The Loop
Fantasy Fix: Why we're NOT picking Jordan Spieth (gasp!) at Hilton Head
Despite the universe all but telling me to pick Jordan Spieth at the Masters, I ignored it. What a stupid I am. And while the "Young Master" is back in action this week at the RBC Heritage, I'm staying away again. No one is hotter than Spieth, but no golfer is going to be as drained as he will be when he steps to the tee at Harbour Town on Thursday after a wild few days of toting the green jacket around NYC. Frankly, it's just impressive that Spieth kept his commitment to the event after winning the year's first major. If he keeps his streak of four consecutive top-two finishes up this week, it might be even more impressive than his record-tying performance at Augusta National. In any event, here's a look at who we're playing in our Yahoo! weekly lineup instead:
Starters -- (A-List): Jim Furyk. We boldly predicted he'd end his winless drought in San Antonio. . . and he let us down. But here's another week where we could see the streak coming to an end. In the last 10 years, Furyk has a win, two runner-ups, a solo fourth and two other top 10s at Harbour Town.
(B-List): Zach Johnson. It's surprising ZJ hasn't had more success at this Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus track that's much more about precision than power. Johnson was a runner-up in 2012, but only has one other top 10 in his 10 trips to Hilton Head. We'll ride him based on his pair of recent T-9s at the Masters and Bay Hill.
(B-List): Matt Kuchar. The PGA Tour ATM machine is on as cold of a two-week stretch as we can remember, with a 70th-place finish in Houston and a T-46 at the Masters. We always say Kuchar never has two bad weeks in a row so certainly, he can't have three, right?
(C-List): Charley Hoffman. It wasn't a great Sunday at Augusta National for Hoffman, but he still picked up his best finish ever at a major with a T-9. That came on the heels of back-to-back T-11 performances in Texas, which just added to a terrific season that also includes a win and a runner-up. No reason to not like his chances this week at an event where he has two top 10s in the past three years.
Bench/Backups: Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Graeme McDowell, Brendon de Jonge.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Matt Kuchar. At the start of the year, we figured we'd save Kuchar for a bigger event, but after not using him at the Masters, it's tough to envision taking him at a major. Plus, he won this event last year (remember that clutch bunker shot?) and there have already been three players defend titles this season. Let's make it a foursome, Matt! And Jordan, please go easy on the rest of the guys this week.
Previously used: Keegan Bradley (Bay Hill), Paul Casey (Honda), Jason Day (Famers -- WINNER!), Luke Donald (Valspar), Jamie Donaldson (Doral), Jim Furyk (Valero), Bill Haas (Riviera), Charles Howell III (Sony), Dustin Johnson (Pebble), Geoff Ogilvy (Hyundai), Louis Oosthuizen (Houston), Ryan Palmer (Humana), Brendan Steele (Phoenix).