Reading the Green: Vijay goes for playoff hat trick
They have surveyed the green, examined the breaks and calculated the grain, speed and dimensions. Here's how CBSSports.com staffers Steve Elling, Ross Devonport and Dan Lubin are handicapping this week's Tour Championship.
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| Steve Elling CBSSports.com Senior Writer | Ross Devonport CBSSports.com Fantasy Writer | Dan Lubin CBSSports.com Golf Producer |
 Vijay Singh With only 30 players in the field this week at the Tour Championship, at least the odds of one of us picking a winner are increased, because it seems like it's been awhile since we tabbed a winner. What complicates the selection is the hangover from the Ryder Cup -- 11 players from the matches are entered, including 10 from the winning U.S. side, which stayed up late parting on Sunday night. With that in mind, it's almost impossible not to pick Vijay Singh, who has all but wrapped up the FedEx Cup bonus. He hasn’t finished outside the top 10 at the Tour Championship in his past 13 appearances. |  Ernie Els Since Elling decided to steal all three of my top Fantasy picks this week (and he says he doesn't read my column!), I'm going to whine like Lee Westwood about it and go in other directions. While Els struggled here last year to only an even-par T26, I think he'll want to finish this season on a good note. He finished T3 at the Deutsche Bank and T17 at the BMW, so he's not playing horrible golf right now, and he's No. 1 on tour in approaches from under 200 yards, something which should help him this weekend. | Vijay Singh What a weird dynamic we have going on this week. Two weeks removed from the last playoff event, players tee it up for the big finale in Atlanta. Ten of the 30 competitors come off a tumultuous week at the Ryder Cup and many of them must be considered serious contenders in the Tour Championship. However, I have doubts that any of these players will be at 100 percent after such a taxing ordeal. So I'm goint to tap someone who will be fresh. Vijay Singh is the clear choice, not because he won the first two playoff events, but because he has a marvelous track record at East Lake. |
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| Steve Elling CBSSports.com Senior Writer | Ross Devonport CBSSports.com Fantasy Writer | Dan Lubin CBSSports.com Golf Producer |
 Camilo Villegas Ideally, the second pick is supposed to represent a player who has been performing well lately. Since the field hasn’t played in two weeks -- the tour had an off-week before the Ryder -- that player is a bit harder to identify. Since Vijay Singh has essentially secured the $10 million FedEx bonus, Camilo Villegas is a hit player with plenty to play for. He won the BMW event two weeks ago for his first PGA Tour victory and can pick up a cool $3 million bonus if finishes second to Singh in points. That ain't chump change. |  Mike Weir Weir disappointed in a big way at the BMW when he T67ed after finishing in the top 10 in three of his previous four tournaments. The shorter course should help him out a little this week and he is a former winner of this tournament, having lifted the trophy in 2001 at Champions Golf Club in Houston. While I'm getting a little sick of seeing his face on those stack 'n tilt commercials lately, I wouldn't complain if his face was all over our golf site on Sunday. |  Dudley Hart If you want a guy who is playing up for prime time, it's Dudley Hart. He got off to a solid start with a tie for 12th at The Barclays. He stumbled the following week, missing the cut in Boston. But in St. Louis, he turned in the best performance of his season, posting 66-65 over the weekend and finishing solo second behing Villegas. Hart had a very good year with little fanfare. He was particularly exceptional on the greens. You might say that the guy's due for a win. |
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| Steve Elling CBSSports.com Senior Writer | Ross Devonport CBSSports.com Fantasy Writer | Dan Lubin CBSSports.com Golf Producer |
 Jim Furyk We're supposed to pick a longshot in this category, but with 30 guys in the field, it's hard to categorize anybody as a dark horse. So, that said, we'll prop up a player who has performed well at East Lake over the years but never won, Jim Furyk. He's finished in the top half of the field in his last four appearances at the event and was second at East Lake in 2006. What, you expected me to say Briny Baird? |  Ken Duke They have these things called bookies, Elling, that will tell you who the long shots are, and I can tell you Mr. Furyk isn't one of them, despite your explanation. I'm going to follow the rules and go with Ken Duke here, who is 50/1 on the one site I just took a peek at. Duke is second on tour in birdies this year and has made nine straight cuts. He's also 24th in putting, so if he can hit a few more fairways and greens than usual, watch out. |  Bubba Watson The Tour's biggest bomber will make his first appearance at the Tour Championship thanks to three strong weeks of golf in the playoffs. Finishing up his third season, Watson is still looking for his first victory. He will be a long shot this week at East Lake, but he has a great chance to be there on Sunday if he can recreate the great putting he demonstrated over the weekend at the BMW Championship. Over the last 36 holes, he needed just 51 putts and recorded a putting average under 1.50. |
