Strausberg on the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
By Mark Strausberg
We started with Yahoo last week, we'll start with ESPN this week. Because I'm the kind of guy that change course at any time. I'm good like that....
Anyway, all ESPN prices reset starting with this tournament. I'm not digging it--I had Anythony Kim at almost a million and half lower than his current salary. But that's how the cookie crumbles (mmm, cookies!) Anyway, I have no choice and neither do you. So, here's who I'm going with this week:
Furyk-The Colonial is not a course for the bombers but those that have high GIR, aka, guys like Jim Furyk. He was the runner up last year and I'm hoping the trend of runner-ups winning the following year continues.
Justin Leonard-Gotta go with at least one Texas guy. Leonard is the choice.
Nathan Green-He's not playing poorly and two top 5 finishes the last two years at the Colonial. That's too strong a history to ignore.
Nick O'Hearn-I got a budget of 10.1 left after the first three. So, I'm grabbing O'Hearn at an even 10. He's playing pretty well-a T-20th at the AT&T and finished 12th the last two years at the Colonial. For that price, I'll take it. And FYI, I originally put Nicholas Thompson in. I only mention it because if you like the "Guys that Strausberg Almost Chose but Didn't Theory" (a strategy that often works quite well), he's not a bad pick.
Kim is on my bench because I couldn't afford him, but you should not use him anyway. Please, don't choose him. He's not that good. (because dammit, I want to win that grand prize!)
Yahoo:
As: Furyk and Mickelson. See above for Furyk and Mickelson has won the Colonial before and is one of the highest ranked players in the field this week.
Bs: Leonard and Green-See Above. Campbell is on my bench, but I'm choosing him because of the Texas connection and the fact that he has the course record (along with five others) And you never know, he just might show up. I know he's not much of a dark horse, but he's my dark horse selection. And I'm also going with Bryant because he's been playing well lately (two Top 3 finishes in his last five starts) and what do you know, he's from Texas also.
Cs: Perry He's playing well and has won twice here, including being the holder of the tournament record. That's enough for me. And Frazar, because sooner or later, he is going to play well in a Texas tournament. Why not this one.
CBS: (And remember, I pick much more aggressive in CBS)
Choi-3 Top 25s in his last three Colonials. And I like to spread my picks around.
Kim-Because he was amazing at the Heritage and would not be surprised to see him win another tournament.
Ames-Plays well at the Colonial in even years (3rd-2004 and 4th-2006).
Pavin-A two time winner here.
Colt Knost-There's aggressive, very agressive, and then there's picking Colt Knost this week. Would not be surprised to see him in DFL this week (the D stands for dead and the L stands for last, you can figure out what the F is for). But I just have this feeling about him this week and of course I have this unexplained need to go deep in my selection. But hear me out--he played at SMU, so he's got the Texas connection. And his record backs him up, playing his best golf in Texas tournaments. He's 11th in Driving Accuracy on the PGA tour as well. And in the Cowboy state, i feel like riding a Colt....
PGA:
Lefty-See above
Furyk-Wait, I can have both? Cool. See above.
Sabbatini-Have't picked him yet and I do like to have the returning champion selected somewhere
Ames-See above
Hart-Back to Back Top 10s earlier this year and has been in the Top 10 twice here.
Crane-I'm still bitter about him withdrawing at the last minute last week, but I'll ride him one more time.
Verplank-I had to take a Texan again, didn't I?
Mark Strausberg has been playing fantasy sports since back when Jose Canseco was a first round fantasy pick and not a 'best-selling author'. Mark's work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and of course the talentedmrroto.com. He wishes he could play golf as well as his analyzes it, but he has also been known to suffer from "paralysis by analysis". Mark would also like to thank the Hooker for this opportunity, but he's worried that his wife might find out and not understand. If you want to let him know what an idiot he is, drop him a line at mstrausberg@hotmail.com
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Strausberg on the AT&T Classic
By Mark Strausberg
YAHOO:
"Pick any two Bond movies you want from his collection."
"Really? Cool!"
"Yeah, but I hope you like Timothy Dalton".
A Pool
That's what picking the As are like this week in Yahoo. I can live with no Tiger or Phil or Scott or Singh. But no Verplank, no Choi, no Furyk, no Snedeker, nor my favorite Boo Weekley. Heck, you can't even choose the fun to say Vance Veazey. So I went with the obvious pick of ZJ (Zack Johnson). Originally when I picked my lineup earlier in the week, I was kind of excited to finally pick Kevin Na because I like his game, but he's not usually worth using as my A and this was a golden opportunity. So of course, he withdraws. I ended up choosing the rook, Jason Day, whom I rode earlier in the other games to much disappointment. But just in case he decides to play well, I'll have him on my team. But you're probably better off going with the other rookie, Nick Flanagan. But if you want someone who has actually won a tournament, go with Chucky Three Sticks, but he's dead to me....
B Pool
You want to start him on your bench? Fine. But if you don't include Cink on your team this week, you're an idiot. He DQ'd himself and missed one cut this year. Outside of those two tournaments, Cink's worst performance was 26th. He's #3 on the money list. Has 6 top 10 finishes this year already. (That Woods guy can't even say that!). And oh yeah, he played in college at Georgia Tech and has a home at Sugarloaf. Do you really need anymore reasons?
Bubba Watson-One of my favorite players and I haven't used him yet this year in this format. Sugarloaf rewards those that can bomb and those that can putt. If Bubba gets his putter going (like he did in the US Open last year), don't be surprised to see him in one of the last groups on Sunday.
Imada-Another who played his college ball in Georgia. Maybe its the 2nd place finish last year, but just a hunch he gets back on track here.
Goosen-I know he hasn't played that well lately, but he won that thing called the US Open not too long ago and he won this event back in 2002 and had a T-4 place finish in 2006. I'm going to roll the dice with him.
C Pool
Crane-I like to play guys that own the course record. Crane does. And he won here back in 2003. And he had a T-6 in the deep field of the Players Championship.
Slocum-His record is not the best here, despite living in Alpharetta. But he's playing better lately, so I'll hope he keeps it up. But I'll be honest, I might make a last minute switch and go Shane Bertsch. He has 5 Top 25s this year and he finished T-7 back here in 2006.
ESPN
Watson-He's a carryover.
Imada-See above
Cink-See above
Baird-That's 7 Top 25 performances already this year and Top 10 finishes here both of the last two years. Given that it leaves me with just .1 million left that'll work!
CBS-Here's what I like to do in CBS--roll the dice on two minimums and use the remaining $850K on three guys. So the first one is Parker McLachlin. Made his last three cuts and finished tied for 16th place last year. Good enough for me.
Since the youngest Strausberg entered the world last week, I feel like going with someone young and new on the scene.-D. Johnson it is. Plus, that gives me enough money to choose Cink, Johnson, and Watson.
PGA-I should tell you that because this game has weekly prizes, I often go a little more aggressive here often choosing other players I like for the week that I haven't chosen yet.
Group 1-Nicholas Thompson. I like Imada and Cink more, but NTom (okay, maybe it doesn't work, but that's what I'm calling him) has six top 25 finishes this year and played at Georgia Tech. Just because I'm going aggressive, doesn't mean I can't be smart about it also.
Group 2-No one jumps out at me. Elkington has been playing well recently and he has a 16th place finish last year. Goydos will probably be the popular choice, but his track record for back to back success is non-existent.
Group 3-Crane. Almost went Baird. Not EVERY pick has to be aggressive.
Group 4-Goosen is probably the smart pick. But I'm an idiot-just ask my wife. So I'm going with Matteson who also lives in Alpharetta and played at Ga Tech.
Group 5-Byrd. Slocum and Flesch are tempting, but Bryd has finished in the top 10 twice here both of the last two years.
Group 6-ZJ. See above.
Tiebreaker-Villegas. The only player in the tiebreaker list that I like that I haven't chosen somewhere else.
Mark Strausberg has been playing fantasy sports since back when Jose Canseco was a first round fantasy pick and not a 'best-selling author'. Mark's work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and of course the talentedmrroto.com. He wishes he could play golf as well as his analyzes it, but he has also been known to suffer from "paralysis by analysis". Mark would also like to thank the Hooker for this opportunity, but he's worried that his wife might find out and not understand. If you want to let him know what an idiot he is, drop him a line at mstrausberg@hotmail.com
By Mark Strausberg
YAHOO:
"Pick any two Bond movies you want from his collection."
"Really? Cool!"
"Yeah, but I hope you like Timothy Dalton".
A Pool
That's what picking the As are like this week in Yahoo. I can live with no Tiger or Phil or Scott or Singh. But no Verplank, no Choi, no Furyk, no Snedeker, nor my favorite Boo Weekley. Heck, you can't even choose the fun to say Vance Veazey. So I went with the obvious pick of ZJ (Zack Johnson). Originally when I picked my lineup earlier in the week, I was kind of excited to finally pick Kevin Na because I like his game, but he's not usually worth using as my A and this was a golden opportunity. So of course, he withdraws. I ended up choosing the rook, Jason Day, whom I rode earlier in the other games to much disappointment. But just in case he decides to play well, I'll have him on my team. But you're probably better off going with the other rookie, Nick Flanagan. But if you want someone who has actually won a tournament, go with Chucky Three Sticks, but he's dead to me....
B Pool
You want to start him on your bench? Fine. But if you don't include Cink on your team this week, you're an idiot. He DQ'd himself and missed one cut this year. Outside of those two tournaments, Cink's worst performance was 26th. He's #3 on the money list. Has 6 top 10 finishes this year already. (That Woods guy can't even say that!). And oh yeah, he played in college at Georgia Tech and has a home at Sugarloaf. Do you really need anymore reasons?
Bubba Watson-One of my favorite players and I haven't used him yet this year in this format. Sugarloaf rewards those that can bomb and those that can putt. If Bubba gets his putter going (like he did in the US Open last year), don't be surprised to see him in one of the last groups on Sunday.
Imada-Another who played his college ball in Georgia. Maybe its the 2nd place finish last year, but just a hunch he gets back on track here.
Goosen-I know he hasn't played that well lately, but he won that thing called the US Open not too long ago and he won this event back in 2002 and had a T-4 place finish in 2006. I'm going to roll the dice with him.
C Pool
Crane-I like to play guys that own the course record. Crane does. And he won here back in 2003. And he had a T-6 in the deep field of the Players Championship.
Slocum-His record is not the best here, despite living in Alpharetta. But he's playing better lately, so I'll hope he keeps it up. But I'll be honest, I might make a last minute switch and go Shane Bertsch. He has 5 Top 25s this year and he finished T-7 back here in 2006.
ESPN
Watson-He's a carryover.
Imada-See above
Cink-See above
Baird-That's 7 Top 25 performances already this year and Top 10 finishes here both of the last two years. Given that it leaves me with just .1 million left that'll work!
CBS-Here's what I like to do in CBS--roll the dice on two minimums and use the remaining $850K on three guys. So the first one is Parker McLachlin. Made his last three cuts and finished tied for 16th place last year. Good enough for me.
Since the youngest Strausberg entered the world last week, I feel like going with someone young and new on the scene.-D. Johnson it is. Plus, that gives me enough money to choose Cink, Johnson, and Watson.
PGA-I should tell you that because this game has weekly prizes, I often go a little more aggressive here often choosing other players I like for the week that I haven't chosen yet.
Group 1-Nicholas Thompson. I like Imada and Cink more, but NTom (okay, maybe it doesn't work, but that's what I'm calling him) has six top 25 finishes this year and played at Georgia Tech. Just because I'm going aggressive, doesn't mean I can't be smart about it also.
Group 2-No one jumps out at me. Elkington has been playing well recently and he has a 16th place finish last year. Goydos will probably be the popular choice, but his track record for back to back success is non-existent.
Group 3-Crane. Almost went Baird. Not EVERY pick has to be aggressive.
Group 4-Goosen is probably the smart pick. But I'm an idiot-just ask my wife. So I'm going with Matteson who also lives in Alpharetta and played at Ga Tech.
Group 5-Byrd. Slocum and Flesch are tempting, but Bryd has finished in the top 10 twice here both of the last two years.
Group 6-ZJ. See above.
Tiebreaker-Villegas. The only player in the tiebreaker list that I like that I haven't chosen somewhere else.
Mark Strausberg has been playing fantasy sports since back when Jose Canseco was a first round fantasy pick and not a 'best-selling author'. Mark's work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and of course the talentedmrroto.com. He wishes he could play golf as well as his analyzes it, but he has also been known to suffer from "paralysis by analysis". Mark would also like to thank the Hooker for this opportunity, but he's worried that his wife might find out and not understand. If you want to let him know what an idiot he is, drop him a line at mstrausberg@hotmail.com
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