Shell Houston Open

You know what the best part of the SHO will be this week?  Not having to listen to Arnold Palmer speak or watching his mediocre grandson play mediocre golf.  Is that too harsh?  Am I the only one who could care less about Sam Saunders?  I do look forward to Spazner Levin throwing a few clubs though.  I love watching that guy, especially if I've got money on Martin Laird.

The TOUR heads to Houston this week, where Anthony Kim is thd defending champ.  A quick check of his results since his win here a year ago tell us to stay very clear of AK.  The top ranked players in the field are Westwood (two top 11s in the last two years), Mickelson (zero top 20s in six starts), Kuchar, and Stricker.  Hunter Mahan is interesting here too.  It seems like he is close and its a matter of time before he's in the winnner's circle again.  Mahan has two MCs and two top 10s here in the last four years.

Players not on their game include Harrington, Els and Goosen, all of which may have more value in name than anything these days.  There are at least 10 guys I'd draft before either this week.

Of the lesser knowns, Steve Marino is playing well and has competed well on this course.  DJ Trahan is also going to be a trendy sleeper choice.  Francesco Molinari is here too, and is a top 20 player in the world.  He's certainly worth a look in the one and done.

Deep sleepers?  James Driscoll and Johnson Wagner.  Driscoll tied for 14th last year and Wagner won in 2008 after a ninth in '07.  Nice value there.  Wagner also won in Cancun in February.

Most Talent
Mickelson
Westwood
Stricker
Kuchar
Mahan

Course History
Kim
Couples
Holmes
Wagner
Stricker

Who's Hot?
Marino
Kuchar
Leishman
De Jonge
Baddeley

Who's Not?
Kim
Mickelson
Els
Villegas
Glover

My Picks
Mahan
Wagner
Westwood
Molinari
Marino

Cheers,
TFAM