The Players
Fantasy Fix
Continued (page 2 of 2)
Major championship challenge
The Players
Where: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)
Defending champion: K.J. Choi defeated David Toms on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Purse: $9,500,000
This Week's Fix Six
2. Luke Donald
3. Ben Crane
4. Aaron Baddeley
5. Hunter Mahan
6. Sergio Garcia
FORMER CHAMP TO PLAY
Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard has three top fives here, including a win in 2008. To this day, that remains the highlight of his career. Garcia may not think he can win a major, but we think he's still capable of winning golf's fifth major.
FORMER CHAMP TO AVOID
Phil Mickelson. You gotta love (or hate) that in golf you can give your Hall of Fame speech one night and then resume your career that still has a decade or so remaining a couple days later. This year it's Mickelson's turn. But while Lefty won here in 2007, it's his only top 10 the past eight years.
FREE FANTASY BASEBALL ADVICE
The Orioles are currently tied for first in the A.L. East and that has a lot to do with starting pitcher Jason Hammel. We only expect one of those fast starts to continue. The 29-year old was under the radar in Colorado, but his strikeout/inning ration and sub-1.00 WHIP are legit. Pick him up if the other owners in your league are asleep at the wheel.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GOLF BOYS THESE DAYS
Ben Crane. Hunter Mahan. Bubba Watson. Rickie Fowler. Put simply, the Golf Boys are on a roll. Could Crane be next? He finished T-45 last year, but no worse than T-6 in the previous three Players. Then there's Hunter Mahan, who is a solid pick any week these days. And what about honorary Golf Boy Aaron Baddeley, who has had front-row seats to seeing his buddies Bubba and Rickie win? Badds has been good in Ponte Vedra with top 10s in two of the last three years.
BREAKTHROUGH WINNER TO PLAY
Jason Dufner. A winner his last time out in New Orleans, Dufner also finished T-6 here last year. We were worried about how he would react after returning from getting married, but then we remembered he doesn't seem to react to anything.
BREAKTHROUGH WINNER TO AVOID
Rickie Fowler. The young star is finally on the board with a tour win, but he's missed the cut here in his only two appearances.
ROOKIE PICK OF THE WEEK
Bud Cauley. The former collegiate star at Alabama grew up in Jacksonville and estimates he's played the course more than 100 times. Yeah, but how many times has he eaten at my favorite Chili's?
-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.
