Fantasy Crystal Ball: Waste Management Phoenix Open

This week is the party of the year on the PGA Tour at the newly branded "Wasted Open" at TPC Scottsdale.  Expect over 200,000 people to drink their way through four days of a golf tournament being played there.  While the fans are often a bigger part of the tournament hype than almost any other event, the golf is going to be great this week as well.

TPC Scottsdale is a course that is (a) susceptible to very low scores and (b) a bomber's paradise.  The most modern example is the success of JB Holmes at this tournament.  Holmes' only two PGA Tour wins are in this event.  The bomber has been successful because the course has set up well for gouging after a long drive. 

That in mind, expect that trend to continue this week.  After evaluating the field for the bombers, it comes down to a guess of which ones will putt best this week.

Provided the aforementioned success, it seems silly not to pick JB Holmes, so I will.  He is a B-list lock.  I'm very encouraged by Marc Leishman's continued form after a solid finale to '09.  Seems like it's worth putting some faith in him.

Since the Champions Tour is effectively a putting contest, Fred Couples' hot start on the 50+ junket earns him a spot on the bench with the B-list.  Geoff Ogilvy is on the squad, too, in his second non-match play PGA Tour start of the year.

Phil Mickelson is back to struggling with the short stick, so I don't see him doing that well this week.  Instead, I'm going with the utilitarian philosophy and having Bubba Watson on my team.  He's a bomber.  Good enough, right?

The C-list is lush with talent this week, including Ian Poulter.  My fantasy golf rules say to pick last week's winner, so I will, though I honestly expect him to be very tired after his performance in the match play. 

May as well stick with the European theme from the match play last weekend and have Martin Kaymer on the squad, too.

Best of luck this week!