Fantasy Golf Buy, Sell, or Hold for Shell Houston Open
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 5:56AM Don't forget to listen to our AudioBoo for our "flyer of the week."
This is always a weird spot on the PGA calendar. The week before The Masters finds the guys in Houston, Texas, What kind of prep is this for Augusta?
This spot used to be held by the tournament in New Orleans, then the BellSouth event in Atlanta and both events attracted a nice field.
While the Shell Houston Open is a fine event, most of the top players are skipping it to get ready for the first major of the year.
The course is the Redstone Golf Club and it's a tough track. The par-4 488-yard finishing hole is a good test, and the course as a whole ranked as the 14th most difficult course on the tour in 2010.
Anthony Kim is the defending champ, but he has been struggling. Can he repeat?
Here is this week's buy, sell or hold.
Buy:
Phil Mickelson (A) - Phil is playing this week to get ready for Augusta. He's played well the week before The Masters before. Look for him to have a solid week.
Steve Marino (A) - Marino finished 2nd last week at Arnie's event. Yea, he kind of let another one slip away, but you can also bet he's playing some good golf right now. Finished T-14 here last year.
Spencer Levin (B) - Levin is really hitting the ball well. Has made a whopping 9 cuts this year. Played well last week and finished T-6.
Charl Schwartzel (B) - Hasn't played a lot on U.S. soil so far in 2011. He's a solid player and likes this course. He finished T-3 last year.
Fred Couples (C) - Houston is Fred's town. He's always worth a play here this week. His game is actually in good shape. He made the cut last year. He might have a few surprises left in him.
Sell:
Y.E. Yang (B) - Hasn't done much so far in 2011 outside of the Honda. He finished T-31 here last year.
Josh Teater (B) - Has missed 6 cuts so far in 2011 and his best finish is a T-63. You weren't going to play him anyway, were you?
Troy Merritt (C) - 6 starts and 5 missed cuts for 2011. Missed the cut and played badly here last year.
Hold:
Charles Howell III (C) - Charles has been real close to having a great tournament here in 2011. He's too good of a player for what he's been shooting. He missed the cut here last year, but he seems to be playing better. If you need a C-level player, stash him in your lineup.
