The Masters Field

The field for the Masters is set! No surprises, as the field was unofficially set following the conclusion of last weekend's CA Championship, but an FGA controversy as Jeev Milka Singh gets invited, but S.S.P. Chowrasia is once again left off the list. Twenty-five players will be playing at Augusta for the first time, although Masters rookies rarely fair well. A full Masters preview will be forthcoming next week, including player and FGA team rankings.

Get ready for San Diego! Hopefully your golf games and draft boards are ready for the biggest FGA weekend ever.

Check out this website

I'm constantly searching for a website that provides good information on fantasy golf and I think I finally found a decent one. In the interest of fairness, I'm even going to tell you about it. It's the fantasy golf section in the USA Today online. It provides good information on who is playing well and who isn't, who is injured, and when players withdraw or are disqualified from a tournament, it actually explains what happened (when that information is available). I highly recommend bookmarking this site and checking it out periodically each week for new details. The link is below:

http://fantasygolf.usatoday.com/content/homesport.asp?sport=GOL

-The Commish

2007 FGA Rules

The FGA Rules Committee has been meeting for the past two months to discuss potential rule changes for the 2007 FGA Season. The Rules Committee takes its job very seriously and we have spent countless hours on this (honestly, you would not believe the number of conference calls, emails and hours of research). We all think the league works very well, but we're always thinking of ways to make it better. I will not spend time discussing the rule change proposals that were ultimately rejected, but I will say there are a few proposals we will be monitoring throughout this season and that could be implemented in 2008. Here are summaries of the two rule changes going into effect for the 2007 FGA Season:

(1) Add/Drop. The maximum number of add/drops per team each week is being increased from 2 to 4. The FGA Historian believes we initially set the limit at 2 to encourage better drafting of players (i.e., drafting more players who play each week) and to prevent teams from overhauling their rosters week in and week out. This has created a situation at times where teams are left shorthanded, mostly in the smaller tournaments, and are unable to make the necessary add/drops required to field a team. We looked at a number of solutions and decided this was the best. First, we have all gotten very good at drafting. Second, if teams with only one or zero players in the field want to try to field a team, they should be encouraged to do so, thereby potentially reducing missed cuts. Finally, we believe this rule will also create a more interesting add/drop each week with more quality free agents and also provide more opportunites for teams at the bottom of the standings to pick up players who could really help them.

(2) Alternate Player. This proposal caused the most debate among the Rules Committee. However, we came to a unanimous decision that the Alternate Player will now be substituted for (i) any WD prior to the completion of the first round, and (ii) any DQ at any time. This change is the result of trying to make the Alternate Player more relevant, while also keeping the system intrinsically fair. Previously, once a player started play, the Alternate Player could no longer be substituted for a player who WDs. Players rarely WD prior to starting play, so the Alternate Player was becoming almost obsolete. We are now allowing an Alternate Player to be substituted for a player who begins his first round, but does not complete his first round. This mostly accounts for players who injure themselves during first round play, which actually happens frequently. We did not believe this rule should be extended and apply to players who complete their first round, but who WD because they shoot a terrible first round score and have no chance to make the cut (i.e., we didn't want to reward a team whose starter shoots an 84, drops out, and substitutes an Alternate Player who finishes in the top-10.) We also believe that a WD and a DQ are different and should be treated differently. In keeping with the PGA rules, we believe that when a player DQs, none of his rounds should count towards his FGA team's score. For example, if a player played four rounds and signs the wrong scorecard resulting in a DQ, there were previously no FGA repercussions because all four rounds would still count towards a team's score (however, in the PGA, that player's score would not count and he would not receive prize money). Now, an Alternate Player would be substituted for such player under those circumstances and the Alternate Player's score would count. I think this rule change is consistent with the PGA rules, has equal opportunity to either help or hurt a team depending on the circumstances, creates excitement, and makes the Alternate Player more relevant.

I will send an email with a copy of the Official 2007 FGA Rules incorporating the new rules for your review. If you have any questions about the rule changes, please let me know.

-The Commish

Point-Counterpoint The Wop Genius

SECOND PLACE! FUCK YEAH!

Back with another installment of Pount-Cointerpount, where me and The Commish conspire to drag our beloved PGA stars through the mud. This week, Chris DiMarco, a.k.a. The Wop Genius.

The Commish:

TWG is always one of the more difficult players to rank on my draft board. He's clearly a top-25 player, but the question is always how high should he go? TWG's FGA career has been filled with tons of top-10s and top-25s, including the majors, but he has no wins in that time. TWG has never been considered an elite player, more of an over-achiever. He is one of the shorter drivers on Tour and he's not afraid to miss cuts in bunches. However, I do rank him as the number one Italian-sounding-name-golfer, ahead of the likes of Rory Sabbatini, David Berganio, Jr., and Daisuke Maruyama. FGA members have drafted him as high as 9th (2006) and as low as 22nd (2004), showing that most of us don't really know where to place him. I've always thought that he's a solid late second round or early third round pick. He's too inconsistent to go higher than that. He'll likely end up on my draft board somewhere between 15-20.

And me:

Sack Lodge: What's the name of that P.I. we used to set up that Shearson Lehman prick?

Trapster: The big sleazy, Tommy Gufano! He's a wop genius.
Hell yeah, he is. Always that date rapee, and never the date rapist...

• The Wop Genius's career is littered with more number twos than Clark Kent's back yard after Super Dog gets into the baking chocolate.

• I haven't seen so many deuces since I went to www.ratemypoo.com

• Chris DiMarco: The 1990-1993 Buffalo Bills of the PGA.

• DiMarco and Jim Kelly could run a hundred yard dash and they would both come in second.

• Thomas Jefferson doesn't spend that much time next to the number two.

• What's the difference between DiMarco and Captain Ahab?
  ...Ahab only lost the big one once.

• What do Chris DiMarco's trophy case and Nicole Richie's stomach have in common?
  ...They're both empty.

• What's the difference between Chris DiMarco's trophy case and Nicole Richie's stomach?
  ...Half the guys in Hollywood haven't blown their load on Chris DiMarco's trophy case.
  

AND I'M OUT!

Thing I'll Never Do (Again) #203: Illegal Street Racing

Now, that's a drive down the fairway...(too soon?)

PGA non-star Arjun Atwal was involved in a wreck that killed a man with whom he was engaged in an illegal street race. His friend's Mercedes spun out and hit a tree, but Atwal swerved and his 2006 BMW M3 spun out onto a grassy lot, safely coming to a stop a few hundred feet away...

• ...Atwal's not a long hitter, but he can really drive.
• ...The sacred cow Atwal swerved to avoid reportedly survived.
• ...no word on whether Atwal was in fact speeding home to hit the toilet after downing a hot curry dish at The Bombay Kitchen in Orlando.
• ...TOO SOON!!! I know, I know...
  

Seriously, folks, he could be in deep legal doo-doo as street racing is illegal EVERYWHERE ON EARTH!

Daniel Chopra, who grew up with Atwal in India, (though Chopra is Swedish), stood up for his boy, saying he was "An excellent driver."

Well, so was Rain Man, at least he got an Oscar nomination! All Atwal got was a tie for 4th at the 2005 Buick Invitational.

Tip your waitress. Try the lobster. I'm here all week.

Oh, I almost forgot, Mark Calccchavecchia's reanimated corpse won the PODS Championship. Really? This guy must be purhing 60, 300 and .18 simultaneously... (Years, pounds and B.A.C., respectively). Truly amazing. Oh, and DiMarco choked.

Jake Gyllenhaal Wins LPGA Event

She doesn't know why she can't quit you.

Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal shocked the world by defeating Anika Sorenstam to win the Mastercard Classic in his LPGA Tour debut.

And to restore your faith in the female of the species...

The Argument Against Tiger

Since we're still three weeks away from our San Diego draft, I thought I would try to stir up debate on a topic that has gone largely unquestioned up until now. That is, I believe Tiger should not be the first overall pick in this year's draft.

Tiger is without question the best player in the world, so we all assume he should be the top pick. But in the FGA, we don't draft strictly according to World Ranking. If that were the case, Joe Durant would be a third round pick this year. Anyone taking Joe Durant in the third round?

We all have different things we look at when considering a draft pick. Typically, I believe we all generally consider the same factors: (i) number of tournaments played; (ii) cuts made; (iii) wins; (iv) top-10s; (v) top-25s; and (vi) major performance. There is no question that when Tiger plays, there is no one we would rather have on our team. Simply put, he wins more than anyone else. But is an FGA team better served by the top player who plays more often? Last year will be a good measuring stick for the upcoming season because the top players will likely play about the same number of tournaments. Tiger is again going to be playing a reduced schedule because of his impending fatherhood (last year it was his dad's death). Let's breakdown all of the contenders for the top spot based on the aforementioned factors:

(in order:
# played, # cuts made, wins, top-10s, top-25s, Masters, US, British, PGA)

T. Woods: 7, 6, 4, 6, 6, 3rd, MC, 1st, 1st
A. Scott: 10, 10, 0, 7, 9, 27th, 21st, 8th, 3rd
J. Furyk: 12, 11, 1, 7, 10, 22nd, 2nd, 4th, 29th
V. Singh: 12, 10, 1, 4, 5, 8th, 6th, MC, MC
Mickelson: 11, 10, 1, 3, 7, 1st, 2nd, 22nd, 16th
E. Els: 10, 10, 0, 3, 5, 27th, 26th, 3rd, 16th
R. Goosen: 10, 9, 0, 2, 4, 3rd, MC, 14th, 34th
G. Ogilvy: 11, 10, 1, 3, 7, 16th, 1st, 16th, 9th

All made more cuts than Tiger and all but Els and Goosen had more top-25s than Tiger last year. I would also argue based on all of this information that Scott and Furyk, and possibly even Ogilvy and Mickelson were more valuable to their teams than Tiger last year.

Also, let's look at the past results for the FGA teams that have drafted Tiger: 6th in 2003, 2nd in 2004, 5th in 2005, and 7th in 2006. That's only once in four years that a Tiger-led team finished in the top half of the FGA at the end of the season. Now, the first round draft picks that have led FGA teams to overall victory: Toms*, Mickelson, Furyk, and Els.

*The asterisk is because 4th round pick Kenny Perry was mostly responsible.

I admit that if given the top pick in this year's draft and the chance to draft Tiger, he still might be my pick. I will, however, say that it probably shouldn't be.

She's Got a Shape to Her, Conan...

Here's a picture of a homeless guy playing "Just the Tip" with Natalie Gulbis. Actually, it's her dad. Read a feature about Ms. Gulbis in Golf for Women here.

More importantly, some candid "behind the scenes" galleries can be found here, and here.

Speaking of women in golf, we all know about Ms. Gulbis, and Paula Creamer, but there's another young hottie on the LPGA named Erica Blasberg. She's an Arizona alumna, and though the looks like she might have a lazy eye in her LPGA photo, she, like Ms. Gulbis herself, can appear deceptively hot in the gallery section of her outrageously Flashy, teched-out website. You better have some serious bandwidth to view this site, but it's worth it to take the time to scroll through the pictures.

In PGA News, Mark "Who?" Wilson won the Honda Classic this morning in a four-man playoff with Jose Coceres, Camilo Villegas and Boo Weekely. If you're wondering where you've seen Mark Wilson's name before, it was probably when he finished T-43 at the 2000 Greater Milwaukee Open.

Twenty-year-old South African Anton Haig won the Johnny Walker Classic in sunny Phuket, Thailand in the last of the EuroTour/Asian Tour co-events. Another rising young star in the golf world who is not American. In case you're wondering, S.S.P. Chowrasia has fallen to 27th on the Asian Tour money list.

Sand in here, foam in here, somethin' in here.

Sometimes Natalie Gulbis looks overrated, and sometimes... sometimes... damn...

Anyway, here is a piece prescribing a cure for Match Play boredom. The problem: in single-elimination match play, they weekend doesn't always feature Tiger & FIGJAM, which is the only time most people (rubes) tune in to watch golf. Solution: Hold an LPGA match play event at the same time, doubling the chances of a compelling weekend match up. Compelling in the PGA = Tiger or Phil versus a flamboyant Euro with loud pants. Compelling in the LPGA = two of the new hot pieces of short-skirted femgolf action-gimme some Creamer and some Gulbis and hopefully not JoAnne Carner. (Seriously, check her out.) Then, to top it off, how about the 32 men and 32 women who were knocked out in the first round all square off in a coed consolation bracket. Does that sound awesome? Hmm....

Here's a fluff piece about the Honda Classic and the redone PGA National.

And this week's hot or not (not = American golf. If you don't believe me, look at the top 30 in the rankings after Nos. 1 through 3).

And Paula Creamer can't keep the stick out of her mouth...(I couldn't resist).