Sony Open in Hawaii

This week the US PGA Tour stays in Hawaii to play the second tournament of the 2010 season: the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Even though this is the second tournament of the season, it is the first full field tournament. Players should be "moving and grooving" and itching to play well so they get off to a good start for the season.

Below is the list of the top 15 players in the CLi rankings for the Sony Open.

#	Player	Cli
1	Rory Sabbatini	5.80
2	Steve Stricker	9.55
3	Zach Johnson	9.80
4	Troy Matteson	14.10
5	Stewart Cink	19.95
6	Stephen Ames	20.40
7	Y.E. Yang	20.80
8	Tim Clark	21.20
9	George McNeill	21.75
10	Chad Campbell	23.20
11	Pat Perez	24.10
12	Luke Donald	26.00
13	Ernie Els	27.20
14	Jeff Klauk	27.80
15	Shigeki Maruyama	28.60

I am going to stick with the top 5 in the CLi rankings this week: Sabbatini, Stricker, Johnson, Matteson, and Cink. Out of these 5, Matteson is my questionable player in terms of fans knowing him. However, he has played 31st or better in the last 4 Sony Opens, with an 8th place finish in 2008. Of the 16 rounds he has played in this tournament, he has shot in the 60s 11 times, with the his highest score being 72. So he plays well and consistent in this tournament.

I am solely relying on intelligence of the CLi. Let's hope that is a good strategy this week. Players should at least be enjoying the warm weather when it is still rather cold in many other players in the northern hemisphere.

Below are my 5 picks for the Sony Open:

#	Player	Cli
1	Rory Sabbatini	5.80
2	Steve Stricker	9.55
3	Zach Johnson	9.80
4	Troy Matteson	14.10
5	Stewart Cink	19.95

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the Sony Open:

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)
7	5%	5%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	20%	20%

SBS Championship

Ok, I am now back to try to post on a regular basis my picks each week using the Golf CLi. Until I find a person in the media to compete with, I will just post my picks.

This week is the beginning of the 2010 season for the US PGA Tour, with the tournament being the SBS Championship. This tournament has changed its name this year with the title sponsor change. In the past this tournament has been called the Mercedes-Benz Championship since Mercedes-Benz had sponsored the event. However, this year SBS Technologies has become the title sponsor for the tournament and thus has earned the right to change the name of the tournament.

The first tournament, as is normally the case on the US PGA Tour, takes place in Hawaii with a limited field tournament. Only players that won an official money event in the 2009 season are eligible to play in this tournament. Currently the field consists of 28 players.

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

	Player	CLi
1	Stephen Ames	4.20
2	Troy Matteson	4.90
3	Nick Watney	5.20
4	Steve Stricker	5.50
5	Angel Cabrera	7.60
6	Lucas Glover	7.80
7	Zach Johnson	8.50
8	Kenny Perry	9.50
9	Retief Goosen	10.10
10	Dustin Johnson	10.10
11	Matt Kuchar	12.10
12	Stewart Cink	12.40
13	Sean O'Hair	13.30
14	Martin Laird	13.90
15	Rory Sabbatini	13.90

It is difficult to pick for a tournament that is early in the season, especially the first tournament of the season since we don't have much knowledge of how the players worked duriung the off season. As well, with this being a limited field tournament and with the tournament taking place in such a nice place as Hawaii (i.e. a vacation spot), one doesn't know if the player is going to focus on winning or just go through the motions during this tournament. However, in another sense, since the tournament is a limited field there are less player factors involved because there are fewer players to pick from.

This week I am going to go with Ames, Watney, Stricker, Johnson, and Perry. I tried to pick players that I feel are focused on winning this week and who will not play around during the tournament. Ames is the caveat in this pick, as he might not be focused. However, he is a favorite based upon the CLi so I have stuck with him in my picks.

Below are my 5 picks for the SBS Championship:

	Player	CLi
1	Stephen Ames	4.20
2	Nick Watney	5.20
3	Steve Stricker	5.50
4	Zach Johnson	8.50
5	Kenny Perry	9.50

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

Number of Past Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA1)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA1)
5	20%	20%
Number of Days Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA2)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA2)
30	0%	0%
Number of Tournaments Looking Back
Number	Scoring Avg Weight (SA3)	Earnings Avg Weight (EA3)
4	30%	30%

Taking a break until the start of the 2010 Season

I am taking a break at the moment....just too many things to have to focus on this Fall season. So I won't be posting my picks again until the 2010 professional golf season starts. In the meantime, if you want to run your own Golf CLi you can do so for any of the tournaments on the major tours by setting up an account on golfcli.com.

Turning Stone Resort Championship

Another week gone by, and I continue to be behind the eight ball with my posts....hmmmm. In any event, here are my picks for the Turning Stone Resort Championship. The tournament is the start of the US PGA Tour's Fall Finish.

• 1. Bill Haas
• 2. John Senden
• 3. Dustin Johnson
• 4. Mark Wilson
• 5. Jonathan Byrd

Tour Championship

I am running late this week and will not have time to post the detail posting for the Tour Championship later today. So I am going to post my five picks this morning and then update the update tomorrow or so.

Here are my picks for the Tour Championship which is being played in Atlanta this week. The fields is limited to 30 players.

• 1. Tiger Woods
• 2. Jim Furyk
• 3. Padraig Harrington
• 4. Zach Johnson
• 5. Retief Goosen

BMW Championship

The 3rd leg of the US PGA Tour's FedEx Playoff season will be the BMW Championship, which is being played in Chicago at Cog Hill.

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

#	Player	CLi
1	Tiger Woods	1.35
2	Steve Stricker	7.90
3	Sergio Garcia	11.65
4	Jim Furyk	16.05
5	Fredrik Jacobson	16.55
6	Ernie Els	17.60
7	Ian Poulter	17.90
8	Heath Slocum	19.50
9	Scott Verplank	19.85
10	Stephen Ames	22.80
11	Hunter Mahan	23.15
12	Angel Cabrera	23.45
13	Bill Haas	23.70
14	Steve Marino	23.80
15	Brandt Snedeker	24.00

I am going to go with the top 4 in the CLi rankings: Woods, Stricker, Garcia, and Furyk. Then I am going to skip down to Poulter for my 5th pick. He is a dark horse for this tournament, as most people would not think about picking him. Let's see if he is able to pull in a top 10 this week.

Below are my 5 picks for the BMW Championship:

#	Player	CLi
1	Tiger Woods	1.35
2	Steve Stricker	7.90
3	Sergio Garcia	11.65
4	Jim Furyk	16.05
5	Ian Poulter	17.90

Below are the settings for the CLi calculation I used for the BMW 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%

Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship

The 2nd leg of the US PGA Tour's FedEx Playoff season will be the Deutsche Bank U.S. Championship. The event begins on Friday and ends on Monday (Labor Day holiday).

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

#	Player	CLi
1	Tiger Woods	2.20
2	Ernie Els	9.05
3	Sergio Garcia	13.05
4	Robert Allenby	16.85
5	Steve Stricker	18.45
6	Ryan Moore	19.35
7	Jason Bohn	20.85
8	Bill Haas	22.15
9	Steve Marino	23.65
10	Brandt Snedeker	24.05
11	John Rollins	24.35
12	Mike Weir	26.15
13	Justin Rose	29.55
14	Phil Mickelson	29.60
15	Chad Campbell	30.45

the top 5 players in the CLi rankings look really good. Woods plays well at the Deutsche. Els has been improving his play of late and had a chance to win going into the final 9 holes last week at the Barclays. Garcia has been playing well, however, he has not converted a win yet. Allenby plays well at the Deutsche and is always a solid pick in any tournament due to his consistent play. Stricker is also playing well, and had a chance to win last week at the Barclays Classic.

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

#	Player	CLi
1	Tiger Woods	2.20
2	Ernie Els	9.05
3	Sergio Garcia	13.05
4	Robert Allenby	16.85
5	Steve Stricker	18.45

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%