Honda Classic
Fantasy Fix
We discuss Martin Kaymer's neckwear, the revitalization of some of the game's older players and "Bear Trap" hoopla at the Honda Classic
At 48, Vijay Singh looks like he's not done winning on the PGA Tour just yet.
The Honda Classic
Where: Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Courses: PGA National Champion Course
Defending champion: Camilo Villegas won by five shots over Anthony Kim for his third career PGA Tour title.
Purse: $5,700,000
This Week's Fix Six
2. Luke Donald
3. Matt Kuchar
4. Y.E. Yang
5. Vijay Singh
6. Charlie Wi
Welcome to another edition of Fantasy Fix, where we never linger once the exit music gets cued up. Last week we came close to delivering a couple trophies with our Luke Donald (to the finals) and Spencer Levin predictions. Who will take home this week's hardware? Here are our thoughts.
ON TAP
The PGA Tour begins its Florida swing with the Honda Classic. Expect to hear plenty of "Bear Trap" references with the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA National Champion Course as well seeing a surprisingly strong field with seven of the top 13 players in the world rankings.
Random tournament fact: Again, this is a Jack Nicklaus course and holes No. 15-17 are known as the "Bear Trap." This cannot be overstated enough. Seriously, though, another fact is that Tiger Woods has a career-worst scoring average of 75 in this event and he has never made the cut. True story. OK, so he played once and he was only 18.
THE DEFENDER
Camilo Villegas. Spiderman hasn't been hanging around the top of many leader boards since, but perhaps this is the week he gets into contention again. Last year he picked up his third PGA Tour title here by a convincing five shots. What made it more impressive were the four players trailing him: Anthony Kim, Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Vijay Singh. Villegas also finished T-2 hear in 2007 and as a former Florida Gator, he's pretty accustomed to swampy conditions.
STUD OF THE WEEK
Lee Westwood. Having been bounced from the top spot in the world rankings, No. 2 will probably have a little added motivation this week. His T-9 here in his only trip to PGA National last year is enough to think that he could be back on top of the world at the end of this week. If he can avoid "The Bear Trap," of course.
A WORD ON FASHION IF WE MAY
We are huge fans of Martin Kaymer here at Fantasy Fix, but not of the new neckwear he was sporting in the desert over the weekend. We half expected to see him pull the cloth up over his face and pull a six-shooter out of his holster. Also, could the "Boss" be any bigger on his shirts? It came close to rivaling the obnoxiousness of Ralph Lauren's almost life-size horse logo. Then again, at least he wasn't a walking billboard for Taco Bell like J.B. Holmes...
SPEAKING OF J.B. HOLMES
Has a player ever both capitalized on a situation, but then blown it quite like Holmes at the Match Play? He was a late alternate when Tim Clark withdrew (again) and even got to take Clark's No. 11 seed, unlike Henrik Stenson, who earlier got in, but had to be a 16. Holmes then made it all the way to the final eight before blowing a 5 up (5 up!) lead on Bubba Watson and losing in extra holes. Overall, though, the Kentuckian is playing well and would have been a decent play this week if he hadn't withdrawn.
FAN MAIL BREAK
"Hey, Alex. Please don't ever pick me again to win the Match Play. Sincerely, Paul Casey."
Sorry for the jinx, Paul, but I had to pick somebody. OK, so Casey didn't really email me, but he would have if he wasn't so shy. Seriously, though, please feel free to e-mail
DON'T BE SURPRISED TO SEE THIS GUY MAKE A RUN
Charlie Wi. What else can we say, but we like Wi. The native of South Korea has four top-25 finishes here in five tries, including a solo eighth last year and a T-9 in 2009.
THIS WEEK'S CONTENDING GEEZER
Vijay Singh. First, it was Freddie at Riviera, then it was John Cook at the Mayakoba. We're cheating a little with the Big Fijian since he hasn't hit the big Five-O yet, but he did just celebrate his 48th birthday last week. Singh has finished in the top three in two of his last three and he finished T-4 here last year, despite a disappointing final-round 72 (Bold prediction: He will win again on the PGA Tour). He's also a former winner of this event as well, though the victory came down the road at TPC Heron Bay. Wait, Nick Price is in the field? Maybe there is hope for another Champions Tour contender...
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