lucas Glover $3,474,480
8 Sean O'Hair $3,438,993
9 Y.E. Yang $3,323,766
10 Retief Goosen $3,032,775
11 Brian Gay $3,013,170
12 Nick Watney $3,003,827
13 Jim Furyk $2,854,215
14 Dustin Johnson $2,771,657
15 David Toms $2,770,178
16 Hunter Mahan $2,707,199
17 Stewart Cink $2,612,155
18 Paul Casey $2,582,181
19 Rory Sabbatini $2,499,041
20 Angel Cabrera $2,428,897
21 Kevin Na $2,379,825
22 Ian Poulter $2,340,501
23 Jerry Kelly $2,331,817
24 John Rollins $2,198,658
25 Padraig Harrington $2,037,752