Golf's 2009 Players' Championship Six Pack

They call it "The Fifth Major."

Whatever you call it, it is a talent packed field stacked with the best the PGA has to offer.

This year's field is so filled with valuable picks, it was very hard to narrow down my six pack, and also it was fairly difficult to pick my fantasy lineup this week.

One thing I noticed about the expert picks on Yahoo, is that virtually everyone picked Sean O'Hair. Sean O'Hair is a great player, and a worthy pick. However, I always tend to shy away from picking a guy who won the previous week. Odds are extremely slim that they will win the following week.

Heck, most guys usually take the following week off.

A lot of people are picking Sergio. I am not one of them. The odds of him repeating a victory at this event are ZERO. I am guaranteeing that Garcia does not win this event.

First off, his game is not super sharp yet this year, and secondly I still think he may be feeling the brunt of his comments about Augusta, even though he gave a heart felt apology. Was the sarcasm received there okay?

I hope so.

The other interesting thing about The Players Championship, is that it always takes place at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Many of you probably know that Ponte Vedra is home to many golfers on the PGA Tour.

What many of you may NOT know is that this event has not been won by the same person in the past 17 years. Davis Love III is the last two or more time winner at TPC Sawgrass. His last victory here was in 2003, before that it was back in 1992.

Not even Tiger the Great has had a repeat win here. His only victory at The Players Championship came in 2001.

I weighed this factor heavily in making my picks this week in both fantasy and in the netherworld of the sportsbooks.

I slipped a few notches in Yahoo fantasy last week, but am still in the 99th percentile overall and in my group, The Fans of Hunter Mahan.

Here are my Yahoo fantasy selections for this week:

GROUP A
Jim Furyk (ST), Ernie Els

GROUP B
Briny Baird (ST), Davis Love III (ST), Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker

GROUP C
Retief Goosen (ST), Luke Donald

Some of my picks may come as surprises to many of you, but I am confident in them.

Before we get to the six pack, I have two guys you should avoid like the Swine Flu.

Stay away from Vijay Singh (60/1) and Adam Scott (80/1). Vijay is damaged goods right now, and who knows when he will be back to normal form. Adam Scott is nothing but a pure mystery as to what has happened to him. For the first time in his career he has missed three consecutive cuts. I cannot believe that the odds of winning this tournament for these guys are 60:1 and 80:1.

That Kate Hudson must be one fine piece of tail.

Let's check out my six pack for this week, for any of you that may be interested in doing some wagering.

No. 1: Geoff Ogilvy

Okay gang, whenever you can get the No. 4 player in the world at 25:1 odds, you take it.

That's an automatic in my book.

Ogilvy is off to a terrific start, already winning twice this year. He ranks first in birdie average and leads all players in Fed Ex Cup points.

Ogilvy is second on tour in putting average, and 2nd on tour in money earned.

I think that the Players Championship is a title that is aptly named for a player like Geoff Ogilvy. He is truly one of the most talented guys to play the game, and is currently dialed in.

Ogilvy placed 15th in The Masters this year and always shows up for big tournaments.

Go ahead and give Geoff a sprinkle at 25:1 odds.

No. 2: Kenny Perry

So, if you can take the fourth best player in the world at 25:1, then it is even MORE elementary to take the fifth best golfer in the world at 30:1!

I absolutely am in amazement every time I see Kenny Perry ranked at 20:1 or higher.

This man gets no respect from the sports books. One of these days, they will learn.

Perry has not missed a cut this year. He is fourth in scoring average, fourth in all-around ranking, and is first in top 10 finishes on tour this year.

Kenny is playing the par 4's at -14 so far this year which ranks him second. And he is currently playing the par 5's at -62 which ranks fifth.

If his meltdown at The Masters has you concerned, get over it.

Kenny has.

At 30/1 odds, it is impossible for me to ignore this guy's value.

No. 3: Jim Furyk

This is getting ridiculous.

Jim Furyk is another superstar available for very good value this week.

Furyk is actually playing very well this year and is grossly overdue for a victory. He has not won on the PGA Tour since The Canadian Open in July of 2007.

I found that hard to believe while researching it.

Furyk has three T10 or better finishes this year, and ranks 21st on tour in driving accuracy. He is third in putts per round, and he ranks 10th in scrambling. The combination of his excellent skill sets here, will make Sawgrass a good track for him.

Furyk has always played well here over the years.

If you are giving me 30:1 odds for this guy, I am all over it.

No. 4: Ernie Els

My six pack is almost like a who's who on the PGA this week.

Let's keep the snowball building with the wily South African, Ernie Els.

Ernie is ranked 15th in the world, and has made eight cuts out of nine events so far. He has two top tens, and five top 25 finishes in 2009.

Els ranks seventh in total driving, 22nd in GIR, and sixth in scrambling. Again, another great combo of skills to bring to Sawgrass.

If Ernie is close on Sunday, I like his odds, as he ranks fifth on tour in final-round scoring, averaging at 68.86. Els placed sixth here last year and 8th here in 2006, so you know he likes the layout.

At 40/1 you can't go wrong with this guy. You know he badly wants a win at Sawgrass.

No. 5: Retief Goosen

Looks like Retief is all smiles here, and so am I!

Goosen has already made $200,000 more than he did in ALL of last year, in HALF the events. Without a doubt, 2009 is his comeback year.

Goosen won the Transitions Championship earlier, and has made eight of nine cuts. He is ranked 21st in the world right now.

Goosen is currently 11th in Fed Ex Cup points, and also 11th in overall money for 2009. He can really catapult himself to the top with a win here this week, at a place where he is more than capable of playing well. He was runner up here back in '06 and has to have a feeling on incompleteness.

I love Goosen this week, and at 40/1 odds, you cannot go wrong. Five dollars could easily turn into $200.

No. 6: Robert Allenby

This is crazy that I am calling this man my long shot super sleeper of the week!

Robert Allenby has been good this year, but not great.

He still ranks 33rd in the world and has a T10 and three T25 finishes in eight events. He can bomb the ball, ranking 25th in driving distance. He also ranks 27th in GIR and 10th in total driving.

His last three events have been so-so, one of which was a cut at The Verizon Heritage Championship.

Allenby's odds are also high this week, because he has not played great at Sawgrass in the past four years. However, prior to that, he had numerous T25 finishes and even placed fourth in 2003.

Any time I see someone as skilled at Robert Allenby with odds of 100:1, you can bet I am going to wager something on them because that is crazy value.

As always, I wish you all the best of luck this week. Hit 'em straight.