PGA Tour Fantasy Golf: The FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind Preview

This week we are in Memphis, Tennessee at TPC Southwind for the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Harrison Frazar is the defending champion. The winner will take home $1,008,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points.

TPC Southwind is not one of the easier tracks on the PGA Tour. Although I constantly harp on using accurate golfers, TPC Southwind puts an even bigger premium on accuracy than usual. We are going to be looking for golfers that hit a ton of fairways (Driving Accuracy Percentage) and greens (Greens In Regulation Percentage).

After a jam-packed field last week, we don't have nearly as many quality options to go with this week. So, prior success here, or recent success in general, is nice but not necessary. We are strictly going for either the best fit here, or the best overall golfer. With a smaller field, it will be difficult to find players who fit that criteria.

Yahoo! Weekly Lineup Game

Group A

Zach Johnson (Starting)

Johnson is about as hot as a golfer can get right now. In his last four tournaments, he has two second place finishes and a victory. He finished tied for 12th here back in 2010. He ranks 15th in driving accuracy and a tidy seventh in putting (Strokes Gained-Putting).

Charles Howell III (Bench)

To be honest, I don't expect to need a bench player in Group A this week. Howell III offers the best bench option on the board here. He's been very volatile this season, but he played similar golf last year and finished tied for third here. He could miss the cut, but he could also post a top-10 finish. He's worth stashing on your bench here.

Also worth using: Spencer Levin

Group B

Dustin Johnson (Starting)

Johnson has been very solid while playing a somewhat limited schedule so far in 2012. He is coming off of a tied for 19th finish at the Memorial last weekend. Statistically, Johnson isn't a great fit here and he doesn't have a history here, but he's the most consistent golfer in Group B this week.

Ryan Palmer (Starting)

Palmer has been playing excellent golf as of late. He has three top-10 finishes (T4, T9 and T5) in his last four events. Palmer is long off of the tee (ninth on Tour in driving distance) and has been putting extremely well (10th in putting). He doesn't have a history here, but he's playing good golf right now. That will have to be enough this week.

Rory McIlroy (Bench)

After an incredible start to 2012, McIlroy has slowed down noticeably, missing the cut in his last two events. I avoided him last week at the Memorial, but with such a small field this week, he at least needs to be a bench option. Since I don't feel strongly about my starters, there is a good chance I will sub in McIlroy if he finds his game. He finished tied for 29th here back in 2010. He also ranks 29th on Tour in GIR (Greens In Regulation Percentage).

David Toms (Bench)

Toms has been playing good golf recently, despite a missed cut last week at the Memorial. He ranks second on Tour in driving accuracy and 22nd in GIR, which should really help him here. He finished tied for 29th here back in 2010.

Also worth using: Harrison Frazar and Bryce Molder

Group C

Graeme McDowell (Starting)

McDowell started off 2012 on fire, but he has cooled off recently. The key for him at TPC Southwind is his outstanding accuracy. He ranks first on Tour in driving accuracy and 18th in GIR. That makes McDowell the best option in Group C this week.

Martin Laird (Bench)

Laird is coming off of a second place finish in his last appearance, which was at The Players Championship. Laird ranks ninth on Tour in GIR, which should come in handy at TPC Southwind.

Also worth using: Brian Gay

Picks for The Golf Channel Fantasy Challenge

Group One: Zach Johnson

Group Two: Ryan Palmer

Group Three: Roberto Castro

Group Four: Will Claxton

Who to choose in your Weekly Survivor/Eliminator/Earnings League

The cupboard is fairly bare for me this week. If you haven't used Zach Johnson or Graeme McDowell yet, this would be a good week to do so.

I'm left with Ryan Palmer and Dustin Johnson as my two most viable options. Both players are long off of the tee and are above average with their putters. Palmer has been playing better (and more often) recently, but Dustin Johnson is the better overall golfer.

Johnson doesn't really have a history at TPC Southwind while Palmer has only made one cut in four appearances there. For lack of a better tiebreaker, I am going to go with Dustin Johnson this week.

Already Used: Bryce Molder, Steve Marino, Bill Haas, D.A. Points, Martin Laird, Hunter Mahan, K.J. Choi, Rory McIlroy, Jarrod Lyle, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, John Senden, Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Bo Van Pelt, Fredrik Jacobson, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson and Ben Curtis.

Note: Pay attention to your league rules/format. For instance, I am in an Earnings League that has two seasons. One is from the beginning of the year until the U.S. Open, and the other is everything after the Open until the end of the season. In such a format, there are only two events left in Season One, so if this applies to you, now is the time to use your best golfers.

Good luck to all this week. If you have any comments or questions, please use the comments feature or reach out to me on Twitter.

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