The Fantasy Insider: Memorial Tournament

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When Jack Nicklaus requests your attention for four days, you pay your respects to the living legend and accept the invitation. We've got a loaded field and a difficult gem of a course waiting for us, so let's get to it.

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Last week: We bagged a win with Steve Stricker last week, and three other selections landed in the top 13 (Ian Poulter, Charlie Wi, Justin Leonard). The end result was 196 points and a 989-rank jump in the season standings.

Fantasy game basics: 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): We've seen him win here (1999, 2000, 2001) and we've seen him contend here (three other top-5 finishes), and we know the wider-than-normal fairways at Muirfield Village come in handy -- if there's a flaw in Tiger's game these days, it's the wayward driving that shows up now and again. As for the tricky greens, they're basically a gift to Tiger - he's as creative and as mentally tough a player as you'll find around the hole. I've still got six Tiger plays to go in 2009 and I'm not about to sit by idly while he tees it up on a course that fits his eye this well. KENNY PERRY: While it could easily be a week where Woods plays four rounds for me, there's nothing wrong with trying Perry (the defending champ) as the first option out of the bullpen. Muirfield Village is a ball-striker's course and that's just fine with Perry; he's eighth in total driving, 13th in GIR, and 24th in approaches from outside 200 yards. OTHER A-LIST OPTIONS: Geoff Ogilvy hasn't seriously contended in his last three events, but perhaps a visit to Jack's Place will get him back in form. He's made five consecutive cuts at this event, including a pair of ninth-place finishes the last two seasons ... Is this the week Jim Furyk returns to the winner's circle? He's in excellent form of late (T11, T5, T9 over his last three starts), and he knows what to do in Ohio, winning the Memorial Tournament back in 2002 and grabbing 13 straight checks over the years ... Paul Casey has turned into an elite player, no two ways about it; we've seen him in seven PGA TOUR events this year and this is how he's fared: second, T31, win, T20, T11, T14, fifth. Casey has a good chance to win on just about any track given his portable skills: he's sitting 12th in GIR, 15th in putting, sixth in scoring ... Judging from Vijay Singh's last three events, it looks like he's healthy and back in form; he ran T9 at The PLAYERS Championship, T16 at the HP Byron Nelson, and T6 last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. He's got six top-10 finishes at the Memorial to fall back on, including a win in 1997 and a second-place run in 1999 ... Ernie Els won this event back in 2004 and he's got nine top-15s at Muirfield Village over the years, so it's a layout that suits his game. Els still has the ball-striking to go low at any time, it's just a matter of getting some confidence with the putter (122nd in putting average) ... Camilo Villegas hasn't been in deep contention since the T5 at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship back in early March, but he's grabbed six straight checks and showed glimpses of his awesome potential now and then. He's yet to do anything significant at Muirfield Village (cut, T31), however, and that takes him off my card for this week ... If you're thinking about a left-handed champ this week, how about Mike Weir? He's made three deep runs at Muirfield Village over the years, including a tie for second last season, and while he's not having a great ball-striking year, he's often bailed out by his putting (12th) and scrambling (13th) ... Padraig Harrington has two ordinary checks to show for his time at the Memorial Tournament (13, 40), and while that's no embarrassment, it's not enough for us to select him over some of the stars who have glittering track records here. Better spots for Harrington are coming soon, such as when we take the next trip across the pond.

B-List Selections

STEVE MARINO (Round 1 starter): He doesn't have much of a record here (29th, missed cut), but I'm willing to throw that out and trust what I see with my eyes -- Marino is getting ever so close to that first victory. The stat sheet is always going to back up Marino, as you won't find many weaknesses in his game. He's ninth in ball striking, third in birdies made, 16th in final-round scoring, and he's made nine straight cuts, too. SEAN O'HAIR (Round 1 starter): He's never missed a cut in four stops here, including a T5 two years ago and a T12 in 2006. Hitting the challenging greens at Muirfield Village is priority No. 1 and that shouldn't be a problem -- O'Hair stands second in GIR and 17th in total driving. And it doesn't hurt the case that he's fourth in FedExCup points, and he's got six top-10 finishes on the year. Welcome to stardom, kid. WOODY AUSTIN: I like how he's playing of late (T6 at Crowne Plaza, T22 at The PLAYERS Championship), I like that his scoring average goes further than the apparent sum of his other stats, and I like Woody Austin period, a colorful and honest guy who never cheats you with his effort on the course. There's nothing wrong with picking players you want to root for, amigos. ZACH JOHNSON: He's only made one deep run in five starts at Jack's Place but it was a tie for second in 2006, and Johnson's taken the step into the star class in 2009, the kind of guy you're afraid not to start every week. Sitting 18th in ball striking, holding five top-10s already this year, how can you not want to roster Johnson this week? Other B-List Options: It was fantastic seeing good guy Steve Stricker back in the winner's circle last week, but that doesn't mean we'll automatically go back to him in this spot. You always wonder about a possible emotional letdown after a win -- not to mention a playoff win -- and he's got an ordinary track record at the Memorial Tournament. Tip your cap to the Midwesterner, but let's wait before we dial him up again ... It's been a breakthrough year for Nick Watney but he's yet to figure out the best path around Muirfield Village, with two modest checks to show for his previous visits (T26, T41). This does seem like a course that eventually will be kind to Watney -- his biggest weakness is accuracy off the tee, and that's not a big issue here -- but let's see some results first ... Adam Scott finally played four rounds last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, but his T64 check didn't send anyone into fantasy hysterics. He's had success at Muirfield Village (fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007), but when's the last time Scott looked confident on the golf course? I'm not ready to take the leap of faith just yet ... The case for Charley Hoffman is a lot like the Watney file this week -- he's done plenty of good things in 2009, but we haven't seen him prove it yet over this track. Hoffman finished T72 and T55 in his first two starts at the Memorial Tournament, and he's yet to break 70 here ... Hunter Mahan has quietly cashed 12 weeks in a row in stroke-play events this year, and he's banked a couple of top-10s of late (including a T10 at the Masters), but he's heading to a course that hasn't been kind to him. Mahan missed the cut at Muirfield Village last year (76-76), and his first try at the Memorial Tournament was a forgettable T61 back in 2004.

C-List Selections

LUKE DONALD (Round 1 starter): The injury concerns a few months ago are long gone now -- Donald's only missed one cut this year and he's already cashed four checks in the top-10. It took him a while to get comfortable at Jack's place but he did just that in 2008, finishing tied for sixth. Donald was a collegiate star at Northwestern University, you might remember, and it seems appropriate that he'll make some noise this week in the middle of Big Ten country. IAN POULTER: His top finish in four starts here is an ordinary T30, but we can't ignore how confidently he's walking around these days (three top-10s in four starts, and seven top-20s overall). Mark my words, a significant win is coming for Poulter in 2009. Others C-List Options: Ben Crane would seem to be a horse for the course, so it's a little surprising that he's got three ordinary results to show for his previous visits to Muirfield Village (68, cut, 21). But Crane's balanced stat profile offers a versatile game that should be portable to any track. If he gets a good push Thursday, look for Crane to be in the hunt for all four days ... Martin Kaymer has to be taken very seriously anytime we see him at a PGA TOUR event, but keep in mind he's making his debut at this course, and I think that's enough of an obstacle to keep him off the C-List this week ... Make it seven checks in a row for steady Teddy Purdy, and he's got a decent track record at the Memorial Tournament as well (23, 14, cut, 24). Make sure you find a way to use him all 10 times in our game before the season is up ... Rocco Mediate normally plays into the weekend here and he's been strong in recent visits, with a T6 last season and T15 back in 2007. As always, it's a matter of the back holding up and letting the likeable veteran do his thing ... George McNeill has been playing well of late (six checks in seven starts), and he finished a respectable T30 at the Memorial Tournament last year. I'd like to see better iron play here (108th in GIR), but another check in the top 40 or so would not surprise me.