Category Archives: European Players

Fantasy Golf Results: Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Dubai Desert Classic

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The big news from the Pebble Beach Pro-Am is that Phil Mickelson, my favorite player, won.  It was a big deal for Mickelson because it marks his 40th win. Only eight other PGA players have won 40 or more times in their careers.  Plus this was the 4th time he won at this tournament.  And he won “in style” with a great come from behind victory (i.e. he was eight shots behind the leader when he started his day.)

Yet, did I have him as a pick this week?  No, because he was playing so poorly.  But I don’t care if my fantasy results suffered because it was so much fun to see Lefty playing great shots.  I’m just hoping he plays as well at the Masters (which is when I planned to consider him again for fantasy golf).  I’m now hoping “four” is Lefty’s lucky number (at least this year) because he has won the Masters three times. If he wins this year, it would be his 4th Masters.

How did my picks do?  Well, Tiger Woods did not have a good Sunday shooting a 75 (which was a shame since he was under par for the rest of the tournament).  It was a double whammy for Tiger because he was playing with Mickelson who shot a 64 (11 shots better than Tiger).   Tiger ended tied for 15th which was better than D. A. Points (tied for 67).  Both Bud Cauley and James Driscoll missed the cut and did not play on the weekend.

My Omega Dubai Desert Classic picks did much better.  Stephen Gallacher tied for 2nd (which surprised me), Rory McIlroy tied for 5th at 14 under par (a disappointment since I was sure he would win), Branden Grace tied for 51st, and Ricardo Gonzalez tied for 66th (at least Grace and Gonzalez made the cut).

Not a great week for my predictions but watching the “Phil and Tiger” show was great!

Fantasy Golf: Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Dubai Desert Classic

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This will be the last week that I have to pick players for two tournaments during the winter segment of Fantasy Golf.

Starting with the PGA tour event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.  My Picks are:

(1) Tiger Woods — I just feel he is going to do well this week.  He had three great rounds in Abu Dhabi but in the final round Robert Rock beat him.  I’m guessing Tiger is very motivated to win.

(2) D. A. Points — I had Points as a pick at the Farmers and I’m still going to go with him now. Plus he won this tournament last year.  I don’t expect Points to win because it is difficult for defending champions to win the next year. Even thought I do not expect him to win, I am betting he will do well.

(3) Bud Cauley — He was my first rookie pick this year and the only reason I did not pick him last week was because he was in the same group as D.A. Points.  So, I’m going back to Cauley.  I will keep my eye on Harris English (the rookie that did well for me last week).

(4) James Driscoll — I picked Driscoll because he tied for 13th place last year at Pebble Beach.  He is my “what the heck” pick this week. I’m also hoping the fact he has played the course before will help him.

Now for the European tour — The Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

(1) Rory McIlroy — He is my favorite European player and he has done well so far this year. I expect him to win this weekend.

(2) Branden Grace — He won the first two events of the 2012 European tour so that is why I picked him.  I’m giving him another chance even though he did not do well in Abu Dhabi.

(3) Stephen Gallacher — New to my roster.  Again, it is hard to pick players in group 3 and 4 because the majority of players in these groups are not known entities (at least not for me.)  Gallacher was 10th last year in Dubai so that is why I picked him.  I’m hoping he will have another top 10 this year.

(4) Ricardo Gonzalez — New to my roster.  He was tied for fifth place last week in Qatar and he was tied for 20th at Dubai last year. These are fair scores for a player in group 4 and that is why I picked him.

Honestly, I’m glad this is the last week for picking players in a European event because the ladies tour starts and I’d like to focus more on the LPGA in the next few weeks.

Fantasy Golf Results: Phoenix Open and Qatar Masters

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One of my main goals last week was to not have any of my picks miss the cut.  I am happy to report that all of them played the weekend.  This strategy did well for me because even though none of my picks won, they all contributed to the money points so I maintained my rank overall.  Here are the results.

Waste Management Phoenix Open

(1) Web Simpson — Tied for 8 with 10 under par.  He was doing well until Sunday and then he shot a 72 which took him out of the running.

(2) Brandt Snedeker — Tied for 50 with 2 under par.  Not a great week for Snedeker. His first three rounds were bad but he did recover with a 68 on Sunday.

(3) D. A. Points — Tied for 45 with 3 under par.  He had an up and down tournament.  One round under 70 and the next round over 70 — inconsistency will get you every time.

(4) Harris English — Tied for 15 with 8 under par.  This is great because I took a chance on him as my rookie pick for the week.

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

(1) Graeme McDowell — Tied for 59 at one under par.  Really?  I’m a bit disgusted with G-Mac because I had high expectations (I guess we always have high expectations for our favorite).

(2) Francesco Molinari – Tied for 69 at one over par.  This was a big surprise to me because I picked him due to the fact he won in Dubai in 2010.

(3) Felipe Aguilar — Tied for 47 at two under par.  This is my “what the heck” pick so it is funny that he did better than the big name picks of McDowell and Molinari.

(4) David Drysdale — Tied for 47 at two under par.  What can I say.  My educated guess that his third place finish in the Joburg Open last month would translate into doing well in Qatar did not pan out.

Fantasy Golf: Phoenix Open and Qatar Masters

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Once again I have to pick four players in both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.  This time it is for the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.  I thought I would be nice and give the sponsor names.  Does anyone really care? Yes, sponsors do.  Actually, sponsors are important but that is a topic for another day.  On to my predictions…

Picks for the Waste Management Phoenix Open

(1) Web Simpson — I had him as a pick for Sony and he didn’t do as well as I had hoped but I am giving him another chance.  Why, because he is talented.  He is ranked 6th in the world, 2nd in the USA, and last year in Phoenix he was in the top 10.

(2) Brandt Snedeker — He did well last week so I am keeping him on my roster.

(3) D. A. Points — This was a tough pick because he and Bud Cauley are in the same group and both did well last week. I went with Points because he tied for 8th last week and Cauley tied for 13th.

(4) Harris English — Like, Bud Cauley, English is a rookie.  I did well with picking a rookie last week so I am going with one again.  English has played in three tournaments and made all three cuts; so I am hoping to minimize the number of my picks that miss the cut.

Picks for Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

(1) Graeme McDowell — His nickname is G-Mac and I watched him win the US Open in 2010 so I know a bit about him.  I debated between G-Mac and Sergio Garcia because they both played well last week. In fact, they both got holes-in-one on the 12th hole in Abu Dhabi.  I went with G-Mac because he is ranked 5th in the European rankings (Sergio is ranked 6th).

(2) Francesco Molinari – Won in Dubai in 2010 so I thought he was a good guess.

(3) Felipe Aguilar — This is my “what the heck” pick this week.

(4) David Drysdale — He came in 3rd in the Joburg Open last month so I’m hoping for another good showing. However, this is another big guess for me.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my picks do well this week.

Fantasy Golf Results – Farmers Insurance and Abu Dhabi HSBC

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I did much better with my fantasy golf picks this week.  In fact the winner for the Farmers Insurance Open was Brandt Snedeker, my pick for group two.  But his win was not the big news.  The big story was the melt down of Kyle Stanley who lost to Snedeker in a playoff.

Kyle Stanley had a three shot lead and on the final hole could shoot a seven (or two over par) and still win. It should have been a “piece of cake” but his shot into the green rolled into the water and that was the beginning of the end.  He shot an eight — unbelievable!  I get eights (or as we call it in golf, a “snowman”) on my scorecard. Pros rarely get eights. The best way to describe it is that it is like watching a kicker missing a field goal that would win the game.  Stanley’s fate was all on him and in the end his miss forced a playoff which Snedeker won.

As much as I am happy that my pick won this week’s tournament, it’s hard not to feel bad for Stanley.  Here are how my picks did overall this week:

Farmers Open: Brandt Snedeker won, D. A. Points T8 (-10), Bud Cauley T13 (-9), and Phil Mickelson missed the cut.

Abu Dhabi HSBC: Rory McIlroy came in second, Darren Clarke, Branden Grace, and Colin Montgomerie all missed the cut.

My final thoughts this week are about Rory McIlroy.  He actually could have been the winner but on Friday he brushed sand off the fringe of the 9th hole (just off the putting green) which resulted in a two-stroke penalty. He lost by one stroke so if he had not had the penalty, he would have won. The rule is that you can move “loose impediments” but “sand and loose soil are loose impediments on the putting green, but not elsewhere.” So McIlroy could brush the sand that was on the green but not on the fringe.   McIlroy said he knew the rule but just wasn’t thinking. That’s a tough penalty for a lapse in concentration; but that’s golf.

Big Names Miss Big this Week in Golf

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The big news this Friday evening is not who the leaders are at the two major golf events going into the weekend but the big names that missed the cut — Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson.

Martin Kaymer missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Open. This is shocking because he is ranked #4 in the world and has won the Abu Dhabi HSBC three times in the last four years.  Many of the “golf experts” predicted he would win. Boy, am I glad I did not select him as a fantasy golf pick.

The big shock for me was Phil Mickelson.  I knew he was struggling and unfortunately had a sinking feeling when he shot a 77 on Thursday.  In his post round interview, Mickelson called his round on Thursday “pathetic.”  That’s what I like about “Lefty” — not shy about calling it like it is (good or bad).

One thing the pros always talk about is how important it is to be focused on the course. According to a San Diego Union-Tribune one of Mickelson’s daughters had a “health scare” last week.  To his credit, in the interview I watched, he did not say anything about his daughter.  He just said “Yesterday’s round was shocking to me just because my expectations were so high because I knew I was playing well.”

I will always be a big fan of Phil Mickelson and cheer for him. Hopefully he will find his game again because viewing weekend golf coverage just isn’t the same when “Lefty” is not playing.

Fantasy Golf: Farmers Insurance and Abu Dhabi HSBC

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This week two events are on the radar.  Frankly, I’m not sure what the criteria is for the Golf Channel Fantasy Game to have two events but it might be because the top ranked players in the world are playing in Abu Dhabi.

Starting with the PGA tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open — My Picks are:

(1) Phil Mickelson — Yes, I know he did poorly last week but I’m hoping for a big recovery.  The event is at Tory Pines and “Lefty” has won it three times, had 7 top 10’s in 22 starts, and was second last year. Not to mention the fact he lives near by so he should have home field advantage. I will admit, if he has a poor showing, I’m taking him off my roster for the rest of the spring.

(2) Brandt Snedeker — He has had 3 top 10s in 5 starts at the Farmers and did well last week at Humana finishing tied for eighth.

(3) D. A. Points — He has 2 top 10s at Tory Pines and tied for sixth at the Sony this year.

(4) Bud Cauley — He is my “what the heck” pick this week.  He is a rookie but a lot of people are talking about him so that is why I picked him.

Now for the European tour — The Abu Dhabi HSBC.  This is really an exciting event to watch on TV because the top three golfers in the world (Luck Donald, Lee Westwood, and Rory McIlroy, respectively) are all playing; and so is Tiger Woods.  It made my pick a tough call for group one:

(1) Rory McIlroy — He is young and has an amazing swing. He also won the US Open last year after falling apart at the Masters.  He is playing in the first two rounds with Tiger and Luke Donald and I don’t think he will be intimidated.

(2) Darren Clarke — An older player with a good record. I saw an interview with him and he said he has lost weight and stopped drinking so I am thinking that might help his game. Or not.

(3) Branden Grace — He won the first two events of the 2012 European Tour so that is why I picked him.

(4) Colin Montgomerie — Another older player with a good record. He is my “”what the heck pick” this week.

Well, in all truthfulness, other than McIlroy the other European players are all really “what the heck” picks since I don’t really follow that tour.