The Mulligan: John Deere Classic

This week the Tour heads to TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois for the John Deere Classic. Deere Run is an easy course and birdies should be flying all over the place this week. For this reason, I recommend picking players who are riding high on momentum for fantasy golf this week. The players who are on a hot streak right now might see the streak extend onto this easy course, resulting in very low scores. Don't be surprised if the winner gets near the -20's this week.

First, I think Lucas Glover has a good chance of winning this week. We all know what he did at Bethpage a few weeks ago, beating the best of the best when the pressure was on. But not everyone has been following Glover so closely since the Open. He has finished T11th and 5th the past two weeks. Thats 3 straight weeks in the top 11 and a recent major victory. It is hard to top a streak like that.

Next, I think Steve Stricker will play well this week. Stricker has 11 Top-25 finishes in 14 starts this season, and he has really been putting well. He is third in putts per green in regulation. I think Stricker's strong putting will translate into more birdies than most this week and maybe even a win. Look for Stricker to have a great week.

Finally, Kenny Perry should have a good week at the John Deere. Perry has 2 wins this season and he has five Top-10 finishes to go along with those. To top it all off, Perry won this tournament last year. If you play fantasy golf, Kenny Perry needs to be in your lineup this week. This is as close to a no-brainer as starting Tiger Woods at the Buick.

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

The Mulligan: Congrats to Lucas Glover

Well the 2009 US Open is in the books, and what a wild tournament it was. So many players had the chance to win up until the final round, but Lucas Glover was the only player to keep it together for the length of the tournament. I was very impressed with his play and his cool demeanor, especially during the final round. It is always fun to watch players win their first big tournaments. It says a lot about Glover's game that he did not buckle under pressure as we have seen so many do in that position. I have heard nothing but good things about Glover off the course as well. It sounds like this years US Open champion is a class act. We all look forward to watching Glover in the future, and I personally hope to see more of him in the big tournaments in coming years.

Another interesting story in this year's Open was Ricky Barnes. Where did this guy come from? He set the 36 hole US Open scoring record and had an 11 shot lead at one point. If Barnes can avoid the occassional hook off the tee, he might be a player to watch in the coming years.

Of course David Duval and Phil Mickelson got their fans excited on Monday when it seemed that one of them might take home the cup. Duval came out and started the day with a triple bogey after his ball was lodged under the lip of a bunker. He rallied back to put himself in contention, but Glover was too much for him in the end. Mickelson's tournament was like a rollercoaster ride. One second he was rolling in birdies from 50 ft, and the next second he was missing 5 ft par putts. He strung together another good Open performance, putting himself in contention to win. In the end, Glover would hoist the cup, and Phil would finish 2nd for the 5th time in a US Open.

This week the Tour heads to Cromwell, Connecticut (basically Hartford) and TPC River Highlands for the Traveler's Championship. After Bethpage, the players will be able to regain some confidence on TPC River Highlands, one of the easiest courses on the tour.

Unlike last week's US Open where long hitters were favored over the short hitters, this course is pretty neutral. Anyone can play well here. The Par 70 course is 6844 yards long, so distance is not essential. That being said, the long hitters will benefit on certain holes that the shorter hitters might not be able to reach, or will be forced to take extra clubs. My strategy this week is to pick players who are riding high on momentum, and also players who have played well here in the past. I think Kenny Perry, Hunter Mahan, and David Toms will play well this week.

Kenny Perry has seven Top-10 finishes here. As we have seen this year, Perry is playing the best golf of his life. He has six Top-10 finishes this season including a win at the FBR Open and a T2 at the Masters. He should have a good weak at Hartford.

Hunter Mahan loves this tournament. In his past 3 starts here he has won the tournament once, and finsihed T2nd twice. That is consistency. Something about Mahan's game works on this course, and there is no reason to think that wont be the case this week. This is especially true coming off of his strong performance last week at Bethpage. Mahan has 9 Top-25 finishes this year as well, making it even more likely that he will play well this week.

David Toms is back to his old self. Over the past few weeks he has been in contention consistently, and his putter is on. 6 is Toms magic number. He has 6 Top-10 finishes already this year and he finished 6th here in 2007. Despite falling off at Bethpage, Toms played very well last week at the Open. His score didnt reflect how well he played. Also, remember how well he played the week before at the St. Jude where he tied for 2nd.

Toms is also one of the good guys on tour. Despite the fact that he played his college golf at LSU and avidly cheers for LSU sports, he is a great guy. Toms will be cheering for his LSU Tiger baseball team this week in the College World Series. He has done a lot for the area surrounding LSU as well. After Hurricane Katrina, Toms started a charity that raised over a million dollars in relief funds for the region. Even though I am a Big 10 guy, I think this makes Toms a good guy, even if he did go to LSU.

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

The Mulligan: Jack's Tournament

This week the Tour makes a stop in my backyard in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. The beautiful Muirfield Village is always a great venue, and the biggest names come out to play here. The course ranked 5th toughest last year on tour, and we can expect a tough layout again this year. Jack Nicklaus is the host of the tournament, and I cant wait to get it underway.

This is a tough field this week, so expect some big names on the leaderboard. I have some good fantasy golf picks for you this week.

Kenny Perry is the obvious pick here. He is the defending champion, and has 3 victories at Muirfield. There is just something about this tournament that seems to bring out the best in Perry. He has been playing well all year in 2009, and he is a no-brainer for this week.

Paul Casey has played in 7 PGA events this year, and has 6 top-25 finishes. He has 3 victories this year (non PGA) and he is an easy guy to cheer for. I remember the first time I discovered Paul Casey was at The Memorial, probably 3 or 4 years ago. He was walking between the 11th Green to the 12th Tee, when a kid asked him for a golf ball. Casey fumbled around, and eventually got a ball out of his golf bag and tossed it to the kid. I thought it was great that he took a few seconds out of his round to make that kids day. That gesture really touched me, and I have been a Paul Casey fan ever since.

Sean O'Hair has finished in the Top-15 twice in 4 appearances at Muirfield. He has 3 Top-5 finishes, and 6 Top-10 finishes this season including a victory at Quail Hollow. He should play well this week.

SLEEPER ALERT: Ryan Moore has finished in the top-10 here the past two years, and he could make some noise this year. If you want to go out on a limb, put him in your fantasy golf lineup. He could suprise this week.

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

The Mulligan: Fantasy Golf Picks for The Colonial

This week the Tour heads to Fort Worth, Texas for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club. I have some good fantasy golf picks for you.

Kenny Perry should have a good week at Colonial. He is a two time winner here and he has had a stellar 2009 so far. The Western Kentucky Alum has six Top-10 finishes this season including a win and a 2nd place finish at the Masters. He has not missed a cut in 12 starts this season.

Brian Davis is one of the hottest players on Tour right now. He has finished in the Top 5 in his last 3 starts, and has shot 59 consecutive rounds below par. The only drawback to picking him this week is that he finished T-59 here last year. That doesn't bother me though, because I think this is a different Brian Davis. I would take him on any course right now.

I have been touting Geoff Ogilvy all year, and this week is no exception. Ogilvy already has 2 wins on Tour, and he is looking to add his third. The Aussie finished in the Top-10 here last year, and could play well this week.

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.]

The Mulligan: "An Octopus Falling Out of A Tree Shoots 66!"

When I think golf, I think Pebble Beach. That’s where the PGA Tour is heading this week and, to top it off, it’s a Pro Am. Bing Crosby first hosted this tournament in 1937 where Sam Snead won the $500 first prize. The check is a little bigger nowadays with the winner taking home just over a million dollars.

Playing for seven figures on Pebble Beach brings out the big guns. The field includes 4 of the top 10 players in the world in Padraig Harrington (3), Vijay Singh (4), Phil Mickelson (5) and Kenny Perry (10) so it should be a good tournament to watch.

Lefty has played well here in the past, but last year he teed off into the Pacific a few too many times, blowing up on the 14th. It should be interesting to watch him play Hole 14 this week to see if he has any hesitation trying to cut that corner again. In addition, he hasn’t been his usual self yet this year, so all you fantasy golfers out there may want to save him for later despite his past success at Pebble Beach.

My pick is Jim Furyk this week. This is his 2009 PGA debut and the course is short enough for him to use his precision to his advantage. Furyk will play well this week even though his swing is goofier than a pair of Ian Poulter’s pants. Exhibit “A”

Furyk’s goofy swing was once called “an octopus falling out of a tree” by David Feherty, but Furyk is just too good to let things as silly as “swing-plane” or “fundamentals” throw him off. Furyk goes out day in and day out, throwing darts at the flag stick. That is what you need to win at Pebble Beach, and if Furyk is on he will be very tough to beat this week.