The Players Championship

Fantasy Fix

We discuss island greens, surprise winners and Tiger Woods' latest setback

Not only did Tiger fail to play well again at TPC Sawgrass last year, but his week ended with an injury.

The Players Championship

Where: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Course: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)

Defending champion: Tim Clark defeated Robert Allenby for his first PGA Tour title.

Purse: $9,500,000

This Week's Fix Six

1. Matt Kuchar
2. Luke Donald
3. Sergio Garcia
4. Jim Furyk
5. Adam Scott
6. Vijay Singh

By Alex Myers

Follow: @AlexMyers3

Photos by Getty Images

May 10, 2011

Welcome to another edition of Fantasy Fix, where we don't fear beards, island greens, or even Rory Sabbatini. OK, so that last part might not be true. It's been a wild stretch on the PGA Tour, with three straight events having ended in playoffs. Let's get to our thoughts on what should be another exciting week.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course for the unofficial "fifth major," the Players Championship. Has a big-time event been as unpredictable in the last decade? Since Tiger Woods won in 2001, this tournament has been littered with surprise winners, most notably 48-year-old Fred Funk in 2005 and Craig Perks in 2003. We're pretty sure Perks hasn't broken par since...

Random tournament fact: There have been 18 different winners of this tournament in the last 18 years and since it moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, only three players (Fred Couples, Hal Sutton and Davis Love III) have won it twice. Translation: Don't get on me for not having picked Greg Chalmers when he's hoisting the crystal trophy Sunday evening.

THE DEFENDER

Tim Clark. Last year, the Fantasy Fix favorite fulfilled our prediction he would get his first PGA Tour win during the 2010 season right here. This year, he can't stay healthy long enough to tee it up anywhere. Clark says he'll give it a go this week, but while struggling with an injured elbow, he's only played two official rounds (A pair of 73s at the Masters that resulted in a missed cut) since a T-2 at the Sony Open.

MANDATORY TIGER TALK

Again, the prevailing question, "Is he back?", still applies. As much as we seemed to learn about his golf game at Augusta, a re-injured knee and Achilles tendon make evaluating Woods that much tougher. What we do know is that he has only one win and four top 10s in 13 appearances at TPC Sawgrass. In other words, this probably won't be the week he ends the longest winless streak of his career. Speaking of Woods, the 14-time major champion has fallen to No. 8 in the world rankings and is now behind four non-major champions, including Paul Casey. This would be like Michael Jordan in his prime being ranked behind former Knicks "legend" John Starks on a list of top NBA shooting guards.

STUDS OF THE WEEK

Luke Donald. The "real" Donald should have won here in 2005, but he collapsed on Sunday with a 76. Since then, he hasn't produced anything spectacular at the Stadium Course, but he arrives in Ponte Vedra Beach as arguably the hottest player in the world. It's hard to find a reason not to pick him.

Matt Kuchar. The most consistent player on the PGA Tour over the past two years has been equally as solid in this event, posting consecutive top-15 finishes in 2009 and 2010. Isn't it about time he added to his career total of three titles by picking up one we'll actually remember?

OBVIOUS REMINDER OF THE WEEK

Don't put top-ranked Lee Westwood or world No. 6 Rory McIlory in your lineups this week. Why? Because they're not there. Why? Apparently, to prove a point they don't need the PGA Tour. What have they proven? All we know is that the show will go on without them and that they won't be getting a cut of the $9.5 million purse.

FORMER CHAMPIONS TO RIDE WITH

Sergio Garcia. The Matador Jr. has three top fives at TPC Sawgrass, including the biggest win of his career in 2008. He will be playing with a heavy heart following the passing of his friend and idol, Seve Ballesteros. But something tells me he will play his way into contention and back into the hearts of fans with a stirring performance.

Adam Scott. Like Garcia, Scott's signature win came here in 2004 and he added a couple of top 10s in this event in the three years after his breakthrough victory before going through his well-documented slump. The Aussie now uses a long putter, but he still has the swing that once made him the third-ranked player in the world.

FORMER CHAMPION TO HIDE FROM

Henrik Stenson. OK, so maybe this should have fallen under the "obvious reminder" category as well. The Swede has been very quiet since dominating here in 2009 and he's been downright terrible in 2011. How bad has it been? He made more money for being on the winning team at the Tavistock Cup than he has in his seven official PGA Tour starts. Combined.

FAN MAIL BREAK

"Hey, Alex. Big fan. Since I'm probably going to be suspended, I'm going to have some free time on my hands. I was wondering if you wanted to set up a time to play? I don't care where it is, as long as it's a quick round. Let me know, Rory Sabbatini."

Rory, you are welcome at my home course anytime. Just know that since your career earnings are approaching $24 million, I'll probably ask that you pick up the guest fee. No, Sabbo didn't write, but that shouldn't stop you. Please feel free to e-mail me with comments, questions or just to make fun of my picks. And of course, you can follow me on Twitter.