Summer segment kicks off in Yahoo! Fantasy Golf game

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Starting the final-round lineup of Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood and Tim Clark at the U.S. Open, "Toe Wedge" takes the Spring Segment of the Yahoo! Fantasy Sports Golf 2010 game. Managed by "J Soulen," it racked up 2,024 points, six more than runner-up, "Woodpeckers." As a result of winning the segment, Soulen scores the second Nike VR driver of the season.

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Power Rankings: Travelers

With 4,079 points and averaging nearly 170 per event, the overall leader through the first two-thirds of the game is "Breslow's Ballbusters," managed by "Bruce." He enters the final stretch with a commanding 56-point margin over "Yanevano." While all of us chase the spoils in the big game and private leagues, it's time to take a peek at what lies ahead.

Just like when I broke down the Spring Segment, there are any number of dynamics on which you'll want to have a pulse. And much like course management, you'll want to play this segment from the hole backwards.

First goal: Save at least one start for your preferred studs for the season-ending TOUR Championship. This is a major tip for rookie Yahoo! gamers. With only 30 golfers earning tee times at East Lake, you absolutely must keep at least one bullet in the chamber in Groups A and C, and two in Group B. Double those numbers if you want a viable bench. The BMW Championship is the penultimate event, but it hosts 70 golfers and doesn't have a cut. Therefore, my advice is to save two starts on guys way up in the FedExCup Standings.

Through the U.S. Open, Groups A and C have 16 golfers apiece represented inside the top 60 in FedExCup Points. Of the top 30, eight are in Group A, 13 are in Group B and nine are in Group C. Certainly, there will be considerable churning in the ranks, but here are the fellas that qualify for the short list for whom you should ration starts:

GROUP A

• Ernie Els (1st in FedExCup Points, plan on parlaying with Mickelson)
• Phil Mickelson (2nd, a must for East Lake)
• Anthony Kim (4th, savings starts anyway as he heals from thumb surgery)
• Steve Stricker (11th, especially for the BMW at Cog Hill)
• Zach Johnson (16th, you've probably been efficient given his slow start)
• Luke Donald (22nd, limited schedule already helps, but keep an eye on his Ryder Cup Points, as he may elect to return to Europe in September)

Notable omission: Heath Slocum (36th, won't be defending The Barclays at Liberty National this year; see more on this below)

Notable omission: Tiger Woods (100th, more on him below)

GROUP B

• Jim Furyk (3rd, no-brainer)
• Robert Allenby (9th, if you have any left, save for Firestone and potentially for East Lake)
• Camilo Villegas (10th, we saw what he can do in 2008 during the Playoffs)
• K.J. Choi (18th, a virtual lock to return to THE TOUR Championship)

Notable omission: Dustin Johnson (7th, would make sense at Firestone and the Deutsche Bank, but don't lose sleep if you're all burned out here)

Notable omission: Hunter Mahan (19th, stick with a guarantee at the Travelers this week, and exhaust freely; there is enough depth in this Group)

Notable omission: Rory McIlroy (32nd, cachet shrouds his inconsistency; limited schedule anyway; still a rookie)

GROUP C

• Tim Clark (6th, at least for the BMW)
• Matt Kuchar (8th, he's the star of this class, and is a must-save through the BMW; he's never qualified for THE TOUR Championship in any format)
• Justin Rose (13th, unlike his agenda in 2008, he's committed to a U.S. schedule during this year's Playoffs)
• Paul Casey (29th, lock for Firestone, and consider for The Barclays, which returns to Ridgewood this year - see more on this below)
• Angel Cabrera (55th, loves the limited-field events; also a finalist for Firestone)

Notable omission: Ben Crane (5th, trending towards his first start at East Lake since pre-FedExCup; ride him while he's hot now)

Notable omission: Rickie Fowler (12th, still a rookie ... period)

Second goal: Be on board when Tiger Woods wins. Of the 13 events ranked in my special feature on March 17, four of the six "Gimmes" are in the Summer Segment, including the last two events. He's made it a snap to save starts, but just make sure you plug him in as instructed.

Third goal: Take advantage of the non-members at the British Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship. Majors are often crapshoots for all sorts of reasons, and the World Golf Championships event has no cut.

Fourth goal: Stay on top of your course history information. For example, if you read my preview on the Valero Texas Open (and other valuable contributions at PGATOUR.COM), you knew that TPC San Antonio was the new host and would play markedly more difficult than LaCantera. Of the 13 events in the Summer Segment, six are on different tracks than the ones that played host in 2009: AT&T National, British, Canadian, Greenbrier (new event; replaces Buick Open), PGA Championship, The Barclays. The last three events in the Playoffs -- Deutsche Bank, BMW and THE TOUR Championship -- are on familiar tracks, thereby underscoring the value of direct suggestions in the first goal above.

Fifth goal: Read my weekly Power Rankings and Fantasy Insider columns. Since we're always jumping on (Zach Johnson, Bo Van Pelt, Heath Slocum, Jeff Overton, Bryce Molder, Scott Verplank, Tim Petrovic, Kenny Perry) and off (Charles Howell III, Brandt Snedeker, Alex Prugh, Ryan Palmer, Briny Baird) bandwagons, some appear to be automatic starts or swerves entering the Summer Segment. The features will cover the needle-movers, but if they don't, you can always email me at FantasyInsider@charter.net. I also Twitter as @RobBoltonGolf and reply to all tweets.

For multimedia users, you can hear me elaborate on my top five in the Power Rankings on "Talk of the TOUR" for Sirius/XM Radio and PGATOUR.com. And most weeks, I'll be contributing to Friday's episode of "On the Tee," also here at PGATOUR.COM, focusing on early trends and weekend possibilities.