PGA Tour: Top 15 Fantasy League Bargains for 2012

The official 2012 PGA Tour season kicks off Friday with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, a winners only event that has just 28 players vying for the $1.12 million first-place check.

Pictured above you see Luke Donald, the world's No. 1-ranked player, who pulled off a stunning feat in 2011, winning the money titles in both the United States and Europe. While everyone expects Donald to have another fantastic year, and he's currently taken the title of "best player not to have won a major" away from Lee Westwood, Donald is not on our list of the best fantasy bargains for 2012.

Simply put, this list is players who we feel will win a lot more money in 2012 than they did in 2011. Most salary leagues charge you the amount the player earned in 2011, so it's hard to say that Donald would be a good value after winning $6.6 million on the PGA Tour last year.

With apologies to Luke, here is our list of the top fantasy bargains for the 2012 season.

15. Gary Woodland

It's tough to say a guy who pocketed over $3.4 million last year could be a bargain, but we're going with Woodland as the highest earner from last year on our list. 

There's just nothing not to like about the Kansas bomber, (fifth on Tour in driving distance), widely considered the best athlete on tour. Not only does Woodland hit it a mile, but he was also 12th in greens in regulation. 

Woodland seemingly came out of nowhere over the past year-and-a-half, but with all his ability there's no reason he can't enter the upper-level tier of players like fellow bombers Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney and Bubba Watson.

Look for Woodland to easily surpass last year's winnings and be a serious contender to make the Ryder Cup team.

14. Cameron Tringale

In a close call, we're going to list Cameron Tringale at No. 14 over Sean O'Hair. Expect O'Hair to have a bounce-back season. He won $1.48 million last year but almost all of it by winning the Canadian Open. While it seems O'Hair has been around forever, he's still just 30 years old and with a new swing coach in 2012, he should eclipse his winnings from last year.

However, we see Tringale as a better value after winning $1.32 million last year. Tringale had a very consistent 2011, with four top-10 finishes and eight top 25's. He made 23 cuts last year, and if that continues, a few higher finishes should help him blow past $1.32 million.

The 24-year-old seems on the cusp of fulfilling the big hype after being a three-time All-American at Georgia Tech and ACC player of the year as a freshman.

13. Padraig Harrington

I liked this picture best of Padraig Harrington because of all the players on our list, he might be the biggest gamble of them all.

Just over two years ago, Harrington was the third-ranked player in the world, but for some reason he decided he needed to overhaul his swing and he hasn't been the same since.

Having said that, there's just no way Harrington can't be a great bargain after winning just $802,000 last season. Harrington fired his swing coach last summer and hired Pete Cowen to get him back on track. A third-place finish in Malaysia towards the end of the year showed there is hope that Paddy is rounding back into form.

Whether Harrington can become a top-15 player again is anybody's guess, but if he plays anywhere near the 18 tour events he did last year, he's a steal at $800,000.

12. Stewart Cink

The PGA Tour's most famous tweeter seems to be going in reverse with his career. Since edging Tom Watson for the 2009 British Open, Cink has just four top 10's and only had one in 2011.

At 38-years-old, Cink is going through some swing changes and might not have the desire he once did, but he's still just too talented to keep playing so poorly.

After a disastrous 2011 that saw Cink miss eight cuts and make just over $900,000, look for him to rebound to at least the $1.5 million area and get his career back on track. 

11. Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson isn't exactly a steal at $1.88 million, but after going winless for the first time in five years in 2011, look for him to get back in the win column in 2012 and make a strong push to get onto the Ryder Cup team.

A stat fantasy leaguers can love is that Johnson has missed just 10 cuts in his last 75 starts. Johnson is the quintessential grinder and with his stellar wedge play, if he is putting the ball well, he is always a threat.

Johnson's runner-up finish at the Chevron World Challenge in December showed he is ready to hit the ground running in 2012. Think of him as a poor man's Luke Donald and a solid bargain for fantasy teams.

10. Bud Cauley

It's hard not to jump on the bandwagon of 21-year-old Bud Cauley after his short but brilliant stint on the PGA Tour last summer. Cauley became just the seventh golfer in history to make enough money in limited events last year to bypass having to go to Q school this winter.

Cauley decided to turn pro after qualifying for the U.S. Open last summer and after making the cut there, he never looked back. In just eight tour starts, Cauley had five top-15 finishes and two in the top three.

Cauley enters the 2012 season as just about everybody's pick to be the rookie of the year and with a full schedule of events, he should blow past his price tag of $735,000. His age and experience are the only reasons he isn't higher on this list.

9. Camilo Villegas

Villegas turns 30 years old on Saturday and after a severely disappointing 2011 season, he looks to be back in form and should be a steal in fantasy leagues after making just $1.2 million last season.

Villegas may have been guilty of chasing the almighty dollar, as an equipment change seemed to be the main source of his off-year, but his recent play included great play in the first three FedEx playoff events and then a T-4 in the Malaysian Open.

The workout warrior played in 25 events last season and if he plays anywhere near that many in 2012, he should blow past the $1.2 million he made last year, but we wouldn't be surprised if he tripled that number.

8. Kyle Stanley

Stanley's rookie season flew under the radar last year, especially compared to those of Keegan Bradley and Brandon Steele. But with an overall game that might match either of theirs, Stanley is the better fantasy value at $1.52 million.

Stanley was not one of the six rookies to win on tour last year, but the Clemson grad was very close, losing out to Steve Stricker's miracle fairway sand shot at the John Deere Classic. The 24-year-old had a brilliant college career, setting 18 scoring records as a freshman. 

Look for the talented Stanley to break through to the win column in 2012 and fly past his $1.52 million earned last season.

7. Ian Poulter

Look for the short-game wizard and match-play specialist to bounce back from his worst year on Tour in 2012. Poulter plays one of those odd world schedules that had him end the season 115th on the PGA Tour money list, but still ranked 26th in the world.

No matter how many events he plays on our tour (he played 16 last year), look for Poulter to easily pass his $740,000 in earnings last year. 

With the Ryder Cup looming for next fall, you just know Poulter will find a way to play his way on to the European team and he's a fantasy steal at that low cost.

6. Sergio Garcia

It's becoming a yearly saying among golf experts. "This is the year Sergio bounces back." Well, add me to the list for this year. About to turn 32 years old, Sergio is still in the tiny club of three with Tiger and Phil, who other players on Tour say about, "he can hit shots that the rest of us just can't hit."

The talent has always been there, but the brooding and self-defeating attitude have probably robbed Sergio of some victories along the way.

Suffice to say that the second half of 2011 showed the most promise in years that the Spaniard is ready to re-claim his status as one of the world's elite players. Ranked as low as 76th in the world in June, consecutive wins in Spain in October have Garcia back up to 17th.

Don't think that Jose Maria Olazabal captaining the European Ryder Cup team next fall won't add an extra bit of fire to Sergio's game this year.

At $1.52 million Sergio is a steal, as this is the year he bounces back.

5. Rickie Fowler

It's hard to say the 23-year-old phenom in waiting is a steal at just over $2 million, but with all of Fowler's talent, it's hard to think he won't add one or two million to that total in 2012.

Fowler had four top 10's on Tour last year, but his big breakthrough came in Korea in October when he got his first win as a pro, dominating the field and beating Rory McIlroy by a whopping six shots.

Fowler may be winless in 55 starts on the PGA Tour, but look for that to change in 2012 and look for Fowler to easily play his way on to the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

4. Anthony Kim

Two words sum up Anthony Kim's 2011 season on Tour: What happened? How a guy with this much talent only made a million dollars playing in 26 events is a complete mystery. Yes, the whispers are that maybe he's been living a little too much of the good life, but it seems crazy to think that Kim won't at the very least double that earnings output in 2012.

Kim battled thumb injuries for most of 2010 and struggled to regain his form last year. However, with two third-place finishes and a runner-up in Asia last fall, Kim appears ready to go for the 2012 season.

Count him as another guy who could be laughably cheap at $1.08 million as Kim puts his game into overdrive to try to get a spot on the Ryder Cup team.

3. Jim Furyk

Was 2011 the beginning of a career decline for Jim Furyk? The 2010 FedEx Cup winner had just two top- 10 finishes last year and made, for him, a measly $1.52 million.

Here's betting a huge no to that question. Furyk followed up his bad season by being the dominant player at the President's Cup, going 5-0 in his matches and quieting talk that his best days might be behind him.

It was Furyk's putting that was his Achilles heal for most of last season, so does anybody doubt that the famous grinder has spent his offseason getting his stroke back?

Look for Furyk to storm back into the Top 20 in 2012.

2. Paul Casey

Paul Casey only made $590,000 last year? Huh?

I would think that Casey could make 590 grand playing left-handed. His year-and-a-half battle with "turf toe" seems to be behind him and Casey enters the 2012 season ready to reclaim his status as one of the best players in the world.

The Scottsdale resident is a silly bargain at $590,000 and even if he plays a limited number of events, he is a no-brainer to add to any roster at that price.

1. Tiger Woods

Well duh.

We won't re-hash all the troubles Tiger has seen in the three years since he's won a major, but his play at the President's Cup and then his win over Zach Johnson at the Chevron World Challenge certainly had the rest of the golfing world take notice.

Can he become as dominant as he once was? Will he catch Jack's record? Will he stop being so condescending with the media? 

I don't know of anybody that is willing to bet against him and with apologies to Rory and Luke, he enters the 2012 season as the biggest story line in golf by a wide margin.

All I know is that he could match last year's total of $660,000 with three clubs in his bag.