You know, I have good weeks, and I have bad weeks, just like everyone
else. However, some weeks, like this one (where I picked the outright
winner at The Open, and had a gaggle of top-25 finishes nailed across both tournaments;
and
skewered Sergio Garcia in my Feature this week) are better than
others. These are the weeks when what I say will happen actually happens,
and the entire Fantasy World (or at least those who read these articles) are
better off for it. Needless to say, the busts I thought would bust,
busted; and that's the way it's supposed to work. So, without further
ado, I present to you this week's Top Tournament Busts.
Sergio Garcia - Ha, ha and more HA! That's for all the experts
across the Internet who had Garcia as a "can't miss" pick this
week. Usually, I don't give much notice to MSN, Yahoo! or ESPN picks,
because they don't normally know any better. But, when PGATour.com gets
in on the act; I have to respond. Sergio Garcia simply isn't a good
enough putter to merit all the love he gets. Picking Sergio "because
he won The Players" is such a lazy and uninformed pick it's scary; why not
pick Trevor Immelman? He won the Masters after all. You know, an
actual Major tournament, not a made up one like The Players. Well, Sergio
did almost exactly what I thought he would do. He started off relatively
well (72-73 put him in the top-25 heading for the weekend), but he followed
that up with a clutch weekend of 74-78 to finish in a T-51st. Can we be
done with Sergio for a while? Aren't "the experts" tired of
getting burned by this guy? Exactly what you'd expect to happen,
happened, as Garcia was the worst putter in the field on the weekend and
dropped 36 spots on Sunday to finish out of the top-50. I know this
probably isn't going to stop the Sergio Love, but maybe, just maybe, it will
slow a bit. ESPN concluded their wrap-up of The Open coverage by
mentioning that Garcia, the "odds-on" favorite to win, finished in a
T-51st, almost as an afterthought. "Odds-On" favorite?
For who, exactly? Fantasy impact: as usual, don't pick Sergio under any
circumstances. You'll be right a lot more often than not.
Stewart Cink - Cink missed a golden opportunity to cement himself in
with the elite of the World this week, but ended up shooting 75-75 and just
missing the cut. I won't skewer Cink too much, because an American
unfamiliar with Links golf, and more importantly Links weather conditions are
at a distinct disadvantage to those who are. Cink gets the bust nod here
however because of the missed opportunity. Cink's going to watch Anthony
Kim and Kenny Perry fly right by him into the "Tiger Void" and Cink
will remain on the outside looking in; unless he can get it done at the PGA
Championship in a couple of weeks. Cink found the conditions nearly
impossible for his forte, putting. And when his flat stick goes, his game
goes, and he ends up in a missed cut situation like he did this week.
It's a shame really, and I hope for his sake he can get things going
soon. He's too good of a player to be left out of the mix in the
"Tiger Void Sweepstakes".
Geoff Ogilvy - And, I suppose you can put a big "ditto
mark" next to Ogilvy's Thursday and Friday, as well as the entire fallout
and impact story. The conditions got to him, and Ogilvy shot 77-74,
missing the cut by two shots. Like Cink, it was a lack of a putter that
killed him; and like Cink, Ogilvy missed an opportunity to move up on the
"prestige" scale filling the "Tiger Void". Ogilvy,
like Cink, is just too good of a player to miss out on this, but maybe they're
meant to be on the outside looking in for their career. I personally
think they're more than good enough; but losing focus in Majors when the World
is watching is not the way to cement your legacy. This is a chance for
the true elite in the World to shine; as pretenders like Vijay (also missed
cut) and Sergio (T-51st) fall by the wayside. I really hope Ogilvy can
rebound at the PGA, a tournament in which he should fare much better.