Week #2 - Fantasy Golf - Sony Open at Waialae CC, Hawaii ~ January 9-12, 2014

Field for the 2014 Sony Open  - PGA Tour

Top Picks
Matt's Picks:  Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Jordan Speith
Jeremy's Picks:  Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth
Chuck's Picks:  Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar
Drew's Picks: Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Cathy's Picks:  Matt Kuchar, Jason Dufner, Adam Scott

Dark Horses
Matt's Picks:  Charles Howell III, Tim Clark, Jeff Overton
Jeremy's Picks:  Harris English, Ken Duke, Ben Martin
Chuck's Picks: Brandon de Jonge, Harris English, Pat Perez
Drew's Picks:  Brian Gay, Harris English, Tim Clark
Cathy's Picks:  Brandon de Jonge, Bo Van Pelt, Vijay Singh

Read below to see why we chose our players!

Matt's Picks: 
Adam Scott  In his last five starts worldwide, Scott has two victories, a runner-up, a 3rd place finish, and a tie for 6th last week at the Hyundai TOC. This will be Scott's 6th trip to Waialae. Although he missed the cut last season, Scott owns a runner-up finish in this event and two other top twenties. With the streak he is on, I expect another top ten from him this week. 
Zach Johnson  Zach Johnson comes into the Sony Open looking to earn three straight victories. In his last two events, Johnson won the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge and last week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He won the Sony Open in 2009 and placed T12 in 2010. I expect to see Johnson in the mix once again this week.
Jordan Spieth Spieth has been on a roll and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon.  Since his first career victory in  mid July, Spieth has only finished outside of the top twenty once.  He finished the Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a runner-up finish behind Zach Johnson.  This will be his first visit to Waialae, but Spieth has proven that he doesn't need a lot of rounds to have success on a course.

Dark Horses:
Charles Howell III  If there ever was a horse for the course, that horse would be Charles Howell III and the course would be Waialae (of course). Chucky three sticks has twelve starts in this event, never missing a cut. He has two runner-ups, two 3rd place finishes, and three other top tens. He has finished in the top five four of the last five years here. Howell III is off to a fast start this season, earning two top tens and a top thirty in his first four events.  This almost feels like cheating, but he is outside of the top 50.
Tim Clark  Tim Clark already has five starts on the 2013-2014 season. He has earned paychecks in four of those starts, and placed runner-up in the McGladrey Classic. Clark owns a very solid record at The Sony Open, never finishing outside of the top twenty five in four starts. He finished runner-up in this event the last two seasons. 
Jeff Overton  Overton has made the cut in four of his first five events this season. All four of those made cuts have resulted in top twenty-five finishes, including a T9 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Overton is five for seven at Waialae and is coming off a solo 8th place finish last season.

Jeremy's Picks:
Jason Dufner - Dufner was in the Hyundai down to the last few holes when an errant shot took him out.  He is playing top-notch golf and should always be considered a contender.  His beloved Auburn Tigers were just lost the BCS national championship game and to quote him via Twitter "Going to play Duf golf next week for my Auburn Tigers."  Duf golf is winning golf.
 
Matt Kuchar - Kuchar loves Hawaii, so much that he is taking an extra month of vacation time on the big island after the Sony.  He is not planning on returning until the LA Open at Riviera.  That being said he had a strong finish here last year, he had a strong tournament at the Hyundai besides a poor 3rd round.  Look for him to be in contention come Sunday.
 
Jordan Spieth - I had an entire write-up for Adam Scott in my 3rd position, but I just deleted it.  You cannot exclude Spieth from your fantasy lineup, he is too hot, and there is going to be a point later in the year where he will struggle.  Take him now while he is on top of his game.

Dark Horses:
Harris English - English played strong this past week as well as at the Sony last year prior to ever winning a PGA Tour event.  Since then he has added two victories under his belt.  Don't be surprised if he adds a third this week at a golf course he is comfortable playing.
Ken Duke - The journey man's journey continues.  He is very steady and sitting as a "C" player in the yahoo crowd.  He has a lot of value and is capable of competing for a title. 
Ben Martin - Martin is my true "dark horse".  He is a graduate of the web.com tour and will make the Sony Open his first 2014 PGA Tour event.  He finished T-16 at his first official event.  On the web.com tour he finished in the top 15 eleven times during the 2013 year including 2 wins.

Cathy's Picks:
Matt Kuchar - Heart Pick 2 weeks in a row!  Kuchar had his chances last week, and knowing he gets to relax for another month on the sandy beaches of Hawaii may just make him the guy to beat this week.  Matt has also had 2 T-5 finishes here in his last 2 starts ('13 & '11).  He can win at Waialae!

Adam Scott - I passed on Scott last week for Snedeker, and I can see that I missed the boat on that one!  I think Scott's missed cut in '11 can be erased by his T2 finish in '09 and with his game so sharp right now I think he may just make a charge.  Could we see a Kuchar/Scott final pairing on Sunday?

Jason Dufner - It just seems like Dufners carefree laid back personality just fits right into the Hawaii way of life, so I think if he can feed off of his great play last week he will contend on Sunday.


Dark Horses:
Brendon de Jonge - well, I might as well get the insanity started early this year!  de Jonge has been a familiar pick for me for the past 2 years but he's never brought home a win.  And at #56 on the OWGR, he's still on the outside looking in.  But for some reason I just can't give up on the feeling he's going to break through one of these weeks.  THIS would be a great week to do it! 

Bo Van Pelt - In 2012, BVP was a staple on my fantasy teams. He was a top 10 powerhouse and would always score points for me.  2013 was a marginal year (only 1 top 10) so I think Bo has something to prove!  While he doesn't have a great history at this track, I think motivation will help him overcome that.

Vijay Singh - at #131 on the OWGR, and at age 51, I'm almost surprised to see Singh at the Sony...but he's a former winner here and for some reason I feel like he might just make a move and have a high finish.

Drew's Picks:
Adam Scott:  The #2 player in the world finished 6th last week, showing that him game is in fine shape.  He has a good history at the Sony, I expect his fine putting will see him to a top 5 this week, at least.
 
Zach Johnson: I missed picking Zach last week, thought his lack of length off the tee would hurt.  Looked like the rest of his game made up for that.  No one's better than Zach tee-to-green right now, and that's what you need to win the Sony.
 
Jordan Spieth:
Missed picking Jordan last week also.  So much for course experience being necessary to perform well at Kapalua!  Jordan looked very much at ease on a course he'd never played a tournament on before, and I saw no flaws in his game.  I see him crusing to a top 5.
 
Dark Horses:
 
Brian Gay: Brian's game is very similar to Zach Johnson's, not long, but precise.  He also did surprisingly well at Kapalua, and this shorter, tighter Waialae course should suit him fine.  His GIR and putting should make for a good show.
 Harris English:
Harris has done well here in the past.  He excels on tight, technical courses, ie Harbor Town.  His excellent ball striking should get him near the top of the leaderboard this week.
 Tim Clark:
Tim has two runner-up finishes in his last two trips here, what mote needs to be said!  He also has a 2nd already this season, at the McGladrey, another seaside course.  Like Gay and ZJ, his lack of length off the tee won't hurt him this week, and his accuracy will help a lot.

Chuck's Picks:
Adam Scott – Scott has been on quite a roll the last couple months with two wins, 2nd 3rd, and 6th last week at Kapalua. Arguably the hottest golfer on tour right now and needs to be in your lineup.

Jason Duffner – Jason will be Duffnering fairways and greens this week on this relatively short track. I have no doubt he will be in contention come Sunday.

Matt Kuchar – Kuch is the picture of consistency and has two back to back 5th place finishes at the Sony. Another top ten is very likely this week and a win wouldn’t surprise me one bit.  
Dark Horses:

Brendon De Jonge – Has finished in the top 16 in his last five starts. De Jonge can make a slew of birdies and has good history at this course.
Harris English – English was in contention at the Plantation course last week and should find Waialae a little easier treading. Carded a 62 here last year to finish T9.
Pat Perez – Perez is a birdie machine when he gets rolling. Is making his 12th consecutive start at this tournament and finished 9th here last year.