Viking Classic

The USA PGA Tour is now playing the extended season tournaments (i.e. the tournaments after the FedEx Playoff events), with the first of the tournaments being played in Mississippi, the Viking Championship.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Viking Championship.

#	Player	CLi
1	Charlie Wi	14.0
2	Woody Austin	15.0
3	Jonathan Byrd	17.1
4	Bill Haas	17.4
5	David Toms	18.3
6	Troy Matteson	18.6
7	Boo Weekley	19.8
8	D.J. Trahan	23.7
9	Will MacKenzie	24.8
10	Brett Wetterich	25.9
11	Brett Quigley	26.7
12	Rocco Mediate	27.0
13	Aaron Baddeley	28.2
14	Heath Slocum	35.2
15	Chad Campbell	37.4

I am going to stick with the top 5 in the CLi rankings: Wi, Austin, Byrd, Haas, and Toms.

Don't have time to explain why, except to say that I am just going with the formula.

Below are my 5 picks for the Viking Championship :

#	Player	CLi
1	Charlie Wi	14.0
2	Woody Austin	15.0
3	Jonathan Byrd	17.1
4	Bill Haas	17.4
5	David Toms	18.3

Below is the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. D.J. Trahan
2. Charlie Wi
3. Bill Haas
4. Heath Slocum
5. Tom Gillis

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: Viking Championship

We have 2 players in common this week: Wi and Haas.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Viking Championship :

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
60	5%	5%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
6	20%	20%

TOUR Championship Review

It is now time to review the picks for the TOUR Championship to see how the results turned out.

Here are the results of the Tour Outsider (my) picks.

1. Adam Scott | 27 | $124,500
2. Retief Goosen | 3 | $517,500
3. Steve Stricker | 25 | $127,500
4. Hunter Mahan | 15 | $162,000
5. Jim Furyk | 1 | $1,350,000

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Steve Stricker | 25 | $127,500
2. Matt Kuchar | 25 | $127,500
3. Jim Furyk | 1 | $1,350,000
4. Paul Casey | 4 | $330,000
5. Adam Scott | 27 | $124,500

Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$2,281,500	$2,059,500	TO
Avg Rank	14.2	16.4	TO
Made Cut	5	5	DRAW
Outcome	--	--	TO

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Made Cut category was a draw.

This tournament overall was won by the Tour Outsider.

The overall results between the Tour Outsider and the Tour Insider is 17 wins to the Tour Outsider, 17 wins to the Tour Insider, and 3 draws.

[ Note: This entry was posted on October 13, 2010, and not on the date that is shown as the posting date. To keep the postings in order, the date that this entry was suppose to be posted on was used. The entry was late to post since I was focusing on my work in my doctoral studies. ]

TOUR Championship

The USA PGA Tour is playing the final leg of the Fedex Cup Playoff this week in Atlanta with the TOUR Championship.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the TOUR Championship.

#	Player	CLi
1	Adam Scott	7.20
2	Retief Goosen	8.45
3	Steve Stricker	8.85
4	Hunter Mahan	8.90
5	Jim Furyk	8.95
6	Luke Donald	9.30
7	Zach Johnson	10.55
8	Dustin Johnson	10.95
9	Phil Mickelson	11.35
10	Camilo Villegas	11.75
11	Ben Crane	13.80
12	Nick Watney	15.20
13	Kevin Na	15.55
14	Matt Kuchar	15.60
15	Charley Hoffman	16.05

I am going to stick with the top 5 in the CLi rankings: Scott, Goosen, Stricker, Mahan, and Furyk.

All the players look good since the tournament has a field of just 30 players and these players having earned their position in the field due to the previous 3 events. So all 30 players are playing well. In addition, there is no cut in the event and thus all the players will earn a check no matter how well they play. Thus players don't have the same motivation to finish well if they are not playing well early on in the tournament. Therefore, they won't grind it out to finish well if they are not playing well. That makes it difficult to pick who will finish well this week.

Below are my 5 picks for the TOUR Championship :

#	Player	Cli
1	Adam Scott	7.20
2	Retief Goosen	8.45
3	Steve Stricker	8.85
4	Hunter Mahan	8.90
5	Jim Furyk	8.95

Below is the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. Steve Stricker
2. Matt Kuchar
3. Jim Furyk
4. Paul Casey
5. Adam Scott

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: TOUR Championship

We have 3 players in common this week: Stricker, Furyk, and Scott.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the TOUR Championship :

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
60	5%	5%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
6	20%	20%

BMW Championship Review

It is now time to review the picks for the BMW Championship to see how the results turned out.

Here are the results of the Tour Outsider (my) picks.

1. Steve Stricker | 8 | $217,500
2. Matt Kuchar | 3 | $360,000
3. Adam Scott | 15 | $116,250
4. Jim Furyk | 15 | $116,250
5. Stewart Cink | 21 | $84,000

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Steve Stricker | 8 | $217,500
2. Luke Donald | 37 | $33,000
3. Jason Day | 54 | $17,250
4. Stewart Cink | 21 | $84,000
5. Matt Kuchar | 3 | $360,000

Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$894,000	$711,750	TO
Avg Rank	12.4	24.6	TO
Made Cut	5	5	DRAW
Outcome	--	--	TO

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Made Cut category was a draw.

This tournament overall was won by the Tour Outsider.

The overall results between the Tour Outsider and the Tour Insider is 16 wins to the Tour Outsider, 17 wins to the Tour Insider, and 3 draws.

[ Note: This entry was posted on October 13, 2010, and not on the date that is shown as the posting date. To keep the postings in order, the date that this entry was suppose to be posted on was used. The entry was late to post since I was focusing on my work in my doctoral studies. ]

BMW Championship

Am behind again...due to exams.  So I am just going to do a quick post with my picks for the BMW Championship tonight.  My picks are:

1. Steve Stricker
2. Matt Kuchar
3. Adam Scott
4. Jim Furyk
5. Stewart Cink

I will expand on my posting next week --- after the tournament -- to ensure that I have the full posting in the archives.......

Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship Review

It is now time to review the picks for the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship to see how the results turned out.

Here are the results of the Tour Outsider (my) picks.

1. Dustin Johnson | 57 | $16,725
2. Matt Kuchar | 11 | $148,929
3. Jason Dufner | 18 | $101,250
4. Steve Stricker | 9 | $217,500
5. Jim Furyk | 37 | $34,500

Here are the results for the Tour Insider's (Bolton's) picks.

1. Dustin Johnson | 57 | $16,725
2. Steve Stricker | 9 | $217,500
3. Matt Kuchar | 11 | $148,929
4. Jason Day | 2 | $560,000
5. Ben Crane | 72 (MC) | $0

Here is the comparison of the results for our picks.

	Tour Outsider	Tour Insider	Winner
Total Earnings	$518,904	$943,154	TI
Avg Rank	26.4	30.2	TO
Made Cut	5	4	TO
Outcome	--	--	TO

The Total Earnings category was won by the Tour Insider.

The Avg Rank category was won by the Tour Outsider.

The Made Cut category was won by the Tour Outsider.

This tournament overall was won by the Tour Outsider.

The overall results between the Tour Outsider and the Tour Insider is 15 wins to the Tour Outsider, 17 wins to the Tour Insider, and 3 draws.

[ Note: This entry was posted on October 13, 2010, and not on the date that is shown as the posting date. To keep the postings in order, the date that this entry was suppose to be posted on was used. The entry was late to post since I was focusing on my work in my doctoral studies. ]

Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship

The USA PGA Tour is playing the 2nd leg of the Fedex Cup Playoff this week in Boston with the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship.

#	Player	CLi
1	Dustin Johnson	12.70
2	Matt Kuchar	15.05
3	Jason Dufner	15.15
4	Steve Stricker	17.35
5	Jim Furyk	18.60
6	Padraig Harrington	18.90
7	Marc Leishman	23.05
8	Retief Goosen	24.25
9	Kevin Streelman	26.65
10	J.J. Henry	27.55
11	Jason Day	28.60
12	Martin Laird	29.75
13	Charlie Wi	30.30
14	Justin Leonard	31.05
15	Sean O'Hair	31.65

I am going to stick with the top 5 in the CLi rankings: Johnson, Kuchar, Dufner, Stricker, and Furyk.

Dufner is an interesting pick when looking at these 5 players since his world ranking is the losest of the 5. As well, he missed the cut last week at the Barclays Classic. Then on top of that, picking Dufner is especially interesting when Padraig Harrington is in 6th position in the rankings. Harrington's CLi (18.90) is not much different than the Cli values of the first 5 players in the list. However, in the two instances that Dufner has played the Deutsche Bank event, he has missed the cut in the preceeding tournaments and has finished 2nd and 37th. Both times he made the cut, so it seems that he likes this course. Thus, I am going to stick with him as a pick this week rather than dropping him for Harrington.

Below are my 5 picks for the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship :

#	Player	CLi
1	Dustin Johnson	12.70
2	Matt Kuchar	15.05
3	Jason Dufner	15.15
4	Steve Stricker	17.35
5	Jim Furyk	18.60

Below is the top 5 players in the Power Rankings from Rob Bolton:

1. Dustin Johnson
2. Steve Stricker
3. Matt Kuchar
4. Jason Day
5. Ben Crane

Here is a link to Bolton's Power Rankings so that you can read more about his thoughts on his top players in this week's Power Rankings:

Bolton's Power Rankings: Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship

We have 3 players in common this week: Johnson, Stricker, and Kuchar.

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship :

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	25%	25%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
30	5%	5%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	20%	20%