Rate it!

1 votes

Tiger Woods might be the obvious pick for this week's AT&T National, but Paul Casey is a decent stand-in if you've run out of picks for the world number one.

Sign up for Fantasy Golf 09! It is free to join and there are fantastic seasonal prizes on offer. You can also enter the race to win the Eurosport-Yahoo! mini-league by selecting group ID 1441 and using the password: Eurosport

THIS WEEK (July 2-5)

Tournament: AT&T National

Course: Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland,

Purse: $6 million

Defending champion: Anthony Kim

A-list

The way Fantasy Golf works mean that you can only pick each player 10 times - but considering how rarely Tiger Woods actually plays, you'd be insane not to pick him every single week. He tied for sixth last time he played in the AT&T at Congressional and, given that this traditional track favours a blend of big hitting and top-class shotmaking, Woods must be a shoe-in for a top-10 at worst.

If you've already run out of Tiger picks, or if you just want to look elsewhere, then last year's winner Anthony Kim is a decent shout. He showed enough quality at the US Open to suggest that he's close to finding his A-game.

But we'd steer clear of Kim and go for Paul Casey. Yes, he was hugely disappointing at the US Open, but without the glare of the expectant media the big-hitting Casey has all the tools to shine.

B-list

Hunter Mahan was looking shaky value for our fantasy money last week as he scraped through the cut, but ultimately came through to do us proud by shooting 63-64 at the weekend for fourth spot at the Travelers Championship.

And Mahan is well worth sticking with this week: a pair of top-20 finishes at Congressional in the last couple of years, allied to his cracking form, make him a decent bet.

Given that this course is a former US Open venue - Ernie Els pipped Colin Montgomerie to the title here in 1997 - then you might want to think about Lucas Glover as well. He didn't impress in the event last year, but tied for 12th in 2007 - and showed with his 11th place finish last week that he's not suffering any sort of US Open hangover.

Equally, though, we're inclined to go with Bubba Watson. The longest hitter on tour will have a big advantage, and a final round 63 last week shows there's nothing wrong with his putter.

C-list

It's tempting to go for Rocco Mediate - another solid player on US Open-style courses - but instead it's Aussie left-hander Nick O'Hern who gets the thumbs up instead. O'Hern finished an out-of-the-blue T3 at Congressional last year after a season of mixed results, and four solid rounds of 68 or better last week suggests he has the consistent form that could see him do well this weekend.

Out of bounds

Don't be tempted by Boo Weekley, despite his solid T12 at the AT&T in 2007 and collection of top-15 finishes in the past couple of months. We're big fans of the redneck hero, but his shaky ball striking this season has seen him miss cuts left, right and centre on the tougher tracks. Congressional is just not the place to get your game back.

Watch the AT&T National LIVE from 8pm Thursday and Friday and 6pm Saturday and Sunday on British Eurosport 2 (Sky 411 / Virgin Media 525); Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe.

Toby Keel / Eurosport