Fantasy PGA Golf: Previewing the Waste Management Phoenix Open

The pages are really flying off of the calendar so far this golf season. This is already our fifth week of action. If you are just getting into fantasy golf, or if you just need a refresher course, check out my golf article from Week 1 of the 2012 PGA Tour season.

Since we are entering Week 5, we can begin to focus on some results from the current season when evaluating golfers. Over the course of the first month of the season I would generally draw from a golfer's overall statistics from 2011. If a golfer has two or three tournaments under their belt in 2012, we can start to examine their results, despite the small sample size.

This week we are in Scottsdale at The Stadium Course at TPC of Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The winner walks away with a cool $1,098,000. Mark Wilson is the defending champion after he defeated Jason Dufner in a playoff last season.

This is a TPC (Tournament Players Club) golf course. That means that there is a premium placed on accuracy and the short game. We are looking for excellent putters who ideally either hit a ton of GIR (Greens In Regulation) and/or have excellent scrambling ability. The course checks in at 7,216 yards, but distance off of the tee isn't a huge factor here.

As always, it helps if a player has a strong track record on a particular golf course. I tend to look for multiple years of strong finishes as opposed to a golfer who was just extremely hot last season.

You also need to consider how a golfer has played and finished so far this season. Statistics don't tell the entire story because the mental aspect of golf is so important. It's tough to trust a struggling player, no matter how good their track record is at a particular venue.

So who do I like this week?

Yahoo! Weekly Lineup Game

Group A

WEBB SIMPSON (Starting)—Simpson ranks seventh on Tour in GIR percentage at 78.47 percent. He's been solid in two events so far in 2012 and he finished tied for eight here last season with a -14. He has the ability to post the very low numbers needed to win this event.

KEEGAN BRADLEY (Bench)—Bradley has been very consistent so far in 2012, finishing 16th, 13th and 22nd in his three appearances. He ranks 11th in GIR percentage so far this season at 77.31 percent. Bradley doesn't have a history here, but he makes for a nice bench stash behind Simpson this week.

Group B

BRANDT SNEDEKER (Starting)—It's impossible not to roll with Snedeker right now. He is a phenomenal putter and he's coming off of a victory last week. He finished tied for eighth in his only other start this season. He finished tied for eighth here last season at -14.

D.A. POINTS (Starting)—Points is another golfer who is white hot right now. In three 2012 starts, Points has finished no worse than tied for 12th. He's tied for 11th on Tour in GIR percentage at 77.31 percent. Points shot -12 here last season to finish tied for 18th.

RICKIE FOWLER (Bench)—This feels a bit like deja vu from last week, but Fowler looked excellent. He's an excellent putter who can post extremely low scores when he's hot. He finished tied for 13th last week and finished tied for 13th here last season at -13.

MARK WILSON (Bench)—No reason not to put the defending champion on your bench. He finished tied for 14th here two years ago. On the season Wilson ranks seventh in driving accuracy and fourth in GIR percentage.

Group C

MARTIN LAIRD (Starting)—Again, Laird is a perfect fit this week. So far in 2012 he's finished second and tied for 14th in his two appearances. He ranks first overall in GIR percentage at 81.94 percentage. And he finished -16 here last year to finish tied for third.

JOHNSON WAGNER (Bench)—Wagner is ridiculously hot right now. In three 2012 appearances, he has finished tied for ninth, first and tied for second. Also he's ranked fourth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained-putting (1.743) so far in 2012. Could he turn into a pumpkin this week? Absolutely. But that's why he's on my bench and not starting.

Who do you pick in your weekly, survivor, eliminator and earnings league?

This is a bit tough, like it is every week. I don't think I would stray outside of the players I have picked for my Yahoo! lineup this week.

Again, it comes down to who can I use here that I might not use anywhere else? Looking at it that way, Mark Wilson, Martin Laird and Johnson Wagner jump out at me.

While it's probably not a very good reason, I'm not going with Wilson simply because repeat winners almost never happen. In this format I'm trying to find winners more than just players who make the cut and maybe the top 25.

So it's down to Laird and Wagner. I'm far more likely to use Laird elsewhere and Wagner has be extremely hot. But Wagner has no history here and if this is the week he turns into a pumpkin and misses the cut, my team gets nothing.

That means I'm going with Martin Laird this week.

Do you have any questions?

If so, please use the comments feature below if you have anything to ask or anything to add to the discussion. If you have a lineup or roster question, please be as specific as possible regarding the setup of your league.

Good luck to all this week.

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