PGA Tour: Badass Sawgrass on Tap

Tier 1 - I don’t know why, but I want to pick Padraig Harrington to win this thing outright.  He’s a fantastic putter, a great player...but I just can’t bring myself to choose him.  I’m going to pick players who are relatively hot, and that would be Adam Scott.  Scott won this tournament in 2004 (Harrington was actually runner-up that year) and knows how to navigate around this course.  He has a win from just a few weeks ago and has been playing well lately.  If he can pound his drives down the middle this week, I think he’ll have an excellent chance to win or at least score some points.  I’m also picking Phil Mickelson this year over Furyk and Singh.  Mickelson is the defending champion...his first win only 7 weeks after hiring Butch Harmon as his swing instructor.  Couple that along with his close work with short game guru Dave Pelz and I can’t help but believe that when a course is playing fast and difficult, Mickelson is the man.  The thing with Mickelson is that he can win even after missing the cut the week before; if he’s on, he’s on. The harder the greens are, the better Mickelson is as a pick...think of how he drove the ball like complete trash in 2006 at Winged Foot but still managed to tee up on 18 with a chance to win.  The short game is key here.

Tier 2 - Why, Stewart?  Why!?!  Why must Stewart Cink torment me so much??  He’s been consistently good...and consistently good at not winning.  His game is so close to coming together...he just needs that weekend confidence.  I can’t avoid him on the lineup though...he’s been too good of a performer to keep off your roster for the week.  And why not Anthony Kim?  So what if he finished dead last at this event last year?  He’s a completely different player now and has matured a great deal since then, taking his first tour win at last week’s Wachovia.  I think he’s the gutsiest player in the field and consider him a great pick.  Following up Cink and Kim will be Sean O’Hair and Bart Bryant.  Everyone can remember O’Hair’s bold move to go for the pin on 17 last year in a valiant effort to win over Mickelson.  Man, that was great.  You don’t see that kind of insane risk these days, especially on a hole like 17.  Last but not least in this group is Bart Bryant.  “Bart Bryant?!” you say?  Yes.  Bryant will either cash out after 2 rounds or make it to one of the last groups on Sunday.  I could be wrong, but if I’m right, I’ll look like a genius.