The Fantasy Insider: Quail Hollow Championship

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It's a loaded field, it's a dynamite course and hey, that Eldrick Woods fellow is back. No hard sell is needed for Quail Hollow; it's one of the best stops on TOUR every season (three playoffs in six years doesn't hurt, either).

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Last week: At first glance, it didn't seem so bad -- Steve Stricker ran seventh, Tim Petrovic finished 11th and John Merrick was in contention for the first 36 holes. But some sloppy activation calls and a whopping four players missing the cut (at least most of my opponents had Nick Watney, too) led to a disappointing 96 points. As a result, I'm back to the 87th percentile, and there's work to be done.

PGATOUR.com Fantasy Golf -- 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): I know we don't get unlimited Tiger starts, but heck, he won here the last time he visited (in 2007), and that came after a T11 and a T3 on the grounds. You want to risk a huge point giveaway to everyone else in your pool? It's a week where you have to use Mr. Woods, friends. JIM FURYK: He's got an interesting resumé at Quail Hollow: Three top-10 finishes (including a win in 2006) against a pair of missed cuts. The depth of the field and the demanding three-hole finish at the end of Quail Hollow isn't likely to shake Furyk at all; he's 22nd in putting, 12th in sand saves and ninth in scrambling. That's a resumé that should put him in contention for us. Other A-List Options: • Geoff Ogilvy has an interesting track record at Quail Hollow -- he's never missed the top 25 in his five starts, but he's also never done better than 10th. He's having a brilliant year with the putter; at the end of the day with Ogilvy, it's going to come down to how well he drives the golf ball this week. • Phil Mickelson has a solid track record at Quail Hollow (12, 4, 35, 5, 7), and obviously he's already bagged a couple of wins this season and has to be respected. But a couple of numbers have me a little leery on the lefty -- Mickelson ranks 176th in driving accuracy and 119th in scrambling, a tricky duo to navigate as he heads to Quail Hollow. • Anthony Kim has some extra responsibility this week as the defending champ, and while he's played better of late, he still hasn't been in serious contention for a stroke-play title since the Mercedes-Benz Championship in January. I'm going to wait until he proves to us that he's back in form. • Sergio Garcia ran second here back in 2005, but he hasn't been in contention since, and after seeing him struggling like he did at the Masters, I need a show of good faith before I hop on board again. • Robert Allenby had three ordinary finishes at Quail Hollow (34, cut, 50) before last year's inspired tie for fourth. You know the drill with him; he's one of the better ball-strikers around, but, ultimately, it's a matter of finding a confident, consistent putting stroke and trusting it for 72 holes. • Stewart Cink is never a bad play on just about any track, and he's made four of five cuts here, including a T8 last year and a T5 the previous season. • Padraig Harrington has yet to figure the course out, finishing outside the top 40 in both of his starts. He's too talented for that to continue, but I can't pick him this week in a pool this deep. • Vijay Singh won here in 2005 and has three other top 10s to point to, but where is his game today? Where is his confidence? Do you have the nerve to dial up a player sitting 172nd in the putting ranks? I'm not going to make a leap of faith here.

B-List Selections

DAVID TOMS (Round 1 starter): He knows what it takes to score here (Toms won it all in 2003), and his game has come around nicely in 2009, with four top-10 checks already in his pocket. Toms isn't going to blast past many opponents off the tee, but he's doing so many other things well: Second in driving accuracy, sixth in putting average, seventh in eagles per hole, second in scoring. Go ahead, pick against him, I dare you. RORY SABBATINI (Round 1 starter): With two consecutive top-10 finishes, a sizzling putter and a boom in confidence, it looks like a good time to keep riding the Sabbatini train. He's also made seven cuts in a row -- the type of consistency you want on your side when we're handicapping a field this deep. HUNTER MAHAN: He finally got something going here last season (T12) after four fruitless stops, and his game has come around nicely over his last three events (T10 at the Masters, T6 at the Shell Houston Open, T22 at Arnie's Place). If Mahan gets just a shade more consistent with his putting, everything else is in place for a dynamic season. ADAM SCOTT: I know he can be frustrating to pick at times -- the super talent who doesn't seem to get it done when we expect him to -- but how can you ignore Scott's track record (8, 24, 3, 16) over the Quail Hollow layout? This looks like a comfort zone for the talented Aussie; look for him to stay out of his own way and grab another healthy score for us. Other B-List Options: • Brian Gay is coming off the 10-stroke runaway win at the Verizon Heritage, but his resumé at Quail Hollow doesn't jump out at you (cut, 44, cut, cut). I can't blame you if you want to ride the hot hand, but I'm going to put my stock in what the course tells us. • Sean O'Hair is a big name to leave off the dance card, but he's yet to do anything in three starts at Quail Hollow (best finish was T64, three years back). • Nick Watney's finish has fallen back in each of his last three visits to this event (though he's yet to miss the weekend), and he's also coming off his first missed cut of 2009. Let's give him a week to prove to us that what we saw last week was an aberration. • Steve Marino is still looking for that first trophy to hoist, but we saw a nice weekend charge from him last week, and he's got respectable history at Quail Hollow (40, 34). There's no glaring weakness in his game, and players like that have to break through sooner or later. • Lucas Glover hit the ground running when he first got to Quail Hollow earlier in the decade (a pair of top-10s), and this is another player with a very balanced and consistent stat profile (third in total driving, 36th in putting, 14th in scoring). Four strong rounds from the Clemson product would not surprise me. • At first glance, I assumed this would be Chad Campbell's kind of course, but he's surprisingly missed two consecutive Quail Hollow cuts after respectable showings in his first three starts (24, 21, 33). With that, he'll be on the bench in this spot. • Rod Pampling has started to put it together at Quail Hollow (T8 last year, T16 the previous season) and looks like an intriguing sleeper. He's quietly grabbed three checks of T13 or better this season, and there's no glaring weakness on his stat profile.

C-List Selections

IAN POULTER (Round 1 starter): He didn't have much of a Quail Hollow resumé before last year's T25, but this pick is an endorsement of how Poulter is playing right now. He's grabbed a top-20 check in four of his five starts on the PGA TOUR this season -- the confidence gained from the Ryder Cup and the British Open last year is apparently carrying over -- and although Poulter's game doesn't jump out at you in the individual stats, I like that he's consistently able to score better than the profile would suggest. He's ready to be a four-round story here. RETIEF GOOSEN: I feel like I'm playing a name grab here, but it's hard to dial up a name unless you feel they can win, and Goosen already has a victory (Transitions Championship) and a third (Pebble Beach) on his 2009 card. Goosen's been a creative scrambler this year (31st), and he's occasionally flashed the putting form that made him one of the world's best players earlier in the decade; I want him on my sheet this week. Other C-List Options: • Charles Howell III is in the middle of a very solid year, with 11 checks in 12 starts, three top-10 finishes and the No. 13 spot in the FedExCup rankings. He's been to Quail Hollow plenty of times and should feel comfortable here, albeit it's been a while since he made a deep run (25, 52, 47, 22, cut, 7). • Classy Robert Karlsson has the game to compete anywhere, though he's got just one Quail Hollow start on his resumé, and he didn't make the cut at the Masters. Throw in the disappointing 75 Karlsson carded in the final round at the Shell Houston Open, and this doesn't feel like the best time to be using a start on him. • Ben Crane has received a lot of publicity in this space, but Quail Hollow hasn't been his best fit on TOUR over the years. He's never done better than T60 in three starts at this event. • There's a case to be made for Heath Slocum when we head down to Quail Hollow; he's cashed four straight times over the grounds, including a T5 last year and a T10 earlier in the decade. • I'm not going to call for Nick O'Hern to win this week, but he's made two cuts in a row at Quail Hollow, and he's the type of player who generally improves as his course knowledge gets deeper. Look for something in the top 30 from the left-hander.