Nick Watney is absolutley rolling.
On the off chance that basketball madness hasn’t completely devoured your television and you stop clicking the reload button on your March Madness Bracket from our friends Fantazzle, here is the latest golf update. Glasses. That’s right, those Coke bottle rims that help you see and always slide off your sweaty nose when you’re trying to putt, they’re sponsoring this week’s tournament. The kind that turns dark when you’re outside and clear when it gets dark. Hence the name: Transition. This tournament can also be seen as a transition into the spring fantasy golf season, when golfers begin contemplating the transition north, where the rest of America lives. But that seems like a stretch, so instead lets just focus on the golf.
Tournament: Transitions Championship
Date: March 17th to the 20th
Location: Copperhead Course, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Palm Harbor, Florida
Defending Champion: Jim Furyk (-13)
About the course: The Copperhead Course runs a long 7,340 yards for a par 71. To give you a comparison, that’s longer per stroke than Augusta National Course. The course only has one par 3 under 200 yards, and all four of the par 5s run well over 500 yards, including the fifth hole that reaches a full 605 yards. With such a long course, it’s possible to win shooting just under par. In 2008, Sean 0’Hair won the tournament with only a four under par, and he actually won by two strokes. Last year’s winner, Jim Furyk, won in no small part by being able to scramble 80% of the time, leading the field on his way to victory, so keep that in mind.
Golfers to watch: Nick Watney hasn’t finished outside the top ten this year, and he had a big win against the world best at the WGC. He’s also scrambling over 70% of the time, so that should play in his favor. Throw in his 4th place finish at this event last year and he’s definitely worth starting in fantasy golf this week. Retief Goosen is a two-time winner (2003, 2009) at this event, he is also the tournaments leading money winner, so he has to be excited to be back. Bubba Watson is crushing it off the tee and he’s leading the PGA in greens in regulation, plus he finished 4th at this event last year. As long as he’s over the flu that kept him out of the WGC, he’s going to be in the running to win. While he hasn’t been overly active on the PGA this season, Paul Casey hasn’t finished outside the top 20 this year. He didn’t enter the Transitions Championship in 2010, but did finish in the top six in both March events he entered last year. K.J. Choi had is best finish in 2010 (2nd) at the Transitions Championship, plus he won the Transitions Championship in 2002 and 2006, so he’s got the experience to get it done. Jimmy Walker has looked good this season, with three top 10 finishes and has managed to stay on the right side of the cut all year. If you’re digging a little deeper, Chris Couch hasn’t missed a cut this season, and has two top 10 finishes to boot making him a great fantasy golf sleeper this weekend.
Looking for a weekly fantasy golf experience? Our friends at Fantazzle have just what you need. The Transitions Championship is set to tee off March 17th, so check out Fantazzle’s Fantasy Golf Challenge before the boys tee it up on Thursday.