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Fantasy Fix: Is Patrick Reed the man to beat in Palm Springs?

January 20, 2016

The faces of the new champions seem animated by Mars himself Greatness nestles in their breasts: as they march everything trembles.

That's from the second verse of the Argentine national anthem -- and it seems appropriate given Fabian Gomez's triumph at the Sony Open, which gave Gomez two wins in his last 15 starts. Throw in Emiliano Grillo's victory at the Frys.com Open last October and that's three wins by Argentine players (not named Angel Cabrera) in the past six months. Perhaps, the rest of the PGA Tour should start to tremble in Argentina's presence, although neither Gomez or Grillo is in this week's field. Who do we see marching to victory instead? Here's who we're taking on our PGA Tour Fantasy Golf for the CareerBuilders Challenge:

Patrick Reed: They don't call him "Mr. 63" for nothing. OK, so that nickname hasn't exactly caught on, but Reed did shoot a PGA Tour record three consecutive 63s at this event just two years ago. Throw in six straight worldwide top 10s, and he's a logical choice this week, despite the tournament using two new courses -- PGA West's TPC Stadium Course and Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course -- in its rota.

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Bill Haas: Reed may have the tournament scoring record, but Haas has made the most career money in this event with his two wins, including last year, and a runner-up. The Presidents Cup hero didn't play particularly well at Kapalua (T-18), but we like that he's returning to one of his favorite venues with a tournament under his belt.

Ryan Palmer: After a solid T-13 at Waialae, Palmer returns to an event where he's finished in the top six in three of his last five starts. He'll be sad to see PGA West's Jack Nicklaus Private Course -- where he shot a second-round 61 last year -- out of the tournament's rotation, but there still should be plenty of birdie opportunities for Palmer in Palm Springs.

Si Woo Kim: Yes, we love his name, but there's a lot more to this pick than that. The 20-year-old who just happened to be one of our nine sleepers to watch this season (Woo!) is coming off a solo fourth at the Sony and has four top-25 finishes in six starts thus far. Kim also has good vibes at PGA West, having earned his PGA Tour card for the first time here when he was just 17.

__ Bench:__ Matt Kuchar and Pat Perez.

And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:

Yahoo! lineup: Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, Bill Haas, Ryan Palmer (starters); Jason Bohn, Zac Blair, Robert Streb, Matt Kuchar (bench).

Knockout/One-and-done pick: Ryan Palmer.

Previously used: Tony Finau (Frys.com), Kevin Kisner (RSM - winner!), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Graeme McDowell (Hyundai), Patrick Reed (HSBC), Patrick Rodgers (Shriners), Brendan Steele (OHL), Justin Thomas (Sony).