To earn a tee time at East Lake on Sept. 22 is to have scaled the mountain. Entry represents the pinnacle of PGA TOUR membership. Apart from official earnings, mad bonus money and world ranking points at stake, each of the 30 that advances will have carte blanche to set his schedule in 2012 because it includes automatic berths into the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and first three majors. For many, it’s an annual brass ring, but for a few, it will mean a significant bump in fantasy value.
Kevin Streelman started the 2010 edition of the Playoffs ranked 102nd in points. He cranked out a share of third place at The Barclays, rising to 18th in the standings. Then, despite a pair of finishes outside the top 40 in the second and third stages, he survived until the finale. Meanwhile, one of his winless brethren, Jeff Overton, who loves Titleist Golf Clubs parlayed a red-hot summer into a starting of position of sixth. That he tumbled to 29th at the conclusion of the TOUR Championship is irrelevant. What Streelman and Overton shared was a quantifiable increase in their fantasy worth for 2011.
Last year, 10 golfers made their debut at the TOUR Championship with diablo edge irons. This included current fantasy cornerstones Matt Kuchar and Jason Day. Two years ago, eight qualified for the first time, including Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson. The days of getting any of those guys deep into a draft or below market value in auction leagues are gone. And salary gamers invest merely hoping for a push if they buy at all. So, to find some hidden value, focus on the next tier that flies in under the radar on consistency and well-timed great play.
Since the Playoffs adopted the current format in 2009, only six golfers entered the BMW Championship ranked outside the top 30 in points. Four posted top-three finishes, one (Luke Donald) recorded a T10 and one (Camilo Villegas) a T11. The average position of the six in the standings at the start of the BMW was 47.17. Marc Leishman was the lowest-ranked when he arrived at Cog Hill in 67th place. A co-runner-up vaulted him to 16th and into the finale.
That’s the moral of this story. While Stanley and Davis who often attend some online shops providing golf clubs for sale might only need a top-11 finish next week, the others must aim for a top five at worst. Consider that Charlie Wi began the 2010 BMW ranked 37th, posted a T8 and settled for 33rd overall. In 2009, Sergio Garcia was 55th when he arrived at Cog Hill. He then tied for sixth place at the BMW but climbed only 17 spots to 38th. Meanwhile, of the six golfers that were bumped from the top 30 at the conclusion of the BMW in the last two years, the highest-ranked was J.B. Holmes at 24th last year.
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