Fantasy Four :: Wells Fargo Championship

Hi everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick)

I’m finally back with a full fantasy golf analysis for a very solid tournament at Quail Hollow. This field is stacked, folks. We’ve got Rory, Westwood, Rickie, Webb, Sergio, Kaymer, Phil, Bubba, Mahan, , Cabrera, Poulter, DJ and many more.

This tournament has had some great winners, including “Pretty” Rickie Fowler last year and Rory McIlroy in 2010, but I don’t suspect we’ll have a “breakout” winner this year. The field is strong, like the force in young Skywalker.

This is event 1/4 in Month 5 and Event 18 overall.

There are only 4 events left in our First Half of our contest and the winner of those first 21 events wins a Nike VR_S Covert Hybrid.

For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below (don’t forget your ONE Nike Athlete).

Check here for a recap last week’s Zurich Classic (Event 17) and the latest Fantasy Four standings>>

Kevin Chappell
He missed the cut at last week’s event, but he finished 15th and 6th the two events prior to that. He also finished 53rd at this event last year.

Russell Henley
After missing the cut at the Masters, Russ had a 6th place finish at the Zurich Classic last week. He had a solid weekend shooting 67 and 69 in the final round. That’s an impressive weekend to me and this kid has proven himself with his consistent play following his early win.

Rory McIlroy
Rors won this event in 2010, missed the cut in 2011 and finished 2nd in 2012. Does that mean he’ll miss the cut this year?
Rory is coming off of a 24th place finish at the Masters with a 79 in Round 3 and 69 in Round 4. He should be comfortable here.

Seung-yul Noh
SYN has missed the cut at his last 2 events, but he finished 9th at this event last year. I had this dude on my year long fantasy league last year and I’m glad Nike picked him up. He’s a good sleeper this week and I think he’ll have a good showing in an event with a tough field.

Kyle Stanley
There is one reason to note Mr. Stanley; he finished 3rd last week. Other than that, he missed 3 cuts prior to that finish and missed the cut at this event last year.

Nick Watney
Watney has made 6 straight cuts finishing 13th at the Masters and 15th last week. He enters Quail Hollow having played here 8 times, making the cut 7 times with 6 Top 30 finishes and a Top 10 (8th) last year. SLEEPER ALERT.

Other Nike athletes in the field; Stephen Ames, Scott Brown

Angel Cabrera
recent finishes – 2nd Masters, 16th Houston
He missed the cut here last year, but finished 3rd in 2011. He’s another good sleeper pick this week.

Sergio Garcia
Recent finishes –  8th Masters, 7th Tampa, 3rd WGC Caddy
Sergio is just an all around, spicy, sexy Spaniard. He’s been so consistent over the past two seasons and he needs to get the W’s to back that up. He’s had 7 trips to Quail Hollow, making 6 cuts with 1 top 10.

Lee Westwood
Recent finishes –  8th Masters, 10th Houston
I think everyone has forgotten about Lee Westwood. He just needs to win. He’s playing well and finished 5th at this event last year. Let’s hope he can put it all together this week.

Dustin Johnson
Recent finishes –  13th Masters, 4th Houston, 12th WGC Caddy
DJ didn’t play here last year and he missed the cut in 2011.

Last Week’s Winner – Not in the field (Billy Horschel)

Rickie Fowler
best finishes – 1st in ’12, 16th in ’11, 6th in ’10
Rickie has made 5 straight cuts and has finished no worse than 38th in that span. He should be coming into this event full of confidence.

Phil Mickelson
Best finishes at this event –9 made cuts (6 Top 10s, 12th, 26th and 35th)
Amazing record for Phil at this course. I can just never trust the guy. His last start was 54th at the Masters.

Lucas Glover
Best finishes at this event – 1st in ’11, 2nd in ’09, 4th in ’06
G’Lover missed the cut here last year, but he has the history at this event and also finished 4th in New Orleans. Put him in the sleeper cell with the others.

Alan :: Kyle Stanley, Webb Simpson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson
Bob :: D.A. Points, Jimmy Walker, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney
Damian :: Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Nick Watney

Check out the full field here for the Wells Fargo Championship >>

Damian’s Picks and Reasoning

With such a great field this week, there is a lot of opportunity to go against the grain. Rory could be your obvious Nike pick, but I think Watney will do well here and he’s not feeling the pressure that Rory is.

It would be really great to pick someone like a Westwood/Kaymer/Colsaerts/Mannaserro. I think they all have the game to win here … and I have a flair for the European.

If you look at Rickie and Rory as previous winners and then try and pick someone like them, that could work for you. However, I think they’ll both put a lot of pressure on themselves, even if they have confidence at this course and have won here before. I’m looking for guys who are playing well, will take risks and are hungry for a win (much like Rory and Rickie).

Ian Poulter is coming off of a missed cut at the Masters, so we know he is looking for redemption for that finish. He also has played here in 2009 and 2008 with 2 top 25 finishes.

Sergio is just yearning for a win, by my estimation. He may be ‘”saving it for next week” at the Players, but he’s due for a win and I’d like to see him get it here. He’s a risky pick for me, though, as his mental game is a mess.

Lee “Westy” Westwood is just plain DUE. The former World #1 has just been off of everyone’s radar this year. His recent play, history at the event and desire to win is enough for me.

WD pick – Colsaerts

Leave your Fantasy Four in a comment below.

Remember, you have to pick at least ONE Nike Golfer and have your picks in by WEDNESDAY at Midnight (PST).

It is also your responsibility to sub your player if they WD before the deadline

(email) damian [at] ngnation.com

(twitter) [at] d_daniels