You know, it figures.  The PGA Tour is going to be close to where I live, and I can't go because I'm sick as a dog.  That's right, I have bird flu or tuberculosis or some such thing and unless conditions improve dramatically, I'm out of luck.  It's too bad, because I really wanted to heckle Sergio, but alas, I'm going to have to wait for another time to do that.  I'm stalling here, because I've already gone over the course with you; it's hard.  There are two drivable Par-4s on the course, but it's still a very, very difficult technical and long (7,200+ yds) course.  Also, watch out for the third cut of rough, which is essentially fescue. The crowd won't be able to trample that stuff down very well; so Defending Champion Phil and friends need to watch out.  Your all-around players are going to be your winners this week, so we're going to need to look for Driving Accuracy and Greens In Regulation; followed closely by putting and this week you can't forget about distance.  So let's get to it; this week's Start 'Em Sit 'Em:

Start

Padraig Harrington - A Group - This is the last probationary pick of Harrington.  I'm going to chalk up last week to jet lag, or to some sort of mysterious illness that caused him to miss the cut last week.  It was quite shocking to see, actually; and that's why I'm nervous about this pick.  However, given the obvious options (Vijay, last week's champ; Phil, tournament defending champ), there's not really a whole lot of option here.  So, here's his last chance to make a believer out of me; another missed cut with get him the boot.  He's the best putter in the World, at least one of them (4th in Putting Average, 5th in Putts Per Round) and 27th in Driving Distance.  Where he's gotten in trouble Stateside has been with Accuracy and GIR; where he's been pretty bad (although this isn't the case across the pond).  If he can take advantage of the short Par-4s and keep it in the vicinity of the fairways and greens; he'll be fine.  He DIDN'T do that this past week; so I am not 100% sold on this pick.

Justin Leonard - B Group - I really almost pulled the trigger on both Sutherland and Streelman in this spot; but I went with Leonard because of his consistency recently; and did you know he finished T-7th last week?  Leonard has had quite the career resurgence this season; and it's kind of been fun to watch, especially as he's locked himself into a Ryder Cup spot, and now he's got a legitimate shot at the FedEx Cup bonus.  My only concern for him this week would be his lack of distance (279+ yds, 171st on Tour), but since May 25th (Crown Plaza Invt'l) he's been closer to 290, so I don't think that's going to be a huge problem.  As far as the rest?  He's as good as anyone.  52nd in Driving Accuracy, 32nd in GIR, and 19th in Putting Average are all numbers anyone would kill for.  Leonard has been so steady of late, it's impossible to go against him; especially if you're looking for guaranteed points instead of taking a risk on a winner.

Ben Curtis - C Group - Nick Faldo and Gary McCord said it best this past week on the TV coverage, "If it's a big tournament, you can bet Ben Curtis will be around."  That's proven to be 100% true this year (as in most years).  Look at his top four finishes this year: 2nd at Wachovia, T-2nd at the PGA, T-4th at The Barclays, T-7th at Royal Birkdale.  Those are all big tournament, and there's no reason to think that Curtis will do any differently in Norton.  He's a good putter (56th in Putting Average, 53rd in Putts Per Round) and pretty accurate off the tee (56th in Driving Accuracy); but he's got concerns in Distance (145th) and GIR (154th), which is why most people stay away from him.  But, considering Perry's +5 on the last three holes last Sunday which dropped him 30 spots in three holes; there's one golfer in the C Group you can count on for points in big spots; and that's Curtis.

Sit

Jim Furyk - A Group - Furyk has had a good year, but not a great one by any means, and especially by his standards.  He's got no wins on the season, and certainly doesn't seem capable of making any serious moves to the front, even though he occasionally ends up in the top 10.  Furyk has struggled in one area this season, where he's usually one of the best, and that's with the putter, where he's 133rd in Putting Average and 156th in Putts Per Round.  The other concern is that he's 171st in Driving Distance, and that's going to cost him this week on the longer course.  He's 27th in Driving Accuracy and 21st in GIR, so he shouldn't miss the cut by any means; but I wouldn't expect him to stay in serious contention.

Stewart Cink - B Group - Yeah, one of my early season favorites really fell off the table once summer came along.  Cink's been flat out bad for most of the back half of the season; but he piled up enough FedEx Cup points to probably get him into the Tour Championship (he dropped from 6th to 9th last week, and more poor performances will put him precariously close to 30th).  That said, he's playing so badly that it's impossible to pick him any longer.  He's still got fantastic numbers, mainly due to his early season success (34th in Driving Distance, 18th in GIR, 31st in Putting Average, 84th in Putts Per Round), but his Achilles' heel this season has really been his downfall in these late season events that require accurate driving.  181st in Driving Accuracy is not going to get it done (and it's more in the low-200s since the Traveler's); especially on these late-season courses where trees are your enemy.  Until proven otherwise, Cink is just not worth the pick for the rest of the year.

C Group other than Perry, Curtis and Brett Quigley - No one else here really has much of a chance; but you may want to keep an eye out, because there's going to be a lot of them cut this week.  You may want to keep an eye on Lee Janzen, who was the last qualifier in (144th) and played well enough to make the top-120 this week.  Can he break into the top-70?