The Fantasy Insider: THE PLAYERS Championship

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At 45, Vijay Singh is still seeking his first win at THE PLAYERS Championship. (Getty Images)

If you're a true golf fan, this one has been circled on your calendar for months. A gem of a course, a loaded field; they don't call it the "fifth major" for nothing. I'm also a big fan of the May date, an excellent move that makes perfect sense. Let's get to work.

PGATOUR.com Pick 'em

You need one player in each of the six groups, one wild card selection, and a few dry tee shots on No. 17 wouldn't hurt.

Group 1 Pick: Vijay Singh
Other Options: Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim

Does Singh get a push from being a Ponte Vedra Beach native, or does he want to win this event too much? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, noting that he's hit the ball sharply for two months. He was in the hunt for three straight years before fading at last year's PLAYERS; I expect him to be relevant for four rounds again this week.

I came very close to picking Cink, who was third last year and obviously is in the midst of a tremendous season. Smell greens that require precise ball striking? That's right in his wheelhouse. If Cink can get off to a strong push on Sunday -- final-round scoring has been his only weakness this year -- he can hoist the hardware.

Mickelson's a good play anytime and the normal defending-champ curse probably doesn't apply to someone of his ability. Ogilvy is another player you don't discount easily, though his resume here is ordinary (37, cut, cut, 16, 21, cut). Kim didn't play the weekend in his only Sawgrass stop, but he's obviously teeming with talent as we saw last week.

Group 2 Pick: Adam Scott
Other Options: K.J. Choi, Steve Stricker, Boo Weekley, Justin Leonard

Don't get cute with this selection, stick with the chalk. Scott's record at Sawgrass is fantastic (a win and three Top-10s in his last four visits), and obviously he's in fine form right now, with a win at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and an eighth at the Wachovia Championship . Next question.

Choi has two decent showings here over the last two seasons (23, 16), but no one else in this pool can point to recent success. Leonard hasn't seen the weekend since 2004, though he did take the TPC in 1998 and he hasn't missed a cut this season. Rock-solid Stricker? He's missed six cuts over his last ten trips, and hasn't done better than 19th. Weekley's lone start here was a 44th-place check last season.

Group 3 Pick: Jim Furyk
Other Options: Bart Bryant, Sean O'Hair, Ryuji Imada, J.B. Holmes

The harder the setup, the more I like Furyk, a true ball-striker who never stops grinding. He's made 11 cuts in 12 starts at the TPC, including a third in 2006 and a fourth in 2003, and like Singh he's a resident who knows the course inside and out. I'll be shocked if he's not in the Top 25, and I think we'll see a lot of him on the weekend.

I toyed with an O'Hair selection -- he's rebounded nicely from his collapse at this event last year -- but it's hard to pick him over Furyk, especially with two missed cuts into the tournament.

Holmes has been solid in two TPC starts (16, 38), but this isn't a track where his length will be rewarded. Bryant's game should translate to what the course demands, but the form doesn't show it (cut, 56, cut, cut, cut). I'm also a little surprised Imada hasn't done anything here (68, cut), but I'm never surprised when he plays well.

Group 4 Pick: Robert Allenby
Other Options: Trevor Immelman, D.J. Trahan, Daniel Chopra, Andres Romero

My "Allenby Rules" go into affect here -- basically if I don't see a reason not to pick Robert Allenby, I scribble him down on my card. Surprisingly, he's the only player in this pool to cash a check inside the Top 40 from this group, albeit Allenby also left Sawgrass early in two of his last three stops. His precise irons (second in GIR) will serve him well on this stage.

Immelman hasn't earned a cent here in three starts, a stunner, and Trahan hasn't made the weekend over two starts. Chopra's got two checks in three visits but nothing hefty, while Romero is making his TPC debut.

Luke Donald tees off on the par-4 sixth during his practice round on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Group 5 Pick: Luke Donald
Other Options: Rory Sabbatini, Aaron Baddeley, Steve Lowery, Johnson Wagner

It's been a funny season for Donald -- he's been inside the Top 20 at five events, but he's also missed three cuts, and he's hitting greens at a mediocre 61 percent clip. I'll still roll with Cool Hand Luke over this track, noting that he ran second here in 2005 and was 16th last year.

Sabbatini gets a lot of love from this column, but this isn't his favorite layout (44, cut, cut, 42, cut, cut, cut cut). Baddeley's magical putter gets offset somewhat by the small greens, and he's never been better than 37th here. Lowery deserves some sleeper consideration off his steady 2008 play, not to mention three straight checks at Sawgrass (28, 56, 12). Wagner is making his TPC debut.

Group 6 Pick: Brandt Snedeker
Other Options: Ernie Els, Stuart Appleby, Jeff Quinney, Chad Campbell

Snedeker finished 12th here last season, but he gets the pick mostly because of his consistent play of late (seven straight cuts made, three six-figure checks). His modest length off the tee won't be an issue here, and I trust his iron play and scrambling ability.

I can't blame you if you side with Quinney, who finished sixth at the TPC in 2007 and is playing solidly of late. Similar to Snedeker, he's helped by the relatively short layout.

Els has 12 checks in 13 starts here, but where is his game lately? I'd love to see Big Easy in the hunt on the weekend, but this is a tricky place to visit if you're not playing confidently. Appleby ran 16th here in 2007, but that came on the heels of three missed cuts. Campbell finished sixth back in 2003, but he hasn't done much at Sawgrass since.

Rest of the Field: Sergio Garcia keeps improving over this track (capped by last year's second-place finish), and he's talking like a player who expects to contend. That means something . . . Steve Elkington took this event twice in the 1990s, and he's been solid in recent stops (12, 6, 26). He's also in the midst of a nice comeback season, so sign me up . . . Justin Rose is never an easy player to look past, but this hasn't been his favorite stop (cut, cut, 58, 39) . . . Stephen Ames has a hit-or-miss resume here, but the hits have been sweet ones -- he won in 2006, and had three heavy checks earlier in the decade (13, 17, 2) . . . Retief Goosen is hitting the ball well again (four straight checks, three of them in the Top 17), and he's had recent success at Sawgrass (28, 2, 12) . . . Fred Couples and Davis Love both have a pair of wins here, but they're going in different directions for 2008; Freddie's in the midst of a nifty comeback season, while Davis is 152nd in FedExCup points. If you want to get sentimental with a long-shot play, Couples gets the nod . . . Matthew Goggin is another solid player flying under the radar. He finished 12th here last season, he's cashed four straight checks in the Top 20, and his stat profile doesn't reveal a weakness. See if you can find a way to get him into your fantasy plans.