With the PGA Tour dark this week, I'd like to introduce you to my personal PGA Tour fantasy league. Contrary to my work with Rotoworld, I don't play the weekly golf game. I know that seems sacrilegious but that's only because I've been part of something for 15 years that can't be matched. To put it another way, if Rotoworld brass ever wanted to host its own fantasy golf game, I'd lobby hard to make my game the one. Now if I only knew someone with connections .
My league is old school in some ways, cutting edge in others and would require a seasoned programmer or four to make it an Internet staple. If you were born within the last 20 years and can't imagine society without the Internet, it's unlike anything you've ever seen or played. It pays homage to the old-fashioned rotisserie games we dinosaurs in our 30s played pre-www.com, pre-Microsoft Excel and pre-Lotus 1-2-3.
It's a throwback to the days of manually run, team sports rotisserie leagues and planned trips to White Hen and 7-Eleven to get a copy of the
USA Todayor
The Nationalfor the stats, which were published just once a week and provided our only source in the pre-Internet daze.
U.S. & World
It bucks the current trend of weekly fantasy golf leagues, which allow more than one person to own the same golfer. There are no weekly lineups, benches or trades. It's all about the draft, rosters, drop-adds and keepers.
Then there's the scoring system. We used the same format from 1994-2006 before finally dealing with Tiger Woods and his insane dominance. In short, the evolution of the league has resulted in what I believe is the best fantasy golf game anywhere. The guys in my league would second that in a heartbeat. Even the ones that aren't backing up the truck.
So, this week, I'm breaking it down for you. Like the pioneering rotisserie formats, it does require that "numbers guy" you know to run the stats after every tournament. Usually, that guy is also the commissioner and it's no different in my loop a/k/a the Hal Giese Memorial Fantasy Golf League. (God rest his golf-loving soul, Hal was a charter member and two-time champ before retiring on top. No question he was greeted at the pearly gates with an eternal membership at Top of the Clouds GC.)
ScoringMy league consists of 10 owners and 16 rounds. Instead of team aggregates, each round is an individual race, much like individual stats are categorized in traditional rotisserie leagues. The 1st rounders compete against only 1st rounders, 2nd rounders vs. only 2nd rounders, and so on. Golfers are then ranked in each round in order of their total points, and assigned a team point value using a 15-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. (All teams/golfers start with zero points.) To reward achievement (and avoid fractions), ties share the higher/est number. Team point values from all 16 rounds are added to get a team total. Team totals are then ranked, the highest of which wins.
We count all 48 PGA Tour events, separating them into 20-pointers (upper echelon of non-majors), 15-pointers, majors and the Match Play. The 20- and 15-pointers award 20 and 15 points, respectively to the winners of those events. Then, equal points are awarded based on the overall finishes. A P-2 finish rewards 9 points; 2nd-5th place finishes receive 8 points; 6th-10th score 5 points; 11th-25th get 3 points; and 26th-MDF get one point. Missed cuts, withdrawals and disqualifications award no points (although there is one caveat, which I cover below). Scoring is increased for the majors while the Match Play uses a breakdown unique to it.
Tournament round leaders earn points equal to the round they lead (1st round = 1 point, 2nd round = 2 points, etc.). Scores of 62 and lower are rewarded as well (62 = 1 point, 61 = 2 points, etc.). Finally, 1 point is awarded for every stroke for the margin of victory. All of these points are doubled in majors.
For example, Camilo Villegas led every round (6 points) and won the BMW Championship (20 points) by two strokes (2 points). That's 28 points. Furthermore, Jim Furyk had a second round 62 (1 point) and finished T-3 (8 points), scoring 9 points on the week.
The only time we take potential points off the board is when a tournament round leader or guy that shoots a 62 or lower winds up withdrawing or getting DQ'd. But if he misses the cut, then he's deemed to have played the tournament for as long as he's qualified and any points he scores stick. This is one of the many nuances to which my league adheres that requires that guy you know that has a high attention to detail to be in charge.
As you would imagine, it takes a few weeks at the start of the season to get a feel for your squad. And no one is ever safe atop the standings until the last stroke in November. Keys to victory include, what else, round leads and team depth, giving everyone from Tiger Woods through Craig Kanada and beyond real value. Currently, the 1st place team in my league has 120 points and leads in three rounds. He's also in second place in three rounds, third in one, fourth in one and fifth in four. He's in the bottom three in just three rounds. Four points back, the current runner-up leads four rounds, ranks second in one, third in one and fourth in two, but he in the bottom three in six rounds. Tiger Woods' team is currently in 3rd place. Last year, Woods' squad finished T-9 despite winning the 1st and 2nd rounds (K.J. Choi). As I said, team depth is a priority. And Woods can and has been beaten.
Drop-AddsLike most fantasy leagues, this is where you can make your season because there are always golfers that come out of nowhere and perform. With 160 guys drafted in my league, we take a good dip into the Q School and Nationwide Tour grads, but it also leaves a host of free agents since there are well over 200 full-time touring pros. Of the 64 drop-adds in my league this year, I'm responsible for 12 of them. Even so, I haven't rebounded from a draft that included Justin Rose, Brett Wetterich, J.J. Henry, Richard Johnson and Alejandro Canizares. Only Rose has remained on my roster, not that it matters in terms of success mind you.
Drop-adds cost $3 per and can be made until the first tee ball is aloft at the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Classic. Added golfers get plugged into the same round of the guy they replaced, and continue to contribute to that team's total in the round. So, while Tiger Woods' owner took a hit when Woods called it a year, his owner wasn't left without options to maintain his lead in the 1st round. And there is no limit to the number of drop-adds an owner can make.
To keep everyone honest, all drop-adds undergo a waiver period of 48 hours before becoming free agents. To determine waiver priority, teams are ranked in reverse order of the current standings. If there are any ties, we'll go back to the standings after the previous event, or all the way back to the draft order if necessary. If the waiver period for a golfer ends after the next tournament begins, and an owner wants to add the dropped golfer for the tournament, he must stake his claim BEFORE the tournament tees off; otherwise, he wouldn't get the golfer until the next event. A claim can be rescinded at any time unless the rescindment occurs after a tournament started and the claim was staked before the first tee ball was struck. Timing is absolutely everything.
Drop-adds and waiver claims can also be canceled if any injury or other unforeseen event changes the dynamic of the move. This last corollary was invoked when Nick Dougherty withdrew from the Heritage to be with his ailing mom. I had picked him up the day before and the waiver period had not yet ended on the guy I dropped, so I was allowed to cancel the drop-add without spending another $3.
Although morbid, if a golfer dies, his owner can replace him at no cost. The only time this rule has come into play was when Payne Stewart passed away in late October of 1999.
KeepersAll teams are allowed two keepers in any of the bottom 15 rounds. Drafted 1st rounders are not eligible for protection for two reasons - it keeps Tiger Woods in play annually and the 1st round is the most top-heavy of all rounds because of Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. Because the teams at the bottom of the 1st round are "penalized" for an unlucky lottery, they get first crack at the best potential keepers starting in the 2nd round. This makes the swing pick for the owner drafting 10th the second-most desired spot in the draft (after #1 overall). It's because of this that our lottery isn't skewed more towards all but assuring the league's returning champ of this coveted draft position. In fact, the current first place team in my league drafted 10th overall.
The golfers protected start the season in the same round where they ended last year. The top half in the standings the previous season are awarded an extra keeper. All are optional and free. With many of the tour's elite skipping the Fall Series, it behooves some owners to drop their 1st rounders after THE TOUR Championship with the security of knowing that not only are they not losing and giving away potential points but that those golfers will be in the draft pool next year. Worst case, it's a $3 investment to remain competitive in the round.
Keepers are protected for a maximum of one season. Drop-adds are eligible for protection in any round unless they were already protected by the same owner that year. For example, let's say I protected Brett Wetterich in the 6th round this year. Then, I dropped him, he cleared waivers and became a free agent. Now, if I wanted to pick him up, I could but I wouldn't be allowed to protect him again, regardless of the round. But if another owner wanted to pick up Wetterich, he could do so and protect him in any round, including the 1st.
LotteryThis is where it all starts. And the NFL could be well-served to adopt the way we do it.
For the lottery itself, I use color-coded, identically sized beads to represent preset chances. Unless we have rookie owners, those that finish in the bottom half of the league the previous year enter the lottery with 15 chances. Teams finishing 4th and 5th get eight chances. The 3rd place team has five chances. The 2nd place team gets three chances. And the defending champion enters the lottery with one bead. The number of chances for rookie owners, if any, will vary depending on how many have joined. (Unlike some head-to-head leagues in team sports formats, rookies do not inherit rosters from which they can choose keepers. They start with a blank roster.) The number of chances for rookie owners falls at the midpoint between the bottom half and the 4th/5th place teams, rounding up. I always tell new owners to allow one year before they should expect to compete and three years to let the learning curve set in. It's not the FedExCup but the dynamic of a 10-month season can take a couple of years to fully grasp.
The ultimate goal of any league - fantasy or otherwise - should be to finish as high as you can. In my league, there is no benefit to finishing in last, since teams 6th-10th enter the lottery with identical odds. Guys can try to tank a season or just give up, as if often suggested by the media and fans of an NFL team well out of the playoffs and in the hunt for the #1 overall pick, but unlike the NFL, there is no silver lining for futility in our format.
In one instance last year, we had one team go from last to first in one tournament, thanks to the perfect confluence of variables. He assumed the lead in three rounds at the same time to jump over everyone. Furthermore, entering the final event of the year, seven teams had a realistic shot at winning the league. For some, it's only a matter of the right guy posting a Top 10. Others need a victory and two or three others to fall into place, but you are rarely prevented to at least give yourself a fighting chance.
DraftEasily my favorite day of the year. Probably like most of you that require a virtual room, we use AIM and its free chat room platform to communicate. It's a far cry from the glory days when everyone enjoyed each other's physical company, but it keeps the league alive.
When the results of the lottery are plugged in, keepers are announced in order of draft pick, starting with the owner in the #1 slot. Because we use the traditional serpentine format, announcing keepers this way allows for owners to strategize on that borderline 3rd rounder that may or may not fall to them in the same round. The Top 30 picks or so are the most predictable so owners can literally judge within a few picks either way how far a guy will fall. This is because there are no positions to fill like in team sports fantasy leagues.
We do not impose a time limit on picks as drafts last a little over three hours, which is quite acceptable compared to drafts in many team sports leagues.
Prize MoneyWith so many dynamics in play all year, we try and keep pace with various payouts.
As you would expect, the Top 3 in the final standings win the lion's share (4/2/1 split). But those dollars aren't decided until all other winnings are calculated. Although we've done a great job in neutralizing Tiger Woods, the likelihood of him winning the 1st round remains the most reliable fantasy variable. So, we created a separate payout called the "Domination Factor." Essentially, it compares all round winners against each other to determine the most dominating performance in a round. Using a simple formula that calculates differentials of actual point leads over round aggregates (to find the golfer that has the big lead AND lots of points), golfers are ranked 1st-16th. Payouts range from $25 for the winner down to $3 (the cost of one drop-add) for last. Ties are split evenly.
All tournament winners pay $2. Tournament team highs also pay $2 and are split when two or more teams tie. Majors pay $5 for the winners and tournament team highs. The BIG (Best Individual Golfer) in the majors wins $3. The Best Drop-Add also wins $3. And we award a $3 bonus for all keepers that win rounds.
Monies paid for drop-adds go into the pool for the Top 3, as does $2 every time a free agent wins an event (again, $5 for a free agent that wins a major).
Final PuttBefore settling on our current scoring system, Tiger Woods' team won every year but two since he became a full-time PGA Tour member in 1997. Not surprisingly, owners became apathetic about the league and the assumed victory that went with owning Woods. It got to the point that it was noteworthy anytime that Woods' team was beaten. (I suppose fantasy matches reality in that case.) But now that we've dealt with him accordingly, parity has returned, as has the spirit of a full-season fantasy golf league as it was originally intended.
If you have any questions or insight about any of this, contact me anytime at RotoworldRob@charter.net.
RESHUFFLE - Q School/Nationwide TourThe final reshuffle will occur following the Viking Classic (September 21). Until then, golfers will rank in order of their current "number." The "projected gain/loss" reflects how many spots each golfer stands to gain or lose in this pecking order
after the final reshuffle. Full-season earnings determine the ranking.
From the fantasy perspective, this list provides non-weekly formats a projected value (i.e. ability to set schedule, more opportunities to play, likelihood to improve number) of golfers playing out of this category. Because of the preset format of the playoffs, the only event where the list below plays a role in determining a field until the final reshuffle is the Viking Classic.
Current "number." Name, 2008 earnings (projected gain/loss)
CURRENT RANK1. Nicholas Thompson, $1,576,526 (-)
2. John Merrick, $1,269,587 (-)
3. Tim Wilkinson, $757,964 (-2)
4. Brad Adamonis, $729,156 (-2)
5. Michael Letzig, $851,385 (+1)
6. Matt Jones, $703,000 (-3)
7. Dustin Johnson, $621,605 (-3)
8. Patrick Sheehan, $704,374 (-)
9. Kevin Streelman, $1,126,165 (+6)
10. James Driscoll, $570,630 (-2)
11. Jason Day, $591,335 (-)
12. Jon Mills, $489,510 (-1)
13. Frank Lickliter II, $488,740 (-1)
14. Roland Thatcher, $445,212 (-1)
15. Tag Ridings, $390,599 (-2)
16. Brett Rumford, $373,579 (-3)
17. Y.E. Yang, $384,956 (-1)
18. Carlos Franco, $316,340 (-2)
19. Justin Bolli, $418,942 (+3)
20. Omar Uresti, $279,110 (-2)
21. Martin Laird, $725,720 (+14)
22. Marc Turnesa, $263,252 (-1)
23. Brenden Pappas, $247,934 (-1)
24. Kenneth Ferrie, $222,398 (-1)
25. Jin Park, $227,102 (-1)
26. Scott Sterling, $300,832 (+5)
27. Jimmy Walker, $173,759 (-3)
28. Chad Collins, $161,117 (-3)
29. Kent Jones, $215,671 (+2)
30. John Riegger, $205,918 (+2)
31. Alejandro Canizares, $125,539 (-2)
32. Chris Stroud, $121,853 (-2)
33. Todd Demsey, $132,694 (+1)
34. Jim McGovern, $114,843 (-2)
35. Kyle Thompson, $109,930 (-2)
36. Paul Claxton, $93,323 (-2)
37. David Lutterus, $120,088 (+2)
38. Michael Bradley, $77,584 (-1)
39. Jason Allred, $71,953 (-1)
40. Bob Sowards, $189,637 (+11)
41. Tom Scherrer, $60,531 (-)
42. Brad Elder, $52,461 (-)
43. Jonathan Kaye, $41,375 (-1)
44. Travis Perkins, $36,583 (-1)
45. Cody Freeman, $46,342 (+2)
46. Ron Whittaker, $34,177 (-)
47. Tommy Gainey, $30,185 (-)
48. Duffy Waldorf, $7,350 (-)
49. Carl Paulson, $0 (-)
Name (PRIORITY RANKING) - has: # of events played/$ earned . remaining: # of events remaining under extension/$ remaining unearned
Ben Crane [MAJOR) - has met his requirement and will retain this status for the remainder of 2008
Jason Bohn (MAJOR) - has met his requirement and will retain this status for the remainder of 2008
Brett Quigley (MAJOR) - has met his requirement and will retain this status for the remainder of 2008
Dudley Hart (MAJOR) - has met his requirement and will retain this status for the remainder of 2008
Chris Perry (MAJOR) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 18/$515,445
Joey Snyder III (MAJOR) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 25/$647,466
Brandt Jobe (MAJOR) - has: 17/$254,114 . remaining: 6/$520,050
David Berganio, Jr. (MAJOR) - has: 1/$0 . remaining: 5/$346,345
Hank Kuehne (MAJOR) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 18/$636,221
Shane Bertsch (MAJOR) - has: 23/$686,676 . remaining: 5/$58,744
Paul Azinger (MAJOR) - has: 8/$42,590 . remaining: 6/$568,521
Wes Short, Jr. (MAJOR) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 15/$743,061
David Duval (MAJOR) - has: 15/$46,287 . remaining: 5/$666,948
Patrick Moore (NATIONWIDE/3 WINS) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 12/$452,636
Jonathan Kaye (Q SCHOOL/NATIONWIDE) - has: 8/$41,375 . remaining: 13/$743,805
Michael Bradley (Q SCHOOL/NATIONWIDE) - has: 9/$77,584 . remaining: 5/$675,707
Carl Paulson (Q SCHOOL/NATIONWIDE) - has: 0/$0 . remaining: 15/$428,522
Kris Cox (NON-EXEMPT) - has: 7/$0 . remaining: 1/$748,451
9/10 . Arnold Palmer (79); Larry Nelson (61); Bill Rogers (57); Esteban Toledo (46)
9/11 . Jeff Sluman (51); David Frost (49); Robert Wrenn (49); Hank Kuehne (33)
9/12 . Angel Cabrera (39); Shigeki Maruyama (39)
9/13 . Mark Wiebe (51); Neal Lancaster (46)
9/14 . Notah Begay III (36); Oliver Wilson (28)
9/15 . Fulton Allem (51); Danny Ellis (38); Kevin Na (25)
9/16 . Tom Wargo (66); Jerry Pate (55); Anders Hansen (38); James McLean (30)
I don't often wear the shoes of a PGA Tour apologist but here goes . While I fully expect the tour to give more progressive or back-end weight to the FedExCup Playoffs next year, what everyone is overlooking is that Vijay Singh still has to play in THE TOUR Championship to win this year's Cup. That wasn't the case in 2007. It's anticlimactic but it's a baby step in the right direction.
There are a zillion different ways to modify the playoffs, including offering exemptions into the finale for major champions and multiple winners, but the tour needs to do a better job in testing its next version of the format before implementation. Since my idea of letting 30 guys play for $10 million seems far-fetched and ultimately (and admittedly) unfair, why not take the aggregate scores from the first three events for all 30 golfers and let them play for the $10 million? They would tee off at East Lake with their aggregate score in tow. Low 288 wins. This would immediately eliminate guys that missed cuts during the playoffs (Camilo Villegas, Dudley Hart, Ernie Els, D.J. Trahan, Ryuji Imada) and withdrawals (Chad Campbell) since they won't play 288 holes. It wouldn't be popular among the players, particularly BMW champ Villegas and new daddy Campbell, but it would force attention on the finale, which would not be decided until the final round. Plus, that idea plays along with the season-long format of the FedExCup. If it sounds confusing, then nothing changes, does it?
