East Lake, a revitalized Donald Ross layout, and Cog Hill, the nip/tucked Chicagoland staple, were not cut from the same mold and would never be confused for kin. They do, however, seem to favor a similar type of player.
Two years ago, during the inaugural playoff run, Tiger Woods won at Cog Hill and closed out that first FedEx Cup with an eight-shot romp at East Lake. A year later, Camilo Villegas went 2-0 to close the playoffs with victories in Chicago and Atlanta, but was denied the $10 million jackpot by Vijay Singh and dubious math.
Point is, look no further than last week’s results to find an East Lake favorite.
Pick a Foursome:
Woods is an easy pick, fresh from his eight-stroke BMW blowout and sporting a predictable resume at East Lake, where he’s finished outside the top-2 just twice in six starts.
Note: One player from four categories based on the World Golf Ranking (1-10, A; 11-20, B; 21-30, C; 31-40, D). Points awarded on money earned ($1 = 1 point).
Salary Cap:
Woods and Steve Stricker, the player with the best statistical chance of denying the world No. 1 his second FedEx Cup, eat up most of your available cash, but with a short field to choose from the available dark horses aren’t bad options.
Marc Leishman tied for second at Cog Hill and is the leader in the clubhouse for the Rookie of the Year award and Y.E. Yang proved at Hazeltine National that while Woods is always a good bet, locks are for jails and banks.
Picks: Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, David Toms, Y.E. Yang, Marc Leishman (Total: $9.723 million)
Note: Five players with a $10 million cap based on 2008 earnings. Rookies without 2008 earnings will be priced at $250,000. Standings based on overall team earnings.
Pick One:
Zach Johnson. Because it’s the only event in Georgia he’s not won and because his consistency meant that nine months ago when our 2009 picks were submitted he was a good bet to be in the field for the finale.
Note: Players must be picked before the start of the season and used only once. Standings based on total earnings.
In addition to my PGA Tour Pick One, the GolfChannel.com staff will be offering up their picks to win. A player can be picked a maximum of five times. We will be keeping a running tally of the monies earned each week. The participants include: Jay Coffin, Editorial Director; Mercer Baggs, Editorial Manager; Brian Koressel, Senior Producer; Dena Davis, Assistant Editor; Erik Peterson, Travel Editor; Jerry Foltz, special contributor.
| Name | Player Pick | Reason | Money | |
| Rex Hoggard | Steve Stricker | Forget that tie for 53rd at the BMW Championship, the circuit’s own Mr. September was nearly flawless through two playoff events (T-2, win), has spent a week resting in Wisconsin and has a game suited for East Lake despite a pedestrian record at the Tour Championship. | $5,657,311 | |
| Jay Coffin | Padraig Harrington | My gut feeling is that Hunter Mahan could jump up and win but Paddy has been playing well and hasn’t finished worse than 10th in his last five events.
| $6,743,622 | |
| Mercer Baggs | Zach Johnson | My only shot is to pick a winner this week. Without Tiger as an option, going with a guy who has a pretty good track record in Georgia. | $7,521,910 | |
| Erik Peterson | Padraig Harrington | Winning is about giving yourself chances and Paddy’s had plenty of them lately. If he avoids the big numbers he’ll win his first non-major PGA Tour event since ’05. | $7,376,372 | |
| Brian Koressel | Tiger Woods | I would like to use this space to thank all of the other players for participating in this year’s fantasy league. Good efforts by all. Yours truly, the Champ. | $7,957,623 | |
| Dena Davis | Jim Furyk | The Fast and the Furyk has posted playoff finishes of T15, T8 and then T2 at BMW. He’ll go ahead and win the whole dang thing in the final showdown.(Also, I’m out of Tiger picks.) | $6,985,310 | |
| Jerry Foltz | Padraig Harrington | After a year of trying to outsmart my esteemed colleagues, all I can say is wait till next year. But I’m giving it one last try this week. | $5,776,837 |
