Fantasy Insider: Best of the rest, others to avoid this week

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For many reasons, this is one of the quirkiest weeks of the year. It cannot be contained. There are too many moving parts in play to get bent out of shape in hindsight. Therefore, my advice is to just roll with it. Have fun this week; well, more than the usual.

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First, this is the second (and final) Wednesday start on the schedule, which is nothing more than a nod to a sense of relief for surviving another season of short prep weeks. I laid out my top 10 in the Power Rankings for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship on Monday and full-bracket guesses on my Twitter page on Sunday night. (If you check them out, you'll see that I have Matt Kuchar advancing to the second round. I filled out my bracket on Friday morning, which was before Kuchar withdrew from Pebble Beach with an undisclosed injury or illness. I'll stand by it as we still don't know what's ailing him.)

Unlike the NCAA Tournament when you can nail 12 of the final 16 with regularity, getting a dozen at this golf tournament would be an outstanding effort. As I told one emailer this week, it's like throwing darts in the dark. We can analyze it to pieces, but the Official World Golf Ranking is merely a tool to fill the field. Guys like Paul Goydos, J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Alex Prugh, Bill Haas, Ryan Palmer and even David Duval would be welcome additions based on recent play. Completing a match-play format based on a 104-week rolling formula gives fantasy owners fits.

Now, the Match Play is a critical event for one-and-dones. I advise playing defense with some teeth. The last thing you want is to lose a stud in the opening round, and three-quarters of the field will be out by Thursday night. You want a guy that's had success and can get hot on the greens. Lastly, the perfect candidate is someone that fits that mold and you wouldn't start anywhere else. Enter Ian Poulter. He's reached the third round four of six times in this event, including last year at the Ritz-Carlton. Poults owns a career 5-2-0 record at the Ryder Cup (2-0-0 clip in singles). You already know that he can putt lights out. And his schedule consists of the deepest fields of the year, which makes him a tough start elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Yahoo! game includes only the Mayakoba Golf Classic for which my top 10 in the Power Rankings were released on Monday. While the field resembles a reunion of sorts for mini-tour grinders and blasts from the past on the PGA TOUR, it can determine fantasy league championships. Like linemen in football games, fantasy titles are won in the trenches and El Camaleon caters to veteran ball-strikers. Just because the field is thin doesn't mean that you should put all of your eggs into the rookie baskets. Ride what you know and continue to allow the first-timers on TOUR to live their learning curves.

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TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Pablo Martin and Heath Slocum.

Nick Dougherty -- An interesting inclusion this week to say the least, but the European Tour's rank and file is on a two-week respite. Dougherty's lone top 30 in 24 starts in PGA TOUR events is a T7 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2007. Since winning the BMW International Open in June '09, he's tallied just one top 20 in 15 starts (T14, Qatar).

Thomas Levet -- Like his European brethren Dougherty, Levet is a sexy option, but the Frenchman is off to a sputtering start to his season. He's cashed twice in three events, but both were for finishes outside the top 55. He also missed the cut here in 2007.

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TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Briny Baird, K.J. Choi, Kevin Stadler, Josh Teater and Mark Wilson.

Charles Howell III -- Has two top-10s in four starts this year, but he's more often than not a frustrating own in events like this where you'd expect him to flourish. CH3 placed T38 a year ago in his only start, finishing T8 in greens hit but T59 in putting. He'll cash this week, but don't expect to see him on the leaderboard.

James Nitties -- Finished T6 here a rookie last year, but is off to a horrible start in 2010, missing three cuts. He's broken 73 just once in his last four rounds. He also withdrew early in the week from Pebble Beach. The aggregate analysis here (and unconfirmed, it should be noted) is that he may be struggling more than usual with his reactive arthritis. Avoid until he turns it around.

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TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Steve Elkington and Billy Mayfair.

Jerry Kelly -- Easily the one guy that would have cracked the top half of my Power Rankings if he was 100 percent healthy. He was T6 here last year and is on the short list of fellas in the field that fit the profile for what it takes this week. However, until he flashes some consistency in the wake of his back injury, I'm hands off.

John Merrick -- If you're skittish about Elkington and Mayfair, plug Merrick into your lineup in some capacity. He's made the cut in all three appearances here, including a T3 in 2008. Overall game is good, not great right now, but he's a safe, smart investment.

Boo Weekley -- Back in action since repairing to Florida for some R&R and to rest his right foot (plantar fasciitis). He says that his shoulder is fine, but the ailments are mounting. In fantasy games, he's no longer the Boo that we grew to love.

Carl Pettersson -- Quickly and unfortunately proving that the T5 at the Sony Open was an anomaly. His game just isn't together right now to warrant an endorsement.

Tom Pernice Jr. -- First-timer here, but he's a good wind player and certainly experienced to let the course come to him. Usually plays his best on the shorter tracks, too.

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