The Loop
Fantasy Fix: Can anyone stop Jimmy Walker at Riviera?
By Alex Myers
We told you we were hot. After our good Graham DeLaet pick in Phoenix and an even better Super Bowl prediction, we rode Jimmy Walker to a weekly victory in our 45-person fantasy league. Thanks, Jimmy! The suddenly dominant player is teeing it up again this week as the PGA Tour heads to Riviera for the Northern Trust Open. Obviously, we're leaving him in the lineup, but who else are we playing? Here's a look:
Starters -- (A-List): Matt Kuchar. This is a tough one. Kuchar has never finished better than T-14 at Riviera in eight tries, but it's Matt Kuchar! The guy finishes in the top 10 every week.
(B-List): Dustin Johnson. DJ is coming off a T-2 at Pebble Beach, where he also helped future father-in-law Wayne Gretzky make the pro-am cut. That will earn him a LOT of brownie points with his new family in the coming years.
(B-List): Hunter Mahan. Another holdover from last week's lineup, Mahan finished sixth one week after a T-4 in Phoenix. He doesn't have a great track record here, but he finished T-8 last year. With his recent play, we'll give him a slight edge over Bill Haas.
(C-List): Jimmy Walker. You gotta keep riding the gravy train, right?
Bench/Backups: Charles Howell III, Bill Haas, Graham DeLaet, Pat Perez.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Dustin Johnson. We hate to use such a big name so early in the season, but Vegas has Johnson as the heavy favorite (12-to-1 odds) and for good reason. He has a weird history at Riviera with two missed cuts in his last five appearances, but those other three trips to L.A. produced a T-3, T-4 and T-10. Oh yeah, he's already made more than $2 million in just three starts this season. Even Jimmy Walker is impressed.
Previously used: Tim Clark (Sony), Graham DeLaet (Phoenix), Bill Haas (Farmers) Charles Howell III (Humana), Martin Laird (Kapalua), Jimmy Walker (Pebble -- winner!).