The 2009 Travelers Championship Six Pack

Another U.S. Open is in the books.

Congrats to Lucas Glover, for finally winning an event. I always knew he was capable of doing it, but certainly would NEVER have selected him to win the U.S. Open. Good for him. Also, and more importantly, good for his confidence.

Pictured above is Stewart Cink, last years Travelers Champion. I will not be selecting him this year, even though he is a tempting 20:1. You know the rule, I never pick guys to repeat. Plus it's not a Ryder Cup year.

What the hell does the Ryder Cup have to do with anything?

For some reason, if it is a Ryder Cup year, Stew Cink plays the PGA tour like a wizard. That does not mean, Stew is not having a good year, it just means that you should wait to see what he does next year.

I really like Stewart Cink, he's a great guy, I'm just not taking him this week.

The Travelers Championship, kind of catapulted Hunter Mahan into the spotlight in 2007, so he is clearly the favorite here this week at 12:1 on most books this week.

His impressive T6 (even though he ironically got screwed by hitting the flag stick on the 16th hole helping send him just out of the top 5) at the US Open, has also limited his value this week.

This is the time of year that Mahan excels on tour, so I will be keeping a close eye on him over the next five weeks.

Okay, here's who I like in Yahoo fantasy this week:

GROUP A I will be starting one of my favorite guys Kenny Perry, and backing him up with a great young talent, Kevin Na.

GROUP B The snorkler Woody Austin and Mr. Focus, Steve Marino get the nod this week. The skilled Hunter Mahan and one of my favorite young guns, Dustin Johnson will back them up.

GROUP C In group C I had a tough time, but I am convinced Scott Verplank is the cream of the crop, and I will take a shot with the risky Nick O'Hern as his backup.

I am still killing it in Yahoo, BTW. I'll throw my stats at you next week. It's safe to say, I am far ahead of all the "experts."

Now let's try and make some money with the six pack. Whaddaya say?

No. 1 Kenny Perry

It's broken record time.

Let's just sum it up with two words: NO RESPECT.

Perry is not playing at the torrid level he was earlier in the year, but the last few events he has been in were not easy tracks, and he is still a perfect 15 for 15 in cuts made in '09.

Perry has always contended at this event, yet has never won it. His last five events have been respectable, so I like him to make a decent run at this Cromwell track this weekend.

Kenny is 8th in Total driving, 9th in GIR % at 68.69%, and 4th in Ball striking. There is no question he has the skills to get to the green, the question is, will he get his putter going?

If the putter rolls his way, he wins hands down as a 20:1 favorite.

No. 2 David Toms

If David Toms doesn't win in 2009, then I will be shocked.

Toms may have missed the cut at the US Open, but he still played great, and narrowly missed about seven birdie putts in round 1, by mere millimeters.

I am not holding the cut against him, AT ALL.

He has two T10's in his last five events, and in 2009, he has already earned three times what he earned in all of his injury plagued 2008 campaign.

Toms stats are impressive thus far. He is ranked second in All Around performance, 1st in driving accuracy, and 2nd in scoring average.

If he puts all the pieces together over four rounds, the puzzle will be solved for a great philanthropist who really deserves a victory.

Toms has only ventured to TPC River Highlands a few times, and always fares well. He clearly represents excellent value at 20:1 odds

No. 3 Woody Austin

Hopefully this nut case stays away from the water this week!

That being said, Woody Austin is a great under the radar pick this week, I just wish I could have gotten a bit more value than I did.

The Woodster has won on this track when it was the Buick Championship in 2004, and has a couple other T10 finishes. Over the past five events, he has missed his only cut of the year, but in the others he was very close to the T25, with two of those being in the top 10.

Austin doesn't have tons of great stats. He is pretty much okay at everything, thus giving him a ranking of T30 in the All Around category. He does have 206 birdies so far in 2009, which ranks 20th, and is 15th in birdies or better on Par 4's at 18.92%.

He needs to keep that birdie trend going.

I'm going to give this guy a shot at 30:1 this week. I just hope he doesn't knock himself out cold with his putter.

No. 4 Steve Marino

I know, you're shocked to see this guy here aren't you?

This event is a great event for one of the young up and comers to break out and win, just ask Hunter Mahan.

This track sets up great for Marino's game this week and I think that his ability to nail birdies (he ranks 5th on tour with 229 birds his year) will get the job done. Plus, this guy is sooooo due for a win.

He has played great recently and should be rested up after a week off. This guy is 6th on tour in GIR % at 68.95% and also ranks 13th with an impressive scoring average of 69.91 strokes per round.

As usual, I love Steve Marino's odds to win this week at 35:1.

Unfortunately, the books may finally be onto this guy. His days of 60:1 or higher, sadly might be over.

No. 5 Kevin Na

Both Hunter Mahan and Kevin Na entered the PGA in the same year. I expected great things from both of them, it's just taken Na a little bit longer to develop.

2009 is clearly the "coming out" year for Kevin Na. He has already nearly doubled his entire earnings of 2008, and ranks 19th in FedEx Cup points. All that, and he has never won.

He has however come in T3 twice this year.

Check this out. Na has made 10 cuts out of 15 events. Out of those 10 events 9 have been T25 or better. Six of those 9 were T10 or better.

This kid is very, very due.

Na is a great putter, ranking 14th in putts per round at 28.21. He is 12th in scoring average, and also 12th in scrambling, showing that he can save himself when he gets in trouble.

Kevin Na is a player who offers excellent value at 40:1 odds this week.

No 6. Kevin Sutherland

I always try to pick one of the longer long shots, but this week, there is no one that jumps out and grabs my attention.

Then I came across Kevin Sutherland.

I added him, scratched, him, added, scratched, added, scratched my head, then saw the light and put my money down on him.

Sutherland is nothing flashy, but has made 14 cuts in 16 events this year. Surprising to me, he has six T25 or better finishes this year which tells me he may have a break out soon.

He hits a lot of greens, and ranks 34th in GIR % at 67.15 percent. If he can put some low rounds together, I think he can contend here.

His past history here has been very good and his last five rounds have him right in the T20's, with one T9 and one cut.

At 66:1 odds, I will give Kevin Sutherland a loooooong shot this week.

Good luck to you all, no matter who you pick.