The Fantasy Insider: Bridgestone Invitational

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Anytime you hear the words "World Golf Championships," you know what's coming next - a star-studded field. It's going to be fun watching the best in the world try to tackle Firestone Country Club over the next four days, but doing so with successful fantasy picks is, as always, our goal in this space. Let's zip on over to Akron, Ohio, and see how the field shakes out.

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Last Week: A win from Tiger (like everyone else) and a top-10 from Woody Austin -- that's a decent start. At the end of it all, we had six of eight players make the cut and scored 140 points. We're in the 97th percentile for the year, and it's probably going to be hard to move off that number.

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

JIM FURYK (Round 1 starter): He didn't make the charge at the Buick Open that many expected, but, nonetheless, Furyk has eight straight cashes to his credit and five of those checks have been six-digit finishes. He's had plenty of Bridgestone success over the years, with six top-10s including a third in 2006 and a second in 2001. Furyk stands 26th in driving accuracy, 34th in putting and fourth in scoring, the type of profile that can work anywhere. PHIL MICKELSON: It's not easy to project how hell play after the layoff, but he did run fourth here last season, and he's got five top-10 finishes at Firestone over the years. I've also got eight Mickelson starts available to me and Im going to be aggressive using them when I can. OTHER A-LIST OPTIONS: I hate leaving Tiger Woods on my bench this week as he sizes up Firestone -- he's won six times in nine starts over this track, and he's never been outside the top four. But the reality is that I only have two more Tiger starts available to me, and I don't want to close him out too early. There's no right answer to the Tiger Start Dilemma -- any week you don't play him, you're going to be nervous about him making you regret the decision. So that's how I feel this week, nervous ... Vijay Singh has always considered Firestone one of his favorite courses, and the heart no doubt grew fonder last year when he lifted the hardware at the end of the event. Singh's play over the last few months suggests that he's feeling healthy again; he's cashed in seven of eight starts, including three top-10s. Singh's ball striking puts him on the contender list anytime he's starting, but it eventually will come down to his scrambling and putting ... Anthony Kim ranks first in putting average and second in par breakers, so keep the red numbers handy when he's on the course. He doesn't have a lot of experience at Firestone, however; he tied for 36th in his Bridgestone debut last season ... Geoff Ogilvy's best form often comes out in World Golf Championships -- he's won three of the 31 played, second to Tiger (five wins). But he's struggled to figure out Firestone, running 68th, 51st, 36th and 41st the last four seasons. With that much data in play, we have to wonder whether there's something about the layout here that doesn't seem to fit Ogilvy's eye ... Paul Casey's last six stops here include five top-20s, and he was in serious contention in two of the last three years (T8 last year, T4 in 2006). Thats generally enough to push Casey into your lineup for the week, but he hasnt shown much in his last fantasy-eligible starts (nothing better than T47). Play around the greens is generally the weakest part of Casey's well-rounded game, and it will be interesting to see how quickly he can get that element under control this week ... Sometimes it's hard to remember that Camilo Villegas is just 27, and at that age, he hasn't experienced everything on the circuit just yet. It's his first start at the Bridgestone Invitational, which forces us to put him in the wait and see file for one year ... It feels a little odd to not give Kenny Perry a long look, but his average finish at this event is a mere 31.5, and he's only got one top-10 to show for his six starts at Firestone.

B-List Selections

LEE WESTWOOD (Round 1 starter): You can't ignore his stellar play of late (T3 at the Open Championship, T8 at the Scottish Open, solo second at the Open de France ALSTOM), and don't forget that Westwood finished second here last season. When he's fully confident on the greens, Westwood is capable of winning anywhere. RORY McILROY (Round 1 starter): The usual concerns about youth and course experience dont seem to apply to this precocious star; McIlroy has already bagged a couple of top-20s in World Golf Championships this year. We haven't seen his game up close as much as we'd like, but there's a reason for the buzz -- McIlroy currently leads the European Tour in stroke average. You've got a lot of plays left on McIlroy, let's spend one here. STEVE STRICKER: He doesn't have a lot of experience at this track so we'll give Stricker a round to prove it to us, but how can you not like someone with two wins over his last five starts? Stricker is never going to be one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, but the rest of his stat profile gives you comfort: 20th in GIR, fourth in putting, second in all-around rank, first in pre-cut scoring. ZACH JOHNSON: He's proven he can maneuver around the Firestone course -- his average finish here is 18.8 over five starts. Like Stricker, we're not talking about a bomber here, but Johnson's got a lot to like on his stat sheet: He's eighth in driving accuracy, 15th in GIR, 23rd in putting average and eighth in scoring. OTHER B-LIST OPTIONS: Hunter Mahan didn't have his best form at Turnberry three weeks ago, but let's remember that Mahan was one of the hottest golfers in the world for the month prior to that. He's been a quick study at Firestone, finishing 22nd here two years back and 10th last season ... Sean O'Hair has a mild slump to work out of; he's missed the weekend in three of his last seven starts, and he hasn't been in deep contention since his victory at Quail Hollow in early May ... I was tempted to reward Woody Austin with another start after last week's T8 in this space, but he's had ordinary results at Firestone in his last three trips (52, 56, 36) ... Tim Clark remains one of the best players on TOUR without a victory, and he's only missed three cuts this season. His early results at Firestone weren't so hot, but the steady N.C. State grad finished sixth two years back and was T20 last season ... ,b>David Toms comes into this week well rested, but it's hard to say where his game will be. He almost won at the Travelers Championship (T2), but that came in the middle of three other missed cuts, including trunk slams at both of the Opens. His Bridgestone track record is a similar mix of hits and misses; he's cracked the top 10 three different times, and he was outside the top 30 on three other occasions ... Let's not hold the Turnberry hiccup against Lucas Glover too much; he's already validated his Bethpage win with two other strong finishes, and he ran fourth in his Bridgestone debut three seasons back.

C-List Selections

RETIEF GOOSEN (Round 1 starter): When in doubt, it's tempting to go with a big name, or a proven putter, or someone playing well right now, or someone who did well at this event in the past. Happily, Goosen fits all these criteria, a true grand slam. Sometimes, the key to this fantasy racket is not over-thinking things. LUKE DONALD: He's pretty much a guarantee to give you a good score when you look his way, and he's got a solid track record at the Bridgestone Invitational (22, 6, 8, 16). Another safe pick that you can make confidently. OTHER C-LIST OPTIONS: It wasn't just that I picked Ian Poulter to win the British Open, I've basically been sitting on that prediction and expectation for a year. OK, so he didn't have his best week at Turnberry; I'll get over it and Poulter, gritty as he may be, can do the same. He's got a good-not-great run at Firestone over his last five turns, including a T13 and a T16, but at his current level of confidence, it's fair for us to expect more ... Martin Kaymer's buzz died down some after he missed the cut at the U.S. and British Opens. I'm shifting into "prove it to me" mode on the talented German ... The cover might be off of Ross Fisher after his deep runs at the last two majors (fifth at Bethpage, T13 at Turnberry). He had a forgettable T56 at Firestone last year, but in this instance, let's focus on the results in front of us ... Scott Verplank's average finish at this event lands in the mid 30s, though there have been some hits in that stretch (T9 two years back). Verplank had a rare missed cut last week, but it came on the heels of three consecutive top-10s. You seldom get a poor run from this reliable pro.