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The Loop

Who wins a Rory McIlroy-Rickie Fowler tangle in the Bear Trap?

February 24, 2016

The West Coast Swing was fun, but now the PGA Tour heads to Florida and a PGA National course that's not always fun -- at least, for the players. Watching the guys play the Bear Trap, though? That can be fun. And how about watching 11 of the top 20 in the world tee it up at the Honda Classic? Bear fight!

Anyway, here's who I've got surviving, and who I'm taking on my PGA Tour Fantasy Golf team this week:

Rory McIlroy: What the heck happened on Sunday at Riviera?! Our pre-tournament pick grabbed a share of the lead with an eagle on the first hole and then shot the worst final round in a non-major of his career to finish T-20. Was he tired out by all those pushups he did in his hotel room? Anyway, he won here in 2012 and lost in a playoff in 2014 so he's definitely worthy of his favorite status.

Rickie Fowler: Arguably the hottest player in the world (there would be no arguments if he had closed the deal at TPC Scottsdale), Fowler doesn't have a great record at PGA National. The high winds in the forecast are too his advantage, though, and we like that he got ready for the tournament by playing against Michael Jordan. Not even the Bear Trap will seem intimidating after battling the most ferocious competitor ever. If we're picking between Rory and Rickie, we're going with Rickie, who is currently No. 3 in PGA Tour Fantasy Golf average.

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Russell Knox: Just to prove we're not just going down the list of the top players entered in the field this week, we're leaning on this Scot. Knox became a breakout star during the wrap-around portion of the season with a win in Shanghai and a T-2 at Mayakoba, but has since cooled off. Still, he's got a 68.38 scoring average at PGA National and has finished T-2 and T-3 in his only two trips to Palm Beach Gardens.

Adam Scott: Forget about his track record at PGA National (decent) or anything else and focus on this:

That clutch chip-in at Riviera showed a lot of guts -- and a sharp short game. Hey, the less he has to putt, the better.

__ Bench:__ Brooks Koepka and Kevin Kisner.

And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:

Yahoo! lineup: Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Russell Knox, Branden Grace (starters); Adam Scott, Kevin Kisner, Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell (bench).

Knockout/One-and-done pick: Russell Knox.

Previously used: Tony Finau (Frys.com), Sergio Garcia (Riviera), Bill Haas (Farmers), Kevin Kisner (RSM - winner!), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Graeme McDowell (Hyundai), Kevin Na (Phoenix), Ryan Palmer (CareerBuilders), Patrick Reed (HSBC), Patrick Rodgers (Shriners), Brandt Snedeker (Pebble), Brendan Steele (OHL), Justin Thomas (Sony).