- FedExCup Points: 50,000
- Purse: $7.0 million
- Winning Share: $1,260,000
- Yards: 7,415
PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Dear Steve Alexander (Dr. A),
We've exchanged a fair number of messages this year, although not nearly as many as in past fantasy golf seasons.
The Fantasy Insider chalks that up to his being oversubscribed with work since late spring, spending extra time on the road and staring at this laptop screen far too often.
Please accept his apologies for not writing more frequently.
In fact, Wednesday he's making it to the beach for the first time this summer, so you know it's not been an ideal run.
TFI feels your pain re the progress (or lack thereof) by the Dr. A's Ho Train team in the rotisserie Expert League during this League Championship season. He may not have expressed it often enough via e-mail but he's sorry your guys got cuffed around early and dropped toward the bottom of the standings.
In the way that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees measure themselves against each other, this season has lacked some of its oomph for precisely that reason.
It's been tough for the H-Train to get back into the mix against this group of team owners, which is kind of ironic considering the role you played in formulating the original Expert League. We all take our turn in the barrel, buddy, and right now it's yours.
TFI was studying your team stats last night (first in fairways hit!) and noticed that with a few breaks, you could move up another or two by the end of the season.
A run of birdies in the playoffs, a few strong weeks in 300-yard drives, greens and sand saves and you could climb into the middle of the pack.
Not what you hoped for back in January, when we all piled into that online chat room during the draft and gave each other plenty of stick. But it could be worse.
Then again, you're not likely to have a chance to realize those breaks. And in large part that's TFI's doing.
It was only a few weeks after the draft when TFI realized the importance of front-loading the roster with players who would be in the top 70 in FedExCup points going into the last two tournaments of the season.
He kept raising that theory in the column, noting the continual need to churn the lineup in an upward direction by snapping up high-ranked free agents in the FedExCup standings.
Every week TFI scoured the free agent list for promising players who hit a sour patch and were dumped by their owners or players who were rising almost imperceptibly and could be grabbed right out from everyone's noses.
Which is how we got to this point: TFI goes into this week's Deutsche Bank Championship with eight players in the top 30 in FedExCup points.
You have one.
TFI will have plenty of choices two weeks from now when THE TOUR Championship convenes in Atlanta. The top of his roster looks like this:
K.J. Choi (fifth in points), Steve Stricker (12th), Woody Austin (14th), Mark Calcavecchia (20th), Padraig Harrington (21st), Geoff Ogilvy (24th), David Toms (25th), Heath Slocum (29th), Bubba Watson (33rd), Ken Duke (34th), Billy Mayfair (40th), Jeff Quinney (41st).
After Jim Furyk (third), your next guys are Jerry Kelly (32nd), Charley Hoffman (46th) and Kevin Sutherland (47th).
You're not alone though, buddy. Mike Vitti and T.J. Auclair also have one guy apiece in the top 30 and are about to hit the proverbial wall. Their playing options will diminish just as quickly, meaning they're close to the time when they won't even have the chance to field a full lineup.
Now, TFI would love to dish a few of his guys your way to help you make that late run in the standings. Christian Peterson is solidly in first place in the league and has five guys in the top 30 (Brandt Snedeker, Sergio Garcia, Boo Weekley, Justin Rose, Luke Donald) so he probably can squeak through to the title without a challenge from TFI.
Of course, the rules against owner collusion and the draft deadline passing about four weeks ago also mean TFI can't off-load some of his guys in your direction.
So, instead, he can only offer two thoughts.
First, congratulations on your showing in Salary Cap Cup this season. TFI may have your number in the Expert League but you've been flirting with the top 50 in the SCC season-long standings. That's some serious picking on your part and TFI is supremely jealous. And flat-out amazed.
Second, print out this column and tuck it away in your 2008 Expert League file as a reminder for the ever-improving roster theory. You've probably got a lot of company among League Championship team owners who, now that they realize the value of the playoffs, will suddenly realize they have zero chance of fielding a full lineup in Atlanta, and maybe even next week in the BMW Championship in Chicago.
In fact, trading up might become the format's rallying cry next season.
Good luck in Salary Cap Cup the next three weeks. A winner a week and you'll be looking pretty sweet.
Your pal,
TFI
Three players TFI might pick up/trade for to get onto his roster this week:
-- Tiger Woods. If nothing else, TFI won't lose ground against most of the other experts taking this consensus picks. Besides, he does like Boston, doesn't he?
-- Stephen Ames. The adopted Canadian probably deserved a captain's selection to the Presidents Cup team so he has something to prove in the playoffs. Five top-30s in his last six starts and coming off an idle week, so he'll be fresh as the playoffs continue.
-- Hunter Mahan. Since winning the Travelers Championship he hasn't placed below a tie for 22nd. That's a serious run toward the top of the points list.
Three players TFI might waive/drop/trade away to get off his roster this week:
-- Vijay Singh. Is there a doctor in the house?
Rotisserie results for Expert League at The Barclays: 68.5 points (first) by 12 points over Christian Peterson of fanball.com). First in putting, scoring, birdies and FedExCup points, tied for first in sand saves. Overall: 60.5 points (second, 9.0 points behind Peterson).
If you think that's good, consider the fact that TFI benched both K.J. Choi and Mark Calcavecchia. That's right, girls and boys, he had four players in the top six in the tournament and benched two of them! Does that remind anyone of his performance in the Open Championship at Carnoustie?
Rotisserie lineup for Expert League at Deutsche Bank Championship: Mark Calcavecchia, K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy, Heath Slocum.
Active but not in lineup: Woody Austin, Ken Duke, Padraig Harrington, Billy Mayfair, Jeff Quinney, Steve Stricker, David Toms, Bubba Watson.
Match-play results for Public League 3359 at The Barclays: TFI 10, koach 8. Overall: 17-12-2 (first in West Division by two games over Da4 Skinz). All he can say is, good thing TFI had that FedExCup points tiebreaker in his hip pocket.
Match-play lineup for Public League 3359 at Deutsche Bank Championship: Ernie Els, Mark Calcavecchia, Zach Johnson, Vijay Singh, Stephen Marino, Dean Wilson, Nick O'Hern, Jonathan Byrd, Joe Ogilvie, Pat Perez, Nick Watney. Not in field: Bernhard Langer.
Salary Cap Cup results for The Barclays: The main lineup of Ernie Els (2,067 FedExCup points, tied fourth), Justin Rose (900 points, tied 14th), Carl Pettersson (97 points, tied 72nd), Hunter Mahan (725 points, tied 17th) and Tim Petrovic (540 points, tied 21st) earned 4,329 points and placed 2,943rd. For the season it totaled 101,117 points and ranked 2,996th overall.
The "Hey, buddy" backup lineup of Padraig Harrington (241 points, tied 35th), Steve Stricker (9,000 points, won!), Anders Hansen (0 points, missed cut), Jonathan Byrd (0 points, missed cut) and Sean O'Hair (350 points, tied 25th) earned 10,091 points and placed 520th. For the season it totaled 82,540 points and ranked 7,826th overall.
Week 34 winner: WLDBLS 19,900 points.
Segment 4 leader: WLD BLS 19,900 points.
Overall: The Big Stick 155,336 points.
Salary Cap Cup lineup for Deutsche Bank Championship: Main lineup, Tiger Woods $300,000, K.J. Choi $277,250, Hunter Mahan $176,500, Carl Pettersson $170,000, Tim Petrovic $75,000. Total: $998,750. "Hey, buddy" backup lineup: Steve Stricker $287,000, Padraig Harrington $280,500, Ian Poulter $218,750, Sean O'Hair $124,500, Rich Beem $75,000. Total: $985,750. Tiebreakers: 267, 1.
Have a question or comment for TFI? Send it to him at brettavery@aol.com. Please be sure to include your name, where you're from, the name of your team and, if it relates to League Championship, the name of your league and whether you're competing in the rotisserie or match-play format.
