Wanamaker Yours?

Contrary to popular belief, Stevie Williams cannot win the Wanamaker Trophy this weekend. Yes, Adam Scott his player could, and if he does will his caddie be over shadowing the biggest win of his career? Maybe, but that’s up to the media to decide. Some say he’s the most famous caddie out there, but I’d counter that argument saying Danny Noonan is much more of a household name than Williams. It’s been an interesting week for Stevie and Adam regardless. Fortunately all of golf slowly turns thier attention to the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. I’ve been trying to focus on the tournament more than the catty fight. One main reason for caring about this week more than others is I’m back to playing fantasy golf. Yes, thanks to Barstool sports, and the Sportschump, I’ve been playing the daily fantasy sports league that is, Draftstreet. This is their inaugural week for PGA fantasy golf on their site. I must say I’m excited about this, maybe a little too much, because I’ve been out of the fantasy golf game for a couple of years. Anyways, here’s a few thoughts I had on some of the players in the mix this weekend and why I will or won’t be picking them.

The Irish major winners. Rory McIlroy looked pretty good last week. I’ve been somewhat puzzled by how few tournaments he’s been playing in, and feel like it’s a bad thing he hasn’t consistently been in competition. For some reason I’m not buying him winning his second major or really coming all that close at a course that isn’t favorable to the over the pond playing style. Darren Clarke is probably still drinking out of the Claret Jug, which makes me weary of picking him as well. That being said, some of my personal best rounds came under the influence!

The old farts. David Toms won this tournament the last time it was at the Atlanta Athletic Club, so why not again? Sure the course was about 270 yards shorter and the holes have changed A LOT, but he did set a course record for fewest strokes in a major that still stands today (265). Maybe that magic will all come back to him this weekend. Phil Mickelson might be in the hunt, but we all know he’ll take too many risks on a course where it’s necessary to stay in the fairway. Then there’s the 47 year old Davis Love III. His season hasn’t been exactly exciting so far, but he seems to step it up in the majors. DL3 finished 12th at the Players, 11th at the US Open, and 9th in the Brittish Open. He’s still got the tools to get it done, and get you some nice fantasy points for relatively cheap. Lee Westwood is the young gun of the old farts group at 38. From what I’ve read it sounds like he’s in a good state of mind. We all know he has the tools to win this major, but will that ever happen? The Magic 8 ball told me no, so I’m rolling with that scientific strategy.

The young guns. Dustin Johnson is no doubt my favorite current golfer at the moment. Aside from his run at the Brittish Open he hasn’t had nearly as good a year as he had last year in the majors, but that doesn’t mean he can’t come crazy this week and pull out a victory or come close. Jason Day is my favorite to win this event. He’s performed the best at majors out of any player on the tour (finishing 2nd at the US Open and Masters). An added bonus to him being in contention is getting to see his wife as the TV cameras can’t seem to help themselves, not that I’m complaining. Rickie Fowler is one of the American favorites, wearing 80’s neon colors everytime out. He’s done well in his last two tourney’s, so maybe he can parlay that success into another strong performance.

The Stevie Williams pair. Tiger Woods pretty much has to be mentioned in any golf post. I don’t see him doing much in this tourney. A moral victory for him and his fans would have him on the leaderboard Sunday, but I don’t expect that to happen in this tourney. Adam Scott is playing out of his mind since Stevie took over his bag. Maybe he knows people aren’t even paying attention to him so he’s in a no pressure situation. He’s already taken Tigers old swing coach, his caddie, now he needs to find a way to take the swagger that Tiger brings to the course.

The Asains. Ryo Ishikawa hasn’t even figured out what he can and can’t do at the age of 19. We all see his potential, and finishing 2nd at the US Open only showed us a tip of the proverbial iceberg of his talent. There’s one main reason to root for him though, and it’s because he’s giving all his earnings this year to the Japan relief. KJ Choi is often overlooked, but he’s always grinding away.  Ever since winning the Players Championship he hasn’t fared too well. I’m not picking him because he has struggled lately. Y.E. Yang is more known as the first guy to beat Tiger heads up on a Sunday, but he’s quietly put together a solid season. None of his stats stand out this year, but he’s not out of the top 30 in most tournaments.

My final lineup is; 

Dustin Johnson

Jason Day

Rickie Fowler

Adam Scott

Y.E. Yang

Steve Stricker