Fantasy Insider: Expert advice for the Playoffs

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All right, Yahoo! gamers, we're standing on the 18th tee of a dogleg par-4 measuring 495 yards. I am your caddy. The ultimate goal is to have a 12-footer for birdie to win your league championship. The wind is hurting so we have to play it smart. Water will swallow attempts to cut the angle or drive it deep, so let's just get our first into the short grass and go from there.

Got a fantasy question for Rob? Click here to e-mail him. You can also follow Rob on his Twitter account.

This fantasy playoff special will help prepare you for the next four events on the PGA TOUR calendar. But first, a quick review of my Summer Segment preview.

Did you ...

1. Save at least one start for your preferred studs for the season-ending TOUR Championship? I explain what we're going to do about that below. I hope you're thrifty.

2. Pounce when Tiger Woods won? Well, at least there are no regrets for bad timing. More on him in a minute.

3. Take advantage of the non-members at the British Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship? Indeed, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer proved their values.

4. Stay on top of your course history information? The Barclays is the sixth and final event of Yahoo!'s Summer Segment that is contested on a different track than in 2009. And remember that the BMW Championship was not held at Cog Hill in 2008.

5. Read my weekly Power Rankings and Fantasy Insider columns? Well, of course you did!

The beauty of this year's Playoffs is that the typical high-end value across the board is inflated due to the absence of a favorite to win it all. Therefore, strategy is absolutely paramount. Any skill set can win this thing -- power, precision and putting at Ridgewood, Cog Hill and East Lake; birdies and short game at TPC Boston, where weather is an X-factor. You can't ride Tiger Woods into the sunset for a change. Well, you could but I'm advising against it unless you want to go the way of The Black Knight of Monty Python infamy.

Of the top 30 in FedExCup Points entering the Playoffs, nine are in Group A, 11 reside in Group B and you will find 10 in Group C. If you can afford the starts, here's how I'd like them to fall right now:

• Save Phil Mickelson (4th in points) and Zach Johnson (16th) for THE TOUR Championship. Mickelson is a two-time champ (2000, 2009) and ZJ owns the course record (60, 2007). Ernie Els (1st) is a suitable complement to Mickelson, but Lefty is the must.

• Steve Stricker (2nd) will be defending at TPC Boston and the BMW at Cog Hill is a virtual home game.

• Luke Donald (22nd) lives less than 45 minutes from Cog Hill and finished T10 at last year's BMW. Parlay him with Stricker.

• Until Anthony Kim (14th) flashes old form, I'm sitting on my hands. He placed T12 at Ridgewood in 2008, so we'll get a fair litmus test right away.

Slocum

• Heath Slocum (50th) is defending at The Barclays, but he won at Liberty National. He missed the cut at Ridgewood in 2008.

Other:
• Bubba Watson (8th) placed T12 at Ridgewood in 2008. It's his highest finish in a Playoff event. I won't mind finishing my season with unused starts.

• Bill Haas (26th) posted three top 25s in as many starts in the 2009 Playoffs, but he's tailed off a bit this summer.

• Jason Day (28th) is a wildcard. He's coming off a T10 at the PGA Championship -- his eighth straight payday -- and posted a T19 at last year's Deutsche Bank.

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• Jim Furyk (3rd) makes sense every week, but save his last start for East Lake.

• Lock in Dustin Johnson (11th) for TPC Boston. He's also make sense at the BMW if you then still have one left.

• It all depends on how Hunter Mahan (7th) hits his irons, because he could win the FedExCup, or fall short of the top 30. Cog Hill and East Lake are his best plays.

• Rory McIlroy (21st) is getting his first look at the rota, but might impart the most damage at TPC Boston and Cog Hill.

• Like AK in Group A, I'm cool on Robert Allenby (17th) until he shakes off the rust of knee surgery. Last year, Rory Sabbatini also started the Playoffs slotted 17th, and then missed the first two cuts. Despite a T18 at the BMW, he didn't qualify for THE TOUR Championship.

• We can set Camilo Villegas (15th) on the back burner for one week, as he has seven top 10s (including two wins) during the last three events in the three-year history of the Playoffs. He returned to form at Whistling Straits, with a T8. The Colombian is setting up to be a difference-maker.

Other:
• Jeff Overton (6th) has never qualified for THE TOUR Championship. His best finish in seven Playoff events is a T23 at last year's Deutsche Bank.

• Like Overton, Bo Van Pelt (13th) has not played East Lake. Van Pelt has a pair of top 20s at Cog Hill in the Playoffs.

Holmes

• J.B. Holmes (18th) has also fallen short of the Playoff finale all three times. His personal best in the postseason is a T24 at Ridgewood in 2008. He's missed just one cut all year, and has set a career high in earnings without a victory. Also posted a career-low 60 at The Greenbrier just over three weeks ago.

• Retief Goosen (24th) won at East Lake in 2004, but placed 23rd in his only trip there during the Playoffs. (He was ousted after two events the first two years.) He's so herky-jerky but maintains the sixth-best adjusted scoring average on the PGA TOUR. I'd save him for the finale.

• Nick Watney (29th) enters with four consecutive top 20s, but we're still learning more about him learning the playoff venues. I'm intrigued but cautious in the Yahoo! game.

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• Matt Kuchar (9th) has been Mr. Consistency that it really doesn't matter where you play him. Try to retain his final start for Cog Hill. He's never qualified for THE TOUR Championship.

• Paul Casey (27th) posted a T7 at Ridgewood in 2008, so plug him in right away. He's never played Cog Hill or East Lake in competition, but he's healthy this year.

• Justin Rose (5th) elated his rotisserie owners when he announced months ago that he was committing to the Playoffs instead of revisiting the European Tour schedule that he maintained in 2008 in an effort to qualify for the Ryder Cup team. As a result, he hasn't advanced to the BMW since 2007. Keep him holstered until then.

• I will reserve Tim Clark (10th) for the BMW and TOUR Championship since he posted top 10s at each in 2007, but that's a weak excuse. I'd like to give him a look at Ridgewood but he doesn't crack a lineup with Kuchar and Casey already in it.

Other:
• Ben Crane (12th) has just one top 30 in six Playoff starts (T10, 2008 Deutsche Bank), and his best finish of his last six this summer is a T21 at The Greenbrier Classic. Trap material.

• Rickie Fowler (19th) is still a rookie; therefore, he is a novelty. We're still learning who he is.

Pettersson

• Carl Pettersson (20th) cost a few gamers titles in leagues that ended at the Wyndham Championship, where he missed the cut on the number. I don't even want to look at him right now.

• Buoyed by an adjustment in his equipment, Ryan Palmer (23rd) is suddenly yet mildly relevant again. He put up over 76 percent of his FedExCup Points in just two of his 21 starts. With all respect, he's the most likely to tumble outside the top 30.

• Every week is a new frontier for Brendon de Jonge (25th), who has cashed in 10 consecutive starts entering the week. The Barclays will mark his first appearance in the Playoffs.

• After 13 straight starts, Stuart Appleby (30th) finally took a week off on the eve of the Playoffs. If you can't juggle the quartet singled out above, he'd be slightly attractive at Cog Hill or even East Lake if he survives that long.

Even if you can play my chalk, because of all of the moving parts, look for other tips and ideas in my Power Rankings (Mondays) and Fantasy Insider (Tuesdays), which will continue throughout the Playoffs. (This week's Insider will include options for one-and-dones throughout the Playoffs.) And, as always, I respond privately via email to all submissions. Please be brief and specific, and, if possible, wait until Tuesday evening once you've read the aforementioned features.

Rob Bolton is PGATOUR.COM's fantasy columnist. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the PGA TOUR. To contact Rob, please e-mail him at FantasyInsider@charter.net.