The Mulligan: To Sawgrass

I think everyone looks forward to the Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, except possibly some of the players themselves. The 17th hole has been criticized for being too "gimmicky" or "luck-driven." Quit your belly-aching! Anyone who makes over 6 figures in a year playing golf loses the right to whine about things like this. Especially since the players know that how much we fans love to watch them hit their ball into the lake. It makes us feel better to see the best players in the world take a drop and it is very exciting to watch that hole. This tournament is great because of number 17, and the great field that shows up every year to play it.

A great side story this week is Phil Mickelson's bid to become the number one ranked player in the world. With a win from Lefty, and a finish outside the Top-5 from Tiger, we have a new king of golf. Look for Phil to play well this week at Sawgrass.

First, I look for Henrik Stenson to play well here again. He won here last year and he has always played well at Sawgrass. He has been playing well overseas this season, so his success has been a little under the radar. Don't sleep on the Swede.

Ian Poulter might turn some heads this week as well. He finished 2nd here last year and we all know what he is capable of. Look for a ridiculous outfit and low scores from one of the Tour's more colorful players. A lot of people are concerned about a knee injury that he is recovering from, but Poulter says he is fine, and that is good enough for me.

This week I am torn on Paul Casey, one of my favorite players. Sometimes he plays this

course masterfully, while other times he looks like Van de Velde trying to close a British Open. I think he will play well, but I qualify this pick by explaining that Casey has missed three cuts here.

Sleeper: Jason Dufner has been putting together a banner year, but he has done so quietly. If he plays well on this big stage, he will become the talk of the Tour.

The Mulligan: The 136th Open Championship

The Mulligan has been on a roll lately, picking 3 straight winners. Hopefully we can keep up the momentum for this week's tournament; "The Open Championship." This year, The British Open is being played on Turnberry in Ayrshire, Scotland. This should be a great week for all golf fans. I can't wait for Thursday.

Rory McIlroy has played well in the few majors he has participated in. He has the distance to give him an advantage over the shorter hitters, and growing up in England makes me think he has the game to handle the British Open style courses. I think The British Open is the title McIlroy has always dreamed of winning, and I think he will bring his A game.

Geoff Ogilvy has righted the ship after hitting a mild slump. If you have been following The Mulligan this season, you know how much I like Ogilvy. I stayed away from picking him recently because his game didn't seem as good as usual. However, mark my words. Ogilvy is back! He has finished in the Top-15 in 2 of his last 3 starts and I think it is safe to pick him again. Look for Ogilvy to finish this season strong, maybe with a jump start major victory at Turnberry.

I have a gut feeling that Henrik Stenson is going to contend this week. The Swede is due for a major championship. He won the Players earlier this year and he finished 9th in the US Open. He seems to elevate his game for the big tournaments and this is a big tournament.

The No-Brainer pick is Tiger Woods. Rather than waste your time about why I think he is a good pick, I will post this link that a friend of mine sent me telling about how Tiger and other players have their outfits chosen over a year in advance. Interesting stuff.

For this week's sleeper, I am going with Soren Kjeldsen. If you haven't heard of this Denmark native, don't worry. Unless you follow the European Tour with some regularity, you have no reason to know of him. However, Kjeldsen is the real deal. He has been tearing up the European Tour this season. He has finished in the Top-15 his last 4 starts and I think he could make some noise at The Open.

Good luck this week and lets keep moving to the top of the fantasy golf rankings!

The Mulligan: Fantasy Golf Picks for The Players Championship

Its that time of year again, The Players Championship is upon us. The best week of the year for those of us who love to watch the Pros fall victim to the infamous "bullseye." I feel better about my golf game every year after watching the best players in the world take a drop after plunking in the water. If there is even a mud puddle on a golf course, my ball will find a way to land in it. I don't know about you, but the fact that the Pros also put their Titleists in the drink gives me a boost of much needed confidence on the course. For an entertaining example of the craziness that occurs on the 17th at Sawgrass, click here.

The field this week is loaded, as this is one of the biggest tournaments of the year. There are so many big names and hot players to pick from, but I have some good fantasy golf picks for you this week. If you followed my advice last week, you found yourself with 3 players in the top 10, in Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson. Lets see if we can have a repeat performance this week.

I am so excited about my sleeper pick this week, that I am starting off with him. Jeff Klauk. I have been watching this guy all year, waiting to put him in my fantasy golf lineup. This is the week to do it. Klauk is one of the hottest rookies on tour this year, and he will feel very comfortable at Sawgrass. His father, Fred Clauk, was the superintendent of TPC at Sawgrass for 23 years before retiring after last years tournament. The Klauk's live about a mile down the road from the course, so you can imagine the following this guy will have. This is Klauk's first time playing in the Players, but don't let that hold you back. Put Jeff Klauk in your fantasy golf lineup so you can tell your buddies you picked the sleeper this week.

Another good pick is Sergio Garcia. He won here last year and finished 2nd in 2007. Despite a somewhat lackluster 2009, I think Sergio should play well this week. There is just something about this course that brings out the best in him.

Henrik Stenson should be in your lineup this week. He has two top-10 finishes at Sawgrass and a lot of casual golf fans underestimate his talent. This is Stenson's week. Put him in your lineup.

Good luck this week and lets keep moving to the top of the fantasy golf rankings!

The Mulligan: The March Madness of Golf

This week we have the pleasure of watching 5 days of head-to-head match play format. The Accenture Match Play Championship starts today and runs through Sunday. On top of that, Tiger Woods will be making his return after what seems like an eternity.

I have had several discussions and read several articles about how Tiger Woods will come out with a rusty swing and disappoint during this tournament. I beg to differ. Most of us don’t have the privilege of knowing the status of Tiger’s knee, or if he really is ready to come back. There are a few things that I am sure of, however, regarding the greatest player to ever live.

First, Tiger Woods is not the type of player to sit around playing Tiger Woods Golf on his Xbox 360. He is not the type of player to even think about allowing the competition to gain an edge on him. Tiger was unable to really swing a club normally for quite some time after his surgery, and many assume that he let his game atrophy. A more likely scenario is that Tiger was on the putting green, perfecting every detail of his game that didn’t strain his knee. This could mean that Tiger’s already ridiculous short game has significantly improved. This is a scary thought if you are Brendan Jones, Tiger’s first round opponent. Good luck Brendan, you are going to need it.

Second, Tiger missed only 1 fairway in his practice round on Tuesday. I think this fact alone defeats any arguments about a “rusty swing.” (On a side note, I once played a round of golf where I missed only 1 fairway. It was a Par 3 Course that had one par 4 at the end which was the only hole with a fairway).

Finally, Tiger has won 3 of these tournaments before (along with every other award known to man including the Nobel Golf Prize and Global Miniature Golf Championship). I mean come on. IT’S TIGER. Don’t bet against him.

Okay, so the way this tournament works is similar to the NCAA Tournament Bracket. You can view the matchups here. There are 4 small brackets and the winners of each bracket comprise the “Final Four.” Here are my picks in each bracket followed by my pick to win, which may be obvious by this point.

The Bobby Jones Bracket: Tiger Woods. There is tough competition here with Retief Goosen and Geoff Ogilvy. Rory McIlroy could be a sleeper in this bracket.

The Sam Snead Bracket: Henrik Stenson. He will have to get by a seasoned vet in Davis Love III in Round 1, and he has Padraig Harrington to worry about in later rounds.

The Ben Hogan Bracket: This is the bracket of the Johnsons. Take your pick between Zach or Dustin in this bracket although both have tough first round draws.

The Gary Player Bracket: Paul Casey. In this bracket lies my UPSET ALERT pick...Matt Goggin over Kenny Perry in the opening round.

The Winner: Tiger Woods - Your 2009 Accenture Match Play Champion

[Remember to check back each and every Wednesday at 1pm for another edition of "The Mulligan" - always packed with PGA tournament previews and fantasy golf picks you won't find anywhere else.]