The Fantasy Insider: The Masters Tournament

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Nick Watney's combination of power and touch make him an easy pick for your team for Augusta National.

There's absolutely no need for any preamble in this space; you know how unique and historic this event is. We've all had it circled on the calendar all season; time to head down Magnolia Lane and pick some winners.

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Last Week: We kicked off the spring season in style, grabbing bonus points from Fred Couples (T3) and Henrik Stenson (T3) en route to 180 points. Geoff Ogilvy (T6) was also a strong play over the first 54 holes. We're now sitting in the 95th percentile through 13 weeks; the poor start from January has been avenged.

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Here are the rules in a nutshell:

We're picking eight players every week from three separate pools: two players from the A-List, four players from the B-List, and two players from the C-List.

From round to round, you'll "start" four of those players (one of your A players, two from B, one from C), making daily changes as you see fit. If your guys play well that day or for the week, you score well.

The eight players you pick at the beginning of the week are the only ones you can use and switch up during a particular tournament; the next week, you'll re-evaluate and refresh your group of eight.

You're allowed to use any player up to 10 starts for the year, and anything from 1-4 rounds in a given event counts as a single "start." As always, choose carefully, and have a long-term plan in addition to your short-term goals.

A-List Selections

TIGER WOODS (Round 1 starter): Success at Augusta National is tied to power, putting, scrambling and mental toughness. Does that fit anyone you can think of? Jack Nicklaus was only slightly exaggerating when he predicted that Tiger would win 15 Green Jackets; Woods already has four in the collection (205, 2002, 2001, 1997) and he's been no worse than third in each of the last four trips. This is not a time to get cute. You have to use the world's best player in this spot. PHIL MICKELSON: He never got comfortable in Houston last week but maybe that's a blessing in disguise, allowing Lefty to be more rested for the first major of the year. Mickelson has won two of the last five Masters (2004, 2006) and he almost never plays poorly here (11 top-10s over 16 starts). There are plenty of good picks you could make in this position, but Mickelson has proven to be a great pick at Augusta over the years. Hes got the oomph off the tee, and when Mickelson gets the putter working, he's very difficult to beat. Other A-List Options: • I came very close to pulling the trigger on Paul Casey in this spot; he's got the confidence boost from last week's victory in Houston, and he's quickly gotten comfortable at Augusta (11, 10, CUT, 6) in a short period of time. Casey has the calm emotional makeup needed to contend in major events, and he openly admits that the Masters is probably his best chance at a major championship. • Geoff Ogilvy is another player with the game, the mind, and the heart to go deep here, though he's yet to crack the Top 10 in three visits to the Masters. His putting stroke and confidence struggled a bit in the winds of Houston last Sunday, not the type of thing you want to be carrying into a major, but Ogilvy nonetheless deserves to be on anyones short list of favorites. • Anthony Kim is going to be heard from this season, we all know that, but let's give him some time to work into form. He's already dealt with a shoulder problem and a nasty case of the flu this year, and he wasn't firing on all cylinders the Shell Houston Open, setting for a tie for 26th. Kim is also making his Masters debut, spotting critical local knowledge to the field. • Vijay Singh has an outstanding track record at the Masters, but he has yet to show his best form since having early-season knee surgery. He's only broken 70 twice on TOUR this season through 19 rounds. • Camilo Villegas will eventually come to love this place, but he's yet to see the weekend at Augusta. • Ernie Els used to be one of the yearly favorites at Augusta, but it has been a rockier road in recent visits (CUT, 27, 47). • Jim Furyk is the ultimate steady-Eddie and he's managed to finish in the Top 35 in 11 of his 12 Magnolia Lane visits, but this isn't the major that best suits his grind-it-out style. • Robert Allenby's sublime ball striking gets a lot of pub in this space, but he's yet to make it work at Augusta. • Stewart Cink keeps getting more and more comfortable here and he's quietly grabbed six solid checks in a row on the hallowed Augusta grounds. • I know Trevor Immelman is the defending champ, but there's nothing from his 2009 form that makes me confident picking him to contend this week. He currently stands 174th in total driving, 117th in GIR, 151st in putting, 165th in scrambling. • Sergio Garcia is closing in on a major, but he has been a non-story in his last three Augusta trips, and he struggled over the last three days of the Houston Shell Open, shooting 10-over for the final 54 holes.

B-List Selections

ZACH JOHNSON (Round 1 starter): Another chalky type of pick, but he's playing too well this year, he loves playing in this part of the country, and he's got too much history at Augusta (including the 2007 victory). Johnson's ordinary length off the tee doesn't fit the suit for this week, I suppose, but I like everything else about his game; consistent and accurate driving, radar irons (10th in GIR), a steady putter, the mind and stomach needed to save par (13th in scrambling). NICK WATNEY (Round 1 starter): He's already banked a win and $2.3 million on the season through eight outstanding events, and his first Augusta trip didnt faze him at all. Watney ran T11 last year. Standing eighth in driving distance, 26th in putting and off-the-sheet in confidence, sure, I'll run with Watney this week. Golf's not supposed to be this easy. SEAN O'HAIR: There's not a weakness in his game and I'm not going to downgrade him for the near-miss against Tiger two weeks back; the presence of Woods affects just about everyone on a Sunday. O'Hair is just starting to realize how great of a player he can be, and his second drive down Magnolia Lane last year resulted in a solid T14 check. I'll be surprised if he's not in the Top 20 again this time around. TIM CLARK: Sure, he's going to spot most of the field some distance off the tee, but Clark can make up for that with the rest of his game; how can you not like a guy who is eighth in driving accuracy, sixth in GIR and 18th in putting? While Clark has missed the cut at the Masters in three of his seven starts, the connections have been notable ones (2, 13, 13, 39). I see upside and floor with this underrated grinder, a perfect support pick in this spot. Other B-List Options: • It's not easy to leave Rory McIlroy on the bench -- he's yet to do worse than T20 in his four PGA TOUR events this year -- but Augusta National is a tricky place to be if you've never played the course, and I'm just not ready to pick a teenager at an event this significant. • This hasnt been the friendliest of stops for Steve Stricker, who's missed the cut in his last three Augusta visits. I'm still reluctant to dismiss him -- his makeup and clutch putting really should play well here -- but the track record just hasn't been established. • Hunter Mahan has just two Augusta starts to point to (cut last year, T23 in 2003), and it's been an erratic season with the blade (122nd in putting) and wedge. Theres a lot of untapped potential here but I'm not going to chase it this week. • Fred Couples finally missed a Masters cut last year, snapping a 23-year string, and we saw emphatically in Houston that he's still a fantastic ball-striker and an underrated putter. You worry a little bit about fatigue in this spot, given the physical and emotional toll Couples had to deal with late last week, but I'm still fully expecting a four-round story from Boom Boom here, and a finish in the Top 30. • Catch Adam Scott on the right day and you're sure he's the next big thing on TOUR, but he's yet to find his best form in majors. He finished T9 in his Masters debut seven years ago, but he hasn't been in serious contention since (23, CUT, 33, 27, 27, 25). Can he make enough putts to overcome an inconsistent driver? I'm not going to go out on a limb with Scott, not right now. • It took a while for Stuart Appleby to get the hang of Augusta, but he's been rock-solid at the Masters over his last five stops (14, 7, 19, 43, 22). He's not heading to this event in tip-top form, however; while he's made the cut in six of his last seven stroke-play events, only one of them landed in the Top 30. • It's been a boom-and-bust major for Chad Campbell; while he's slammed the trunk three times in five starts, he also finished T3 in 2006 and T17 in 2005. His putting has come a long way in recent years, don't look past this sterling ball-striker. • Perhaps your struggling fantasy club can get a lift from Miguel Angel Jimenez, aka "The Mechanic." He's clearly got the tools for Augusta, cashing four straight times including a T8 and a T11, and hes not intimidated by a deep field or the pressure of a major event.

C-List Selections

RETIEF GOOSEN (Round 1 starter): We've seen him get his confidence back on the greens (remember the win at the Transitions Championship), he's certainly got the length, and Augusta has always suited his eye (17, 2, 3, 3, 13, 13, 2 over the last seven starts). When you come to a major event held on a repeating course, it's no time to get cute. Take what the game gives you. ROBERT KARLSSON: He's been steady in his two stroke-play events on this side of the pond (T14, T31), and he's got eight solid Augusta rounds under his belt as well (T8, T30). Power from the box, deadly irons, a gutsy putter, this is what a Masters contender looks like. Don't sleep on this sneaky Swede. Other C-List Options: • Henrik Stenson finished 17th here the last two seasons, and he looked to be rounding into form late at the Shell Houston Open, charging into third on the final day. Stenson can be a little erratic with the driving accuracy now and then, but that won't hurt him too much on this track. I've always felt he had the skill set and mental toughness to bag a couple of majors in his 30s, and I'm not backing off that now. • Alvaro Quiros is making his debut here and he didn't have anything working in Houston last week, so yeah, I'm a little scared off him in this spot. • Ian Poulter showed me a lot with his British Open and Ryder Cup play last year, and he's always been comfortable at Augusta (25, 13, 33, 31). If I needed four picks in this part of the game, he certainly would have been on my list. • Rocco Mediate returns to Magnolia Lane for the first time since 2006, but he knows what to do, cashing eight times in his last nine visits. If his back cuts him a break, they'll cut him a solid check. • It's great to see Greg Norman on the grounds for the first time since 2002 and last year's British Open run reminds us that you can never say never. Still, we have to make our fantasy picks with our head, not our heart, and asking a 54-year-old veteran to step into this spot and contend is asking a little too much. I'd love to be wrong on this, of course, but there are too many safe selections that we need to look at first. • Luke Donald was looking pretty healthy and confident before last week's step back at the Shell Houston Open (73-73, cut). Hes been a contender in two of his three stops at the Masters, finishing T10 two years ago and third in his debut back in 2005.