Fantasy Golf Tee-Off: What's Your Strategy?

As the fantasy golf season tees off this weekend at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, many golf fans are preparing their fantasy golf teams (and wallets) for what they hope to be a long, successful season. There are many different methods one can use to increase his chances at predicting the winner of each golf tournament, whether it be a detailed strategic initiative or blindly picking one's favorite players each week. Most fantasy golf players have a set rule or group of rules he or she uses to assign their players for each tournament. For example, a certain golfer may play well at one course or climate but not as well during the late-Summer or Fall months. Of course, one could also simply choose their golfer line-up based on the many rankings systems available on the PGA and European Tours (Official World Golf Ranking, PGA TOUR money list, etc.). For a few examples on strategic planning for your fantasy golf season, visit Golf Betting Strategy from GolfPicks.net.

Stronger tournament fields, such as the one featured at Kapalua this weekend, may be more difficult to choose your starting lineup than at a tournament with a weaker field. This may sound contradictory in theory, but when more A-List players are available in the tournament field the fantasy golf player may have too many "good" options from which to choose. In that instance, trends such as player hotstreaks, past success at a course and event finishing history can be vital information for the fantasy golf player.

Whichever strategy you use this week (and every week) to choose your fantasy golf starting lineup, remember to do your research before hitting that submit button in your fantasy golf league. Doing a few minutes of homework can pay off tenfold in the long run, and that's really the reason most of us play fantasy sports: to finish at the top.

2012 Fantasy Golf Rankings

It's that time of the year again, fellow fantasy sports enthusiasts, as the 2012 Fantasy Golf season is set to tee off next week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in beautiful Kapalua, Hawaii. Last season saw the resurgence of many PGA TOUR and European golfers up the fantasy golf rankings, and the crowning of a #1-ranked fantasy golfer for this upcoming year. Click the jump for a full listing of the top 20 fantasy golfers for this upcoming 2012 season,, as ranked by the PGA TOUR website (and some comments by me).

1) Rory McIlroy - the 22-year old phenom is on top of the golfing world and has a renewed PGA TOUR membership, which means more tournaments in the United States and more chances for you to rack up fantasy stats.

2) Luke Donald - the 2011 Player of the Year and current OWGR #1 is back to as much noise as possible for fantasy golf teams everywhere. As the PGATOUR.com website states, Donald is the honey badger of the PGA.

3) Webb Simpson - arguably the best American-born golfer at this moment from a fantasy golf perspective, Simpson finished last season on a hotstreak that will undoubtedly carry-over into 2012.

4) Jason Day

5) Nick Watney - wants to make me out to be a liar about Webb Simpson being the "best American fantasy golfer".

6) Adam Scott - long putters, annoying caddies and actress relationships couldn't keep this Australian superstar from recapturing his game last year, complete with his first win in a World Golf Championship.

7) Dustin Johnson - he thinks Nick Watney and Webb Simpson are sallies.

8) Matt Kuchar

9) Tiger Woods - his win at Chevron probably didn't mean a whole lot for everyone else, but it certainly did for him. And that's trouble for the competition.

10) Bill Haas

11) Lee Westwood - Also renewed his PGA TOUR membership, so look for him on more fantasy rosters throughout the season. Could make a serious run at the World #1 again.

12) Steve Stricker - if he can stay healthy, he'll continue to be a staple on my fantasy roster for many majors and any tournament in the Midwest.

13) Hunter Mahan - looks to be a force in 2012. Five consecutive years in the top-30 in earnings.

14) Aaron Baddeley - Strong iron play helped him make a bit of a comeback in 2011. Even with the Stack N' Tilt. *Barf*

15) Jim Furyk

16) Bubba Watson - I'm a little surprised Bubba isn't ranked higher, but then again it kind of makes sense from a fantasy points perspective. He's about as consistent as rain in Nevada.

17) Phil Mickelson - Phil had an off-year from a fantasy points perspective last season, hence the low ranking. His health seems to be slightly better now, which could help him regain his fantasy dominance quickly.

18) Keegan Bradley - The 2011 ROY brings his strong iron play into a ton of tournament fields in 2011. He may be a regular start for me in the majors. Look for big things from Bradley this year. And more visors.

19) K.J. Choi - Somebody needs to tell Choi that he's on some kind of hotstreak. If he believes it, maybe he can help me out a little more on my fantasy roster next year.

20) Anthony Kim - He has to have a better year. Has to. It is almost impossible to have a worse year that this talent did in 2011, all things considered.

(Note: The above article was originally published by the author for WaggleRoom.com)