LATE WITHDRAWALS: Brian Gay, Spike McRoy, Steve Elkington (as of Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. ET)
If you didn't look at the field for this week's Texas Open, you will want to make sure there are no sharp objects nearby before you do take a gander at it.
It's that brutal, yes.
How brutal, exactly? Well, in my Disgruntled Masses head-to-head league, only three members of my 12-man squad are entered. That means I have to grab fellow fat golfer Kevin Stadler and my boy Tadd Fujikawa off the wire and reluctantly dump Jerry Kelly and Webb Simpson.
So, with just one player in the world's top 25 (Anthony Kim) and just 17 of the top 100, I'm not exactly fired up to write this column, even coming off a win at the Players.
As our senior golf writer Steve Elling put it this morning via e-mail, this tournament and its generous sponsor, Valero, deserve better.
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| Anthony Kim is one of only a handful of headliners this week in San Antonio. (Getty Images) | |
The event, which was always held in the fall, was relegated to a second-tier Fall Series event once the FedEx Cup race started in 2007, but is now back as a regular event. Problem is, it's stuck between the Players Championship and the stellar Byron Nelson and Colonial tournaments that always attract quality fields.
It sucks, but you know what? The less-than-desirable slots on the schedule have to be filled by some tournament or other, and the Texas Open just happens to be one of them. Maybe things will change at some point, but for now, it's stuck here in no-man's land.
Still, Fantasy Golf Challenge must go on, even if you'll surely cringe at the thought of spending $267,500 on Charlie Wi, who would have cost you just $88,750 last week at TPC Sawgrass.
This week's host track, the Resort Course at La Cantera Golf Club, is a very short par-70 at just 6,896 yards. And that's with a 665-yard par-5 first hole! It features Bermudagrass everywhere, and overlooks a Six Flags amusement park on some holes.
Interestingly, this is the last year that the event will be held at La Cantera, which has hosted since 1995. Next year, the event will move to the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. So use your history while you can!
Looking back at the last 10 winners of this event, it's clear that ball strikers will be your friend this week. The last eight winners have finished in the top 10 in greens in regulation, while eight of the last 10 winners have finished in the top 10 in fairways hit.
Conversely, only once has a winner finished in the top 10 in driving distance. Putting will be pretty key, however, as a lot of people will be hitting greens.
Finally, look for guys who are useful on par-4s, as the last seven winners have finished 8 under or better on those holes.
$200,000 and up
Zach Johnson ($296,750) -- I'm ignoring the most expensive guy this week, Kim, because he's still playing too inconsistently for me to waste $300k on, but you can't ignore the next two guys on the list. The first of those, Johnson, is the defending champion here, and his game fits this course to a tee. He's 27th in greens in regulation, putts well enough to compete on the greens and is 19th in par-4 performance this season.
Justin Leonard ($293,500) -- I know, some of you don't like spending almost $600k on two guys, but you just can't look past Leonard, who has won three times on this course. While his results have been less than stellar recently, Leonard is putting the ball great (18th) and is sixth in par-4 performance. He also knows this course better than probably anyone, and a fourth top-10 of the season shouldn't be out of the question.
Chad Campbell ($287,000) -- A Texan like Leonard, Campbell has always played pretty well at this event with three top-20s and no MCs in five trips. He hasn't played particularly well since his devastating playoff flub at the Masters, but I think he'll pick up his play this week now he's back in his home state.
$100,000-$199,999
Greg Owen ($176,500) -- I'm not sure what's up with Owen's usually reliable putter this year, but he's 10th in greens and finished T26 in his only trip to La Cantera a couple of years ago. He's missed four of his last six cuts, which scares me quite a bit, but I'm banking his T19 in New Orleans is a sign his game isn't in as horrible shape as his recent record might suggest.
Alex Cejka ($131,000) -- The German stands out among the mostly garbage in this price range after his monumental early-round collapse last week at the Players. He has been playing well for a while though, with four top-15s in his last seven events. He doesn't hit a ton of greens, but his driver is accurate and his putter isn't too shabby either.
Lee Janzen ($121,250) -- Janzen didn't play too well in his last time out, with a T71 in New Orleans, but he's had his moments at La Cantera with three top-10s back in the '90s and does have three top-20s in his last five events. He'll need to hit a few more greens than he has been if he wants to contend, but I have faith he can pull it off this week.
$75,000-$99,000
Kevin Stadler ($88,750) -- I couldn't exactly pick Stadler for my own Fantasy team and not mention him here, right? Stadler had three nice rounds here last year before closing with an ugly 75, and isn't playing horrible golf in 2009 with three top-25s in six starts. None of his stats really jump out at me, but Stadler has the skills to compete when his game is on and looks like a decent deal at this price.
Garrett Willis ($75,000) -- Willis hasn't made a cut in three PGA Tour events this season, but he has two top-threes on the Nationwide Tour and finished T2 here back in 2002. He's eighth in the all around ranking on the Nationwide and is first in final-round scoring. Sounds like a missed cut to me!
Tadd Fujikawa ($75,000) -- Come on, you know you're going to be rooting for the pint-sized Hawaiian this week anyway, so why not just give yourself another reason to cheer? He's 3-for-3 in cuts made this year on tour and won the Mid-Pacific Open for a second straight year last month.
My Fantasy Golf Challenge lineup
Johnson, Leonard, Owen, Cejka, Fujikawa
Do you have a Fantasy Golf question or a comment for Ross? Send him your feedback by clicking here and be sure to include your name and hometown!
