The 2010 WGC CA Championship Six Pack

It looks like we may finally be on a roll here folks.

Thank you and congrats to Camilo Villegas for his dominating win at The Honda Classic last week. He really came out firing on all cylinders.

Too bad both Matt Every and Brett Quigley decided to collapse on Sunday. Every pick was in legitimate contention for a top five finish, paying out a nice 25:1 odds.

I would also like to send out a note of congratulations to Mr. Steve Prentiss. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, it shouldn’t.

I met him for a round of golf at Lakeville Country Club here in Massachusetts yesterday. On the seventh hole, a 167 yard par three, I had the pleasure of watching him achieve the first hole-in-one that he has ever had in 22 years of playing.

Special kudos to you Steve, it was a beautiful shot!

We are now on to the Blue Monster of Doral Country Club in sunny Miami, Florida. You hear lots of people talk about distance being the factor here, but at just over 7,200 yards, the pros should be fine.

It ranked as one of the easier 25 percent of tour stops last year.

Two key components to success here at Doral are hitting greens in regulation and being a good ball striker. Most of my picks in both the six pack and for Yahoo! fantasy are just that.

Tiger Woods is the only player to repeat here since Raymond Floyd did back in 1981. By the way, Woods has dominated this track winning six of the past eleven years and repeating three times in that span.

The field is grateful that the mighty Tiger’s return to the circuit will not be at The Blue Monster this week.

There are 68 players to choose from this week. The value of the gambling aspect is somewhat limited due to there being no cut, and the fact that there is a limited and smaller field. Fear not compadres, your pal Bottom Line Jay has put together some great picks for you this week.

FYI, I will also be writing a separate abbreviated six pack for the red-headed-stepchild-event known as the Puerto Rico Open. My apologies in advance for all of you redheads with step-parents.

I had a nice week in Yahoo! fantasy last week, scoring 169 points. My season total is now up to 1435 points.

I stayed in the same 76th percentile in my FOHM group and crept up two percentage points overall to the 83rd percentile. I am still ahead of Arkush (1200) and now also ahead of Vara (1417). I am nipping on the heels of both Romig (1473) and Planer (1486). I might catch them this week.

GROUP A
Start Zach Johnson
Bench Vijay Singh

GROUP B
Start Geoff Ogilvy
Camilo Villegas
Bench Retief Goosen
Jim Furyk

GROUP C
Start Paul Casey
Bench Soren Kjeldsen

Let’s get on to the six pack and try to make some money!

No. 1 Jim Furyk

I really love Jim Furyk in this event. Since 1997 he has won here, placed second twice, and had three additional top 10 finishes. In three events so far this year, he has cracked the top 20 twice.

Furyk definitely has an eye for this course and is playing well enough that he may finally get that victory that has eluded him these past two seasons.

Furyk is great on approaches from over 200 yards and currently ranks third on tour. He is a great scrambler from outside 30 yards and also ranks third on tour.

I also love Jim’s accuracy off the tee. He has hit 74.77 percent of his fairways this year and ranks 11th there.

At 22:1 odds, Jim Furyk is my “low odds” favorite this week.

No. 2 Retief Goosen

It’s almost impossible for me to not pick Retief Goosen this week. He has had success at Doral with some nice finishes. He has placed second, third, eighth, and also has a tie for 15th.

This year he has made three of four cuts. The three cuts he made, he finished sixth, fourth and fifth! Talk about being on a roll…

Here are some key stats to Retief’s success this week:

-10th in GIR percentage at 74.75 percent
-Ninth in All-Around ranking
-First on tour in final round scoring average at 65.5 strokes

Watch for Goosen on Sunday if he is anywhere near the top 10. Goosen offers decent value this week at 25:1 odds and is my second “low odds” favorite.

No.3 Zach Johnson

A man of God and a man avoiding the radar screen this year.

Zach loves to play Doral and he has some impressive finishes to prove it. His best was a tie for third last year. He also has two ties for ninth and a nice tie for 15th.

Zach has made all four of his cuts this year placing 18th, 12th, 17th and 24th. He appears to be warmed up and ready to pounce.

Check out these important stats:

-Fifth in GIR percentage at 75.93 percent
-Fifth in Total Driving (combo of length and accuracy)
-First on tour in Ball Striking (combo of fairways and GIRs)

I immediately clicked away on Zach this week as he is a terrific 33:1 odds and is truly a world class player that shows up for big tournaments.

No. 4 Vijay Singh

I don’t think I am the only one who knows that this man is back and ready to win.

Singh is feeling great after two knee surgeries and I think he has finally tamed his putter woes that have been plaguing him recently.

He had a super tie for fourth at the Honda Classic last week. Doral could not have come a better time for the mighty Fijian.

Since 1997, Singh has nine finishes inside the top 20 and five of those have been inside the top five! You know he LOVES this course and it suits his game. He could not be coming here at a better time.

Singh has made four of five cuts and his best finish was fourth place last week. His other finishes have not been great, hence his stats are somewhat lacking.

What I do like is his All-Around ranking of 32nd. I also, more importantly, love his GIR over 200 yards. He ranks 22nd on tour there.

Singh is going to contend this week, mark my words. Scoop him up now at 40:1 odds of winning.

No. 5 Stewart Cink

David Coverdale said it best when he sang, “Here I go again…”

Of course, a mainstay regular to the six pack, Stewart Cink had to make an appearance. Cink has absolutely been a quality contender at Doral over the years. Two fourth place finishes, two ties for 20th, a tie for 12th, and a tie for 17th to name a few.

Cink is not tearing it up this year, yet he has had some respectable finishes with a tie for ninth and a tie for fifth so far.

He has made all of his cuts, and don’t forget, it IS a Ryder Cup year. That means in these “major-like” tournaments Cink is out to impress and I have no doubt he will do just that this week.

Let’s go inside Cink’s numbers:

-Second in GIR percentage at 76.85 percent
-13th in Ball Striking
-21st in Driving Distance at just over 290 yards

Take a chance with Cink this week. He has a value-ridden 50:1 odds of winning.

No. 6 Nick Watney

Unlike last week, I am not going with any real long shots this week. Nick Watney will have to do as my long shot.

Watney has tied for second here before and it is his best effort on the Blue Monster. What really impresses me about him this week is his recent play.

Nick has made five out of six cuts and has two ties for ninth. His other two performances have seen him just outside the top 20.

If Nick Watney putts well this week, he may win this event by more than a few strokes.

Let’s look at his stats:

-13th in GIR at 73.77 percent
-14th in Ball Striking
-He has the sixth-lowest round this year with a 63

I recommend Nick Watney this week at 50:1 odds of winning.

Good luck this week, and please feel free to comment with any questions you may have.