Time to review the 2010 fantasy season at the halfway point

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Jim Furyk and Ernie Els have surpassed Fantasy expectations this season with two wins apiece.

If the FedExCup season was a seesaw, then the Valero Texas Open is the fulcrum.

Of the 33 regular season tournaments and four playoff events, 18 are in the books and 18 will be played following this week's stop in San Antonio.

Of course, with three majors and the playoffs ahead, there's an end-weighted imbalance as it relates to strength of schedule.

However, in the fantasy game, particularly in the Yahoo! format, this is indeed the midpoint. It sets up a plum opportunity to take a few cuts at the first half and prep accordingly for the stretch run.

When I laid out my full-membership fantasy rankings at the start of the year, it addressed the entire PGA TOUR schedule, including the four opposite events and the Fall Series. Some projected successes remain unrealized, but there is no shortage of fulfilling and, in a few cases, surprising dividends.

This class has co-valedictorians in Ernie Els and Jim Furyk. There isn't a soul out there that had this duo down as the only multiple winners through mid-May.

In the final note on Els in my preseason rankings, I said, "Want/Need to see him finish tournaments. Period." At that time, he was coming off a final-round 77 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to finish T17. It was a golden opportunity lost. Fast forward, and lo and behold, after co-leading the World Golf Championships-CA Championship after 54 holes, he dusted the field by four swings with a bogey-free 66. Then, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where he stood alone atop the leaderboard entering the final round, he recorded a two-stroke victory. That he's currently fourth in final-round scoring average is merely a supportive stat; that he's slammed the door when presented the chance is where the value rests.

Meanwhile, Furyk is always a fantasy bulldog, so his two wins are merely gravy on his meat-and-potatoes game.

Other studs who have met or exceeded their draft-day values thus far include Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Robert Allenby, Charles Howell III and Anthony Kim. Of course, AK is out until July after thumb surgery, but he flashed the kind of consistency that merits talk of him in the top-two in the world.

Victories from those who were blocked by glass ceilings automatically confirm value. Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas, Tim Clark and Bill Haas validated themselves early on. Guys from whom triumphs deserve tempered excitement include Ben Crane, Jason Bohn and Derek Lamely. Their jobs are safe through 2012, but their fantasy potentials must remain in check. Ryan Palmer and Cameron Beckman also deserve a nod for first-half wins, but both have faded severely since hoisting their trophies.

There are always quality rank-and-file guys who fade one year, only to rebound the next. This is typically the group that determines league championships because they require early investment in down stock. Furthermore, they make for superb long-term owns based on first-half splits. And due to the dynamic nature of the TOUR, this is always a well-stocked bunch. Here you go: Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi, D.J. Trahan, Carl Pettersson, Bo Van Pelt, J.B. Holmes, Justin Rose, Boo Weekley, Briny Baird, Ryuji Imada and Kevin Stadler.

Guys who are still a little green around the ears but are validating strong 2009 performances include Jason Dufner, Matt Jones and Bryce Molder.

Journeyman, rookies and non-member who have outperformed, relatively speaking, are Rickie Fowler, Chad Collins, Francesco Molinari, Edoardo Molinari, Charl Schwartzel, Graham DeLaet, Troy Merritt, Kris Blanks, J.P. Hayes, Alex Prugh, Michael Connell, Ricky Barnes, Tom Gillis and Chris Couch.

For most intents and purposes, this leaves two guys headed in different directions -- Fred Couples and Jarrod Lyle.

While Couples builds a nest egg on the Champions Tour, he's hardly a ghost on his original circuit. With a T14 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a solo sixth at the Masters, he's not silly roster filler in any format.

In the meantime, Lyle can cement his schedule this week as he burns the final start on his Minor Medical Extension. If he finishes no lower than solo 14th at the Valero, he will get elevated to the Major Medical category and play the PGA TOUR for the remainder of 2010. He already has two top 10s in four starts, and would be worth an immediate pick-up if he achieves his goal.

For the first time in my rotisserie league, Tiger Woods didn't go No. 1 overall when our rules allowed it. (Phil Mickelson was selected; Woods went next.) And as quickly as his owners could exhale when he returned at the Masters, they are holding their collective breath once more as Tiger deals with a neck injury, and everything else outside the ropes.

His loss is felt in the long-term formats like mine. Salary leaguers knew better than to invest, and one-and-dones and Yahoo! gamers miss the guy, but those are even playing fields with or without him. At this point -- again -- you can't drop him. Hopefully, when you pulled the trigger in January, you were committed to the ship and the stormy weather it would most definitely encounter.

Obviously, Woods stands alone as a fantasy letdown thus far, but here are others with several good years behind them whose owners are antsy for all sorts of reasons (keep telling yourself that it's early): Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Henrik Stenson, Sean O'Hair, David Toms, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Mike Weir, Rory Sabbatini, Sergio Garcia, Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry, Scott Verplank, Brandt Snedeker, Vijay Singh, John Senden, Ben Curtis, Pat Perez, Charley Hoffman, Rod Pampling, Mathew Goggin, Tim Petrovic, Woody Austin, Robert Karlsson, Brett Quigley, Bob Estes and Will MacKenzie.

Former world stars Adam Scott and Stuart Appleby aren't necessarily knocking on the door, but there is a tap.

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champ Dustin Johnson has been mired in a slump since the victory. More on him below though.

Roster fillers John Merrick, Martin Laird, Greg Owen, John Mallinger, Ross Fisher, D.A. Points, Steve Flesch, Michael Letzig, Nicholas Thompson, Ted Purdy, Jeff Quinney, Harrison Frazar, Aaron Baddeley, Daniel Chopra, Parker McLachlin and Johnson Wagner are the most frustrating owns given that they either play a ton or have qualified for the majors, and just haven't executed.

Relative newcomers beginning the year with high hopes, albeit likely unrealistic, and therefore qualifying as the most disappointing are Jason Day, Michael Sim (shoulder injury), Jeev Milkha Singh (shoulder injury), Jeff Klauk, Marc Leishman, Scott Piercy, Bill Lunde and James Nitties. I loved Day's value particularly entering the season. All eyes were planted so intensely on Sim, Fowler and Rory McIlroy that Day had no choice but to fly under the radar, especially after taking the final three months of 2009 off after getting married. He remains without a top 20 in 12 starts this season.

Finally, two others deserve a mention due to injuries -- Tim Wilkinson and Arron Oberholser. You couldn't sell the true story of Wilkinson's first four months if you tried. First, a collarbone mishap bumped him from the Sony. Then came the food poisoning at the Honda. And finally, very concerning pain in his right thumb, the same digit on which he had surgery last summer (to reattach a ligament). It doesn't help matters that he's grinding on a Major Medical Extension. Oberholser had hip surgery in February to repair a torn labrum. He doesn't expect to return until the Fall Series at the earliest.

Anyone not listed above has met his expectations but hasn't jumped off the page. This include Phil Mickelson, winner of the only major to date.

If late 2009 performance is an indicator of what we can expect from rank-and-filers, then here's your short list of guys that might be entering comfort zones: John Senden, Matt Bettencourt (one of the streakiest on TOUR), Kevin Streelman, Woody Austin, Michael Letzig (although a wrist injury would eventually get the better of him late last summer), Paul Goydos, Mark Wilson and Greg Chalmers.

Dustin Johnson also had a solid run during last year's back half. Given that he showed some form at TPC Sawgrass and currently has his hand out for Butch Harmon's $0.02, move him to the top of your list of guys to get in trade leagues.

And if there's one fella that always gets hot in June and July, it's Hunter Mahan. Yahoo! gamers will not want to miss out beginning with the U.S. Open. And one-and-dones should pocket him until the Travelers.

Although all have fantasy value, five guys spit the bit beginning at this point a year ago: D.J. Trahan, D.A. Points, Brendon de Jonge, Scott Piercy and Nicholas Thompson.

Trahan and de Jonge have have solid first halves in 2010, so I'd lean more on recent results anyway.

While most formats await the returns from injury of Tiger Woods (neck), Anthony Kim (thumb), Retief Goosen (toe), Steve Stricker (clavicle), Jeev Milkha Singh (shoulder) and Michael Sim (shoulder), there are other with fringe fantasy value that are likely to get a fair share of playing time in the second half. Keep an eye out for Matt Every (finger), Rich Beem (back), Brett Wetterich (wrist; in the field in San Antonio), Shane Bertsch (hand), Marc Turnesa (back), Neal Lancaster (shoulder) and Jesper Parnevik (back). Any others not listed are not due back until after the playoffs or their returns dates remain undetermined.

As always, please keep it bookmarked on PGATOUR.com. I write the Power Rankings on Mondays and Fantasy Insider on Tuesdays. You can also listen to me break down the top five in my Power Rankings for "Talk of the TOUR" on SIRIUS 209 and XM 146 (or via the VIDEO page linked in the menu above). I often include a nugget or two that doesn't have room in the text format. I'm forever available via FantasyInsider@charter.net and I Twitter as @RobBoltonGolf.