Mark Wilson returns to the craziest tournament in professional golf this week to defend his title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. I don’t know about you, but nothing says “professional golf” like a grandstand filled with drunken college co-eds screaming at the top of their lungs. Jason Dufner finished second here last season, and Kyle Stanley looks to bounce back this week after a heartbreaking loss at Torrey Pines. Click the jump to see my fantasy golf picks for the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

A List

Starter: Kyle Stanley; Bench: Camilo Villegas

Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. I still feel sorry for the guy. His play last week was outstanding for 71 holes, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt as my starter for this tournament. Villegas has played well in Phoenix in the past, having recorded two top-ten finishes at this event. He has also shown flashes of brilliance in 2012 already, but can he put together four solid rounds of golf?

B List

Starters: Brandt Snedecker, Mark Wilson; Bench: D.A. Points, Rickie Fowler

The B-grouping list this week is full of potential winners, so you can literally choose any four players and expect a strong showing from each. I decided to go with Snedecker (hot-hand) and defending champion Mark Wilson (who also has a 2012 win already). Both men are playing at an extremely high level, along with the two players on my bench. Points hasn’t had much luck in Phoenix in the past, however his play in 2012 earns him some consideration for this week. Fowler finished as the runner-up in Phoenix in 2010, so could this be the event that opens the door for young Rickie?

C List

Starter: Johnson Wagner; Bench: Jeff Maggert

Wagner, in my opinion, has been the player of the year to this point in 2012. He has recorded one win, three top-tens, two top-threes, and his average tournament finish is 4th. Sorry folks, but it doesn’t get much better than that. Maggert has also played well for an old dog, recording a top-five finish thusfar this season.

Woods faltered on the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship after entering Sunday with a tie for the lead to win his second title in as many starts. When all the smoke cleared, however, it was Robert Rock (ranked 117th in the world) who would shoot a final-round 70 – while paired with Tiger – to come out on top and finish a shot over Rory McIlroy (69). Woods (72) would tie for third along with Graeme McDowell (68) and Thomas Bjorn (68).

“Today I just didn’t give myself enough looks at it,” Woods said. “Most of my putts were lag putts. I didn’t drive the ball in as many fairways as I should have … It was a day I was just a touch off the tee and consequently I couldn’t get the ball close enough.”

Prior to today’s win, Englishman Robert Rock had only one victory in his career in comparison to his final round playing partner Woods, who boasts 83 wins. To say that Rock holding off Woods was surprising would be an understatement, even according to Rock:

“It’s pretty hard to believe that I managed to win today. Very surprised,” the Englishman said. “I played good. So I guess I had a chance from early on, a couple of birdies made the day feel a little bit easier.”

“But it’s difficult playing with Tiger. You expect almost every shot to threaten to go in. It felt a lot of pressure and couldn’t afford any lapses in concentration at all.”

Rock did have a scare on the final hole after driving his tee shot far-right and into the hazard lining the 18th fairway. While he did have a chance to play the ball lying near a small bush and stone, Rock made the smart play and hit his third shot farther back from the point-of-entry and laid up. One shot and two putts later, Rock found himself in the winner’s circle.

A List

Starter: Phil Mickelson; Bench: Nick Watney

As mentioned above, Lefty finished second in the 2011 event just behind eventual winner Bubba Watson. Mickelson started his 2012 season last week at the Humana Challenge and played…well, like it was his first tournament of the season. Never count him out on the West Coast. The same goes for Nick Watney, who has had a stellar track record at this event (four Top-10′s in seven tries).

B List

Starters: Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler; Bench: Gary Woodland, Ryan Moore

Bubba and Rickie were sure things this week for me, and for obvious reasons. Watson is the defending champion and loves to hit the ball all over the damn place on both Torrey Pines courses. Fowler ended 2011 on a bit of a hotstreak and looks to continue that trend in his first event of 2012. Fowler will also be trying his new clubs at Torrey, so I’m interested to see how he performs. Woodland and Moore are gambles; however, both have played well in California in the past and tend to play better towards the bookend events of the season.

C List

Starter: Sang-Moon Bae; Bench: John Mallinger

I wouldn’t be surprised if the eventual winner of this year’s tournament comes from the C List player roster. Bae is having a great start to his rookie season on TOUR, who finished T30 at the Sony and T14 last week at the Humana. Mallinger is also having a fine season to this point and almost won the Humana out of nowhere. While he might not win the tournament, he’ll definitely be a strong contender throughout the week.

Oh, and both men are from Wisconsin and apparently play better when their home state is covered in snow.

Two weeks ago, Stricker captured the first event of the 2012 PGA TOUR season in Hawaii thanks to his stellar wedge play and hot putter down the stretch. This week, Wilson held off a slew of golfers (and some mighty winds) at La Quinta to hoist the trophy at the Humana Challenge.

In Edgerton, Wisconsin – the hometown of Mr. Stricker – the weather is currently a balmy 35 degrees. His home course of Lake Ripley Country Club near Cambridge is covered in a nice mixture of snow, sleet, and sludge that most Midwesterners know rather well. While a few idiots golf enthusiasts are likely to play the course and abide by local winter rules, they are likely to do so while wearing layers upon layers of jackets, gloves, and stocking hats.

In nearby Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the weather is slightly warmer – 37 degrees – but the snow/sleet/rain conditions are the same. Mark Wilson’s hometown is hardly different than Stricker’s, nor is his current home in Elmhurst, Illinois (which is approximately 20 minutes from where I currently sit). Speaking from experience, the weather is pretty miserable for golfers three months out of the year.

Obviously today’s climate in Wisconsin has nothing to do with the success of either man over the past month, but their winning ways are certainly a testament to the strong level of talent that one Midwestern state has offered to the TOUR.

A List

Starter: Matt Kuchar; Bench: Jhonny Vegas

Kuchar is a solid pick this week due to a solid track record in this tournament (including consecutive top-10′s in this event over the past two years) so I won’t be too surprised to find him on top of the leaderboard on Sunday. Vegas is the defending champion, and while he made it to the final round last week in Hawaii his early play in 2012 has been spotty at best. He may be a bit of a stretch this week, but then again nobody even knew who this kid was this time last year.

B List

Starters: Bill Haas, Anthony Kim; Bench: Harrison Frazar, Bryce Molder

Hass is going to have a strong week in La Quinta, assuming his track record in this event holds up this week. He won this event in 2010 and finished runner-up last season to Vegas. There may not be a more confident pick this week, so he’s in my starting line-up. Anthony Kim looks to have a break-out season (again) in 2012 thanks to improved health and longer hair. Harrison Frazar seems to be playing the best golf of his life starting at the end of 2011, and I would not be surprised to seem him contend in a major this year if he keeps this pace up. Molder is a bit of a sleeper pick for me this week, and I will admit it was simply based on my love of this guy’s swing and attitude.

C List

Starter: Carl Pettersson; Bench: Bud Cauley

Pettersson played well last week in Hawaii, giving eventual winner Johnson Wagner and the rest of the field a  little bit of a scare towards the weekend. He seems to play his best golf early in the year, so I’ll ride this hot-hand for another tournament this week. Bud Cauley is going to be a superstar, that much is already evident. His first career PGA TOUR start last week earned him a top-30 finish in Hawaii despite showing some nerves on the weekend. Due to the later cut-line (Saturday) this week, the youngster might have more time to relax on the course in preparation for a Sunday finish.

The Expo Center recently went over some major renovations (according to the center’s website), and this would be our first visit to the building since our time living in the county. Located just off of Route 64, the center appeared to be about the size of a WalMart and was tucked away by a hotel on the north side of the highway. We could already see the line of bored weekend hacks standing out the doorway and into the parking lot, which was filled to the brim and forced us to park by the neighboring hotel some 500 yards away.

Funny thing about golf expo shows that I somehow seem to forget every time: everyone is there looking for a massive deal on newer clubs, and no vendors are willing to offer that sort of deal. After paying the $9 admission fee to the center (without being handed any type of door gift, which I thought was poor taste), my wife and I entered a medium-sized convention floor that was packed with the same hackers we saw lined up outside. Most visitors were surrounding the new club offerings from NIKE, TaylorMade, and others (presumably looking for that big deal that wouldn’t be found). Since I was looking for a new 60-degree wedge and she for golf balls, we headed towards a less-populated section of the floor in search of our targets.

All-in-all, the convention was mild at best. I was able to find a new wedge for a mere $25 in addition to a dozen golf balls for her, and many of the vendors were open to bartering. However, the selection was somewhat limited in quality as opposed to quantity. There were many new club offerings at somewhat discounted prices, but the majority of items were slightly-to-overly used and barely worth their low prices.

Starter: Steve Stricker; Bench: K.J. Choi

As mentioned above, Stricker returns to action and looks to go back-to-back in Hawaii after winning at Kapalua. Stricker’s game seems to show no signs of his neck injury that hindered his performance throughout the majority of 2011, and his wedge game seems better than ever. Similarly, K.J. Choi finished last season on a bit of a hot streak, finishing no worse than a tie for 16th in his last 4 tournaments of the season (excluding the President’s Cup). He will be a great option off the bench if Stricker falters early. Choi also won this tournament in 2008.

B List

Starters: Mark Wilson, Steve Marino; Bench: Harrison Frazar, D.A. Points

Wilson won this event in 2011 in impressive fashion, which would mark the start of his best year on TOUR. Wilson’s 67 on Sunday last year gave him a two-stroke victory over my other pick this week: Steve Marino. Marino has played this tournament brilliantly in the past, having accumulated three top-10 finishes in his career. He’s going to win his first title on TOUR sooner or later, and my money is on the former. Harrison Frazar and D.A. Points are gambles, admittedly, however Frazar did play exceptionally well last week (especially on the weekend). He may have the hot hand this week other than Stricker, so I’ll be sure to keep my eye on him throughout.

C List

Starter: Jonathan Byrd; Bench: Johnson Wagner

J-Byrd isn’t going to get many starts for me in other tournaments this season, so I might as well play him in the state where he is most successful. Byrd finished T-3 last week, and while he appears to be driving the ball exceptionally well, his putter let him down late in the tournament. He certainly seems to show up every so often, plays really well, and then fades away into the crowd. The Wagner pick was probably a mistake (he’s missed three consecutive cuts at this tournament), but we’ll see if he can change his tune this week.

(The above article was originally posted by the author for WaggleRoom.com)

But as the PGA TOUR plans to experiment more with Monday evening tournament finishes during primetime (when applicable to daylight, as is the case with today’s final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions), should broadcast companies also experiment with how these rounds are covered?

Perhaps the best example of how the PGA TOUR can “spice up” their golf commentary is from another major sport who have thrived on Monday nights for decades: the National Football League and Monday Night Football. In 2000, executives at ABC took a gamble with their long-standing broadcast model by installing comedian Dennis Miller into their MNF booth to provide “observational and situational comedy” during football broadcasts.

At the time, ABC Sports’ president Howard Katz explained that the broadcast had become too “traditional” and the inclusion of Miller onto the commentary team would “eliminate some of the ‘sameness’ and repetition” that some football fans had begun to complain about to the network. While Miller certainly provided his own spin on events unfolding during a game, fans responded to the change with mixed reviews. After only two seasons in the television booth, Miller (and fellow commentator Dan Fouts) would ultimately be replaced by John Madden.

But could the PGA TOUR benefit from the same idea that the NFL whiffed on nine years ago? Professional golf certainly has its fans from the entertainment industry, including comedians Bill Murray and George Lopez, both of whom have played in numerous pro-ams over the years. Justin Timberlake never saw a TV-camera he didn’t like and has already rooted himself deep into the golf industry to the tune of hosting his own PGA TOUR event and joining Callaway Golf’s leadership. Surely any of these personalities would provide more… um…. personality than the exchanges between Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller.

If the PGA TOUR truly wishes to experiment with Monday finishers, they will have quite the mix of competition. For example, today’s final round at the Hyundai will compete with the NCAA National Championship game between LSU and Alabama (ROLL TIDE), numerous National Basketball Association telecasts across the country, and (yes, believe it) professional wrestling’s WWE Monday Night Raw (which consistently captures the market share majority of sports viewers on a weekly basis, and it isn’t even close).

True, professional golf is in a “league” of its own in terms of viewership and market. Sports fans who like professional basketball and wrestling won’t always enjoy watching golf as well. The “1000 pound bunker in the room”, however, is that the PGA TOUR could use a little boost in ratings… especially since advertising-magnet Tiger Woods appears to be on another upswing in his playing career. If they truly plan on competing with the well-established markets for numerous other sport options on Mondays, they will need a little more “flavor” in the commentary booth for fans to bite into.

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.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the PGA TOUR did at least test a few different point models to see if there was a better system than the current one in place. That means that situations like this can still presumably occur during the PGA TOUR season:

In the last two years of the FedEx Cup playoffs, a runner-up finish for Martin Laird at The Barclays and for Chez Reavie at the Deutsche Bank Championship was enough for them to lock up a spot in the Tour Championship — and three of the majors — after what had been ordinary seasons.

The debate on whether there is or is not a better points system for the FedEx Cup is very much a broken record at this point. One side of the debate believes that the system is the best we can hope for (which always sounds like a cop-out to me, no matter how many times it is said), while the opposite side believes there are other options. Blah blah blah, we’ve all heard it before.

But that still doesn’t mean that the current system isn’t flawed. For example, the current system dictates that points awarded are five times as much for playoff events. For players who sneak into the postseason despite having an average overall year, the playoffs offer a multitude of chances to catapult up the point standings. There are pros and cons to using this model, however most people believe this provides the true “playoff” feel to the tournaments; that is, an underdog has a legit chance at winning the Cup.

If something is considered flawed, why wouldn’t officials want to fix what is broken?

This point becomes the basis for my opposition with the current system. Underdogs are always a fan favorite in any sport’s postseason. However, that excitement only exists when dealing with a tournament bracket, not a running point system. Beefing up the point values for postseason events not only allow for the rich to get richer, but also for an “average” player to seriously contend for the trophy despite actually winning anything in the process.

The FedEx Cup remains its own animal in a world where sports fans are typically accustomed to tournament brackets. Perhaps this feeling of commonality or normality as it pertains to my idea of a postseason has clouded my judgement on the current Cup system. Then again, maybe that was the point of PGA TOUR officials all along.

The FedEx Cup is not like other playoff systems, so we need to stop pretending that it is.