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Brandt Snedeker won in a playoff after shooting a final round of 64. Mark Wilson tied for 21st and continues to hold the 1 spot in this year’s FedEx Cup Rankings.
3 Up
Brandt Snedeker: Brandt Snedeker beat out Luke Donald after a 3-hole playoff for his second PGA tour victory. Snedeker has been up and down this entire season, but his game seems to be coming around. Along with a 4th place finish at the Valero Texas Open two weeks ago, this victory shows that Snedeker is one of the better players in the game and has a chance to win every week.
Luke Donald: Even though Luke Donald lost in the playoff to Snedeker, he showed that he is playing the best golf in the world right now. He now has five top 10’s in his last five starts. A win on Sunday would have given Donald the #1 ranking in the world. With the way that he is playing right now, I expect Luke to get that ranking this Sunday.
Spencer Levin: One of the hottest players on tour this year has been Spencer Levin. After his first twelve tournaments, he had eight top 20’s and three top 10’s. He had gained a lot of respect around the league and was expected to win his first tournament very soon. But after missing the cut in the two previous tournaments, people questioned his early success. His tie for 14th this week should show that he is here to stay and the early expectations were accurate.
3 Down
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Jim Furyk: Last year’s FedEx Cup champion has had a rocky start to the 2011 season. Furyk had a stretch of five weeks where he didn’t crack the top 20, but in the last few weeks he has shown signs of his form from last season. He was expected to be a contender this week and possibly get his first victory of the season, but dropped to a tie for 21st after a final round of 76.
Ernie Els: It’s been a struggle this year for Ernie Els. He hasn’t cracked the top 10 once this year and his best finish is a tie for 15th. People had high hopes for Ernie after he tied for 17th in two of his first three tournaments, but his last four tries have been discouraging. He’s cracked the top 50 once in the last four weeks. Rounds of 75 and 78 this week led to his first missed cut of the year; Ernie seems to be heading in the wrong direction.
Camilo Villegas: Once known around the league as one of the better young golfers of the game, Camilo Villegas can’t seem to get it together this season. Many players struggle after going through a swing change (just ask Tiger Woods), but this is getting ridiculous. Villegas hasn’t finished in the top 30 in any of his 10 events. After opening rounds of 66-68 last week, Villegas found himself at the top of the leader board. But a weekend finish of 74-73 led to a tie for 36th and another week outside of the top 30.
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Last Year
Jason Bohn shot a final round 67 to edge out Jeff Overton by two strokes. Not all of the big names are playing this year, but this is the season of the first-time winners. Will there be another one this week?
Fantasy Breakdown
Players to Think About
Nick Watney: Although Watney had a disappointing showing at the Masters (solo 46th), he has been a dominant force all year. Five top 10’s in his first five events of the year really says it all. He is second on tour in scoring average and should bounce back this week. Oh…and his first PGA tour victory was at the Zurich Classic in 2007.
Rory Sabbatini: I can’t express enough how I really don’t like Rory Sabbatini. However, Rory is a player that needs to be considered this week. He finished in 2nd place at this tournament two years ago and has already won on tour this year. Sabbatini’s downfall this season has been driving accuracy, where he ranks 131st on tour. If Rory can keep his tee shots in the fairway, he should be a contender this week.
Jeff Overton: Jeff Overton has had a disappointing start to his season with only one top 10 finish in nine events, but this could be the week he breaks out. He took second at this event last year and tied for 13th in 2009. Overton can’t seem to find the greens this year, 134th in greens in regulation on tour, but he has shown great talent over the last couple of seasons. I expect Overton to play well this week, starting a string of good showings.
Players to Stay Away From
Brian Gay: One of the tour’s most consistent players is Brian Gay. He has only missed one cut this year and has six top 25’s in ten events this season, but the Zurich Classic doesn’t seem to be Brian’s favorite tournament. Gay hasn’t played in this event for the last two seasons, but in the four seasons before that he missed the cut three times and his best finish was a tie for 74th. Brian Gay is almost always a solid pick, but not this week.
Vijay Singh: Vijay won this event in 2004, but he hasn’t played here in the last five years and he has been struggling as of late. After taking 2nd place at the Northern Trust Open in February, Vijay has one top 50 in five events. It’s a shame, but Vijay Singh may be nearing the end of his career on the PGA Tour. He will have some good tournaments this year, but I have a feeling they will be few and far between. Let somebody else take the risk on Vijay Singh.
Brandt Snedeker: Even though Brandt has been playing great golf and won last week, he finds himself on my list of players to stay away from. He is playing great golf, but his track record here is less than spectacular. He is 0-for-2 at making the cut in this event. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make his first cut here this week, but I would be surprised to see him in contention. Snedeker is a streaky golfer. Keep an eye on him for future tournaments, but stay away this week.
My Picks
Luke Donald: Luke Donald is playing the best golf in the world right now. He has five straight top 10’s including a 2nd place finish last week. He leads the tour in scoring average and is 3rd in the World Golf Rankings. He has never played in the Zurich Classic, but I still expect him to be in the mix on Sunday. I wouldn’t be surprised if Luke Donald is the #1 ranked player in the world on Monday.
Steve Stricker: PGA Tour’s Mr. Consistency this year has been Steve Stricker again. After six stroke play events this season, Stricker has six top 30’s, five top 20’s, and three top 10’s. You can’t get much more consistent than that. This week should be more of the same for Stricker. He has three top 25’s in his last four tournaments at this venue. Anything outside of the top 15 would be a disappointment this week.
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David Toms: David Toms has been playing great golf this year. He has already recorded three top 5’s, ranks third in driving accuracy, and fourth in greens in regulation percentage. He has also played well at this event the last two seasons including a tie for 28th and a tie for 5th. I would be surprised to see David Toms outside of the top 15 this week.
Booth’s Golf Tip of the Week - Better Drives
stats from www.pgatour.com
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