The 2010 WM Phoenix Open Six Pack

Well, I finally picked a winner last week in Ian Poulter.

The first US win was a long time coming for Ian, and his match play victory was well deserved. He now is ranked sixth in the world and also surprisingly is going to play this weekend at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Typically players take the week off after a win.

This week we have, “The Greatest Show on Grass” being held at the wildly popular TPC Scottsdale. Wild galleries, and the loudest hole on tour await this week’s competitors. What a field!

Will JB Holmes continue his magical run in Phoenix by winning every other year? The books seem to think so, and he is off to a fabulous start this year. Keep your eyes peeled.

I made a little bit of headway in Yahoo fantasy last week. I am currently at 1122 points. I am doing better than one of the experts, Michael Arkush who is at 964 points. I am just behind Matt Romig at 1123 points, and a bit further back from Greg Vara and Eric Planer who hold 1169 and 1210 points respectively.

In my group The Fans of Hunter Mahan I am in the 72nd percentile and overall I am in the 79th percentile.

Here’s who I like in Yahoo Fantasy this week:

GROUP A
Start: Zach Johnson Backup: Steve Marino

GROUP B
Start: Robert Allenby and JB Holmes Backup: Kevin Na and Brian Gay

GROUP C
Start: Martin Kaymer Backup: John Rollins

Things are starting to warm up for me, so let’s get into this week’s six pack.

No. 1 Camillo Villegas

Hopefully you got to take a peek at this guy during last week’s match play.

It’s truly amazing what a haircut can do for a guy isn’t it?

Villegas was draining putts left and right. He was nailing long approach shots with deadly accuracy. His short game was lethal. It looks as though he is going to come out shooting here in 2010.

He finished second here in 2006. Since then he has missed the cut twice and finished 34th. I am willing to overlook the recent poor performance here, in lieu of his spectacular season debut at the WGC Accenture Match Play in which he placed third.

Villegas has been playing overseas this season and has fared very well. In his last four events he has placed third, fifth, 19th, and ninth.

TPC Scottsdale sets itself up for players who can drop eagles. Camilo happens to be one of those guys that gets many eagles each year. He also typically carries a very low scoring average each year.

Keep your eyes peeled for Villegas this week. His odds are 30:1 to win it all.

No. 2 Brian Gay

Talk about a guy who has paid his dues on tour, and Brian Gay has to come into the conversation. Since he came on tour in 1999 he’s had his ups and downs. His past two years he has seen great success, including two wins last year.

Gay is off to a fantastic start this year. He is a perfect four for four on cuts made. All four performances have been top 25’s or better, including a surprising T9 last week at the WGC Match Play.

Gay is fifth in driving accuracy right now at 76.15 percent. He is second in putting with 27.41 putts per round and he is sixth in scrambling on tour at 73.68 percent.

These are three excellent factors to be ranked high in. He likes this track and has only missed the cut here once in eight attempts. He has an excellent progression here going: T33, T23, T17, T6 in years 2006 through 2009. Couple that with his past five PGA events trending up and we have a formula for success.

Bet on Brian Gay this week, he offers terrific value at 33:1 odds to win it all.

No. 3 Kevin Na

This kid HAS to win this event this week!

He’s played here four times. Three of those finishes have been second, third and fourth. Now that is magic if I have ever seen it.

Na is five for five on cuts made this year and already has two top tens.

Kevin is 22nd in scoring average this year with 70.14 strokes per round. He is first on tour in putts per round at 27.35 putts and currently ranks 12th in birdies made this year with 74.

Na’s putter is truly a thing of beauty and will be his magic wand to victory this week.

You can’t go wrong with Kevin Na this week at 33:1 odds.

No. 4 Matt Kuchar

Kuchar has come out of the gates firing this year. He is currently ranked eighth in FedEx Cup points with 493.

Matt has made four of six cuts so far this year, and all four of those cuts he made were T25 or better, including a tied for second place at the Bob Hope Classic and a tie for third at the SBS Championship in Kapalua.

Matt ranks fifth in the PGA in “all-around” ranking. He is sixth in actual scoring average with 68.65 strokes per round and also ninth in Par Breakers at 26.47 percent.

I personally think Matt is WAY under the radar this week and offers tremendous value at 40:12 odds of winning.

No. 5 Brandt Snedeker

Another feel good story for 2010, I hope, is that of Brandt Snedeker.

He looks to be coming back very strong after a disappointing 2009 season. He has already banked almost half of what he made all year in 2009. He’s a likeable guy, and easy to root for.

I love the fact that Sneds has got his putter working right now. He is currently ranked third in putts per round at 27.53 putts per round, a terrific number. Brandt is also eleventh in scoring average right now on tour with 68.82 strokes per round. He is also a birdie machine, racking up 81 birdies so far this year, ranking sixth.

Snedeker already has two top tens this year and is a perfect four for four on cuts made. His other two finishes were an impressive 20th and 21st. Brandt is absolutely killing it on the par threes this year. He ranks first on the PGA tour at -11 on par threes so far.

Snedeker is a GREAT pick this week. He has finished ninth here before. He also gives us great incentive to wager on him as he is a tempting 50:1odds of winning.

No. 6 Kevin Stadler

My long shot this week is going to be the Walrus Jr.

His recent play has been really good in his past four events he has gone 18th, CUT, 10th and 9th. This shows he is progressing upwards rather nicely.

Stadler has only attempted this event once before and had to withdraw. With his current play, he has an opportunity to get some really rowdy fans behind him. If that happens he may feel the spirit and take it to the next level.

Kevin is ranked 12th in Greens in Regulation at 74.75 percent this year. He is ranked 15th “all-around” and is 12th in par breakers breaking par 26.26 percent of the time.

Sprinkle a T5 on this guy and couple of bucks for him to win as he is a whopping 125:1 odds of winning.

Good luck this week!