A-List

Starter: Geoff Ogilvy; Bench: Dustin Johnson

Defending champion Ogilvy is pretty much a no-brainer for this week, despite his lackluster overall season in 2010. Furthermore, he did make 12 of 19 cuts in 2010 and finished 29th on the money list. A semi-weak field should give Ogilvy a chance to once again start his season with a bang. Johnson will serve as a fitting backup just in case, especially considering his hot finish last season and impressive consistency throughout the year.

B-List

Starter: Steve Stricker and Tim Clark; Bench: Justin Rose and Ben Crane

Stricker is flat-out solid in events where he is in the top 2 or 3 in terms of Official Golf Rankings playing in the event. He missed only one cut last season (18 for 19 total), won the Northern Trust Open and finished 5th on the money list. I’ve never felt confident playing Stricker in Majors, however, due to his short length off the tee. Time to clean up in “weaker field” events, starting with Kapalua. Clark won the PLAYERS Championship in 2010 and had a relatively decent season, but like Stricker is incredibly accurate into the green despite suffering in driving distance. Kapalua’s steep elevation changes should help offset the shorter players on tee shots, and both Stricker and Clark can land a wedge into a thimble. Crane is a solid back-up thanks largely to his hot finish in 2010 that should filter over quite nicely to this season.

C List

Starter: Anthony Kim; Bench: Zach Johnson

My, how much times will change after a pesky thumb injury, eh? If I recall correctly, Kim was an A-List player on most fantasy rosters before taking time to repair his pesky digit. He did manage to record a win, however, in 2010 at the Shell Houston Open and 4 additional Top 10 finishes in 9 made cuts. Johnson also had a win last season (Crowne Invitational) and typically plays well in Hawaii (including a tie for 12th at the 2010 Sony Open), so he’ll be waiting in the wings in case AK goes P-U.