Print this page  |  Close Window

By Brett Avery
The Fantasy Insider

Four times a year, the stock markets have triple-witching hours, the last 60 minutes of trading on specific Fridays when stock index futures, stock index options and stock options all expire.

Triple-witching hours are known for their volatility as program traders jump on every chance to spiff up the bottom line a few weeks before a quarter ends. The financial media, which typically runs at the low-boil pace of the golf media during the afternoon wave of a tournament¹s first round, whips itself into frenzied anticipation.

The Fantasy Insider believes Sean O'Hair could be a good pick up this week. (Fontaine/WireImage)

Fantasy golf has its own versions of triple-witching hours, although they don't occur as regularly as the stock market¹s every-13-weeks cycle. Look closely, though, and you¹ll recognize the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for its triple-witching possibilities.

Start with the fact that this is Week 14 of League Championship's 31-week regular season. With the halfway point looming like the end of a financial quarter, it's still not too late to pull a few key roster moves.

[Have you ignored each of The Fantasy Insider's previous suggestions to give the roster a thorough once-over? If no, press 1. If yes, press 2 and send yourself to bed tonight without dessert.]

But there's a deeper reason for combing through the lineup, especially the lower ends. That's because New Orleans is the first PGA TOUR event of the season with a 156-player field.

The unveiling of the first 156-player field, nearly a month after the arrival of spring and the return of the swallows to Capistrano, is one of the last signs of winter's banishment to the history bin.

Up to this point the TOUR has operated with a 144-player maximum on a single course, a concession to limited daylight and the periodic need for a long winter's nap.

But adding another dozen players to the mix in open field events means more starts for the guys at the bottom of your roster. And with the next five tournaments boasting 156 fields, it becomes a triple-witching hour for the low half of your roster.

Now, when you look at the list under the "Players" tab in your league page, and click on "free agents only" and "show all," some mighty tempting prospects will appear on the screen. In TFI's match-play league, for example, there¹re two dozen players in the Official World Ranking top 100.

But remember that you're swapping out players who likely won't land a spot in the World Golf Championships events, the major championships or limited-field events. So picking up a top 50 or top 75 player, while tempting, probably won't help in, say, the week before or after a major.

Also, if you're competing in the rotisserie format, take a look at where you are weakest in the standings before making any roster moves. TFI's biggest bruises are driving accuracy and sand saves, so he spent extra time sorting candidates by those columns.

PS: The oops-of-the-week award goes to Mikeyz1, first to notice TFI tried to give Adam Scott a victory in this week¹s Mercedes-Benz Championship (he was second). Good eyes!

Three players TFI might pick up/trade for to get onto his roster this week:

Sean O'Hair
TFI had him on the short list for appearing here last week for the Verizon Heritage but ran out of slots after touting Davis Love III (tied 36th), Jim Furyk (missed cut) and Stephen Ames (tied 21st). That's excellent planning because O'Hair popped for solo seventh after a pair of 14th. This guy tied for 14th in New Orleans two years ago, the first time the event was at TPC Louisiana (it shifted to English Turn GC last year to compensate for Katrina damage).

Lucas Glover
Top-10s here the last two years. Took his bumps last week in the Verizon Heritage, his second missed cut in three starts (Shell Houston Open).

TFI's confident he can bounce back this week.

Chris DiMarco
He seemed to enjoy the TPC Louisiana course during its debut as Zurich Classic of New Orleans host in 2005 (tied third on an opening 65) and suffered last year when the event returned to English Turn G&CC (due to the TPC¹s Hurricane Katrina damage). This guy's coming off his first consecutive missed cuts (Masters, Verizon Heritage) since last August.

He broke that streak with a tie for 12th in the PGA Championship. The time before that? Second in the British Open.

One player TFI might waive/drop/trade away to get off his roster this week:

Mark Brooks
His record may seem compelling (seven career titles) but he hasn't won since the 1996 PGA Championship, hasn't placed higher than 166th on the money list the last four years and missed three of four cuts this season. Ninth in greens in regulation but the rest of the game hardly keeps pace.

Rotisserie results for Expert League at Verizon Heritage:
23.0 points (dead last). Tied third in 300+ drives. Everything else sucked. Two guys missed the cut, two guys played like they were more concerned with Don Imus' immediate welfare. TFI's assessment of last week's starters? Which doesn¹t belong and why, indeed!

Rotisserie lineup for Expert League at Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Ken Duke, Ryan Palmer, Steve Stricker, David Toms.

Active but not in lineup:
Anders Hansen, Kevin Sutherland, Bubba Watson. Not in field: Paul Casey, K.J. Choi, Tim Clark, Padraig Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy. Roster move: Added Ken Duke, dropped Colin Montgomerie.

Match-play results for Public League 3359 at Verizon Heritage:
TFI 12.5, jcurtis1969 5.5. Overall: 8-4-1 (first in West Division). Hey, Zach Johnson went 4-0 last week for TFI. Guess it¹s a good idea to play him, huh?

Match-play lineup for Public League 3359 at Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
TFI (8-4-1) vs. Da4 Skinz (7-5-1). Mark Calcavecchia, Frank Lickliter III, Jose Coceres, Daniel Chopra. Active, but not starting: Anders Hansen, Troy Matteson. Not in field: Jonathan Byrd, Ernie Els, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Nick O¹Hern, Vijay Singh.

Salary Cap Cup results for Verizon Heritage:
The main lineup of Geoff Ogilvy (60 FedExCup points, tied 50th), Stewart Cink (60 points, tied 50th), Camilo Villegas (156 points, tied 29th), Jose Coceres (156 points, tied 29th) and Billy Mayfair (0 points, missed cut) earned 432 points and placed 19,803rd. Through Week 14 it totaled 1,769 points and ranked 29,417th.

The "Hey, buddy" backup lineup of Ernie Els (2,700 FedExCup points, second), Davis Love III (110 points, tied 36th), Scott Verplank (55 points, tied 59th), Bernhard Langer (0 points, missed cut) and Justin Leonard (375 points, tied 16th) earned 3,490 points and placed 2,736th. Through Week 14 it totaled 8,904 points and ranked 4,634th.

Week 14 winner: rustywedge 9,700.

Segment 2 leader: Gnargle Gnashers 21,890.

Salary Cap Cup lineup for Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Main lineup, Lucas Glover $287,000, Mark Calcavecchia $280,500, Jose Coceres $231,750, Kevin Na $121,250, Mark Hensby $75,000. Total: $995,500.

"Hey, buddy" backup lineup, Chris DiMarco $296,750, Fred Funk $267,500, Sean O¹Hair $270,750, Dudley Hart $79,000, Scott Gutschewski $75,000. Total: $989,000. Tiebreakers: 271, 1.

Have a question or comment for TFI? Send it to him at brettavery@aol.com.

Please be sure to include your name, where you¹re from, the name of your team and, if it relates to League Championship, the name of your league and whether you¹re competing in the rotisserie or match-play format.