Fantasy Insider: Valero Texas Open

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While new tracks on the PGA TOUR aren't met with the same kind of fervor or hype as new ballparks in Major League Baseball, we are no less treated to the latest offering at this week's Valero Texas Open.

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As with new yards in baseball, I always enjoy observing if the projected dynamics play out in golf, which is also to say that you can ignore past results at this tournament. As I stated in Monday's Power Rankings, ball-strikers are favored and putting takes a back-burner role until the field logs a few reps.

Greg Norman's AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio is beefy, therefore long, accurate drivers will have an edge (lean towards the total driving component in the ball-striking stat to make decisions). And given that it's been open for only three months, the stats should get tagged with an asterisk until the course matures. This also allows a fantastic opportunity for a surprise winner. Moving forward this season, discount the individual results because of the new elements involved.

NOTE: In a special feature later this week, I will take a snapshot of the first half of the FedExCup season as it relates to the fantasy world. I'll also include a few words about the meatier second half.

MORE: Rookie Watch | Medical Extensions | Reshuffle | Major qualifiers

TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Ernie Els.

Zach Johnson -- It matters little that he's the two-time defending champion. Pretend for a moment that the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was moved to Riviera or TPC Sawgrass. Would you still consider Tiger Woods the overwhelming favorite? Exactly. If LaCantera was still in the mix, ZJ cracks the top five of my Power Rankings without a breath lost. His game is on the rebound, but this is not the course where he is expected to shine.

Justin Leonard -- It's hard to take a pass on the Texan this week, but that's what I'm going to do because TPC San Antonio favors the bombers. Given his ability to find fairways and keep it under the wind, a missed cut, especially in this field, would be a major upset. I'm not concerned about his Sunday 79 at TPC Sawgrass, as that was a brutal day for many.

Vijay Singh -- Thursday's 69 at TPC Sawgrass was a giant tease, but a good one. He followed with a 74 (10 greens, 28 putts) to miss the cut. Yahoo!'s Group A is light, and you've likely saved starts on the Big Fijian, so he deserves a look given that he moves it off the tee and has the ability to find his game at any time. It wasn't all that long ago that Singh was tearing apart events most of the game's elite skipped.
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TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Chad Campbell, Charley Hoffman, Fredrik Jacobson, Adam Scott and Bo Van Pelt.

Sergio Garcia -- As the player consultant at the Oaks Course, he likes the way it fits his eye, which might be one of the most underrated acknowledgments in the game. For Garcia to feel comfy anywhere right now is a bonus. Nick Faldo said recently that the Spaniard has a lot going on in his life at the moment, so perhaps this is a soft landing.

James Driscoll -- It's hard not to root for this guy outside the fantasy game. He must feel cheated considering the site of both of his playoff losses on the PGA TOUR changed the following year. Indeed, he lost to Zach Johnson at LaCantera last year after carding a career-low 62, and Driscoll has played his best golf in Texas since that lucrative payday, but there's no chance I'm endorsing him this week.

J.B. Holmes -- Given that I'm reducing the value of putting this week, he didn't crack my Power Rankings, but if there's going to be a guy that's going to blow up my theory, he's the guy. Although Holmes is 162nd in greens hit, he's an impressive fifth in scoring average. His improved putting and scrambling has saved otherwise potentially horrendous scores. First-timer at this event.

Kevin Stadler -- Sits 16th on TOUR in ball-striking (seventh in GIR). He's had a rough go of late, finishing outside the top 55 in his last three starts, so I'm hands off, but the factors are in his favor this week for a bounce-back.

Marc Leishman -- If there was a stat that quantifies comfort in the wind, the Aussie would be near the top. Despite a forgettable run the last two months, he's a sleeper this week just as he was at LaCantera a year ago en route to a T5. He won the Nationwide Tour's WNB Classic in Midland, Texas by a circuit record-tying 11 strokes in 2008. Winds were gusting 20-35 mph that week.

Michael Sim -- Scheduled to make his first start since Doral, but he's still a game-time decision. There's no reason for the Aussie to rush back from a damaged tendon in his right shoulder. Tremendous fade potential.

Jeev Milkha Singh -- He's not sure exactly what's wrong with his left shoulder, but there is no tear. The Abilene Christian product will right at home in the breezes of southern Texas, and could spoil a few hedgers, but I'm leaning towards a futile week for the short-hitting, not-100-percent rookie.

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TOP PICKS: See Power Rankings for Matt Jones, Troy Matteson and John Rollins.

J.J. Henry -- As expected, he faded to a T58 at last week's PLAYERS following a T7 at Quail Hollow. However, TPC San Antonio sets up rather well for another healthy paycheck. He's 46th in ball-striking, which includes a 29th in total driving. There's an argument here to go John Rollins-Henry in the Yahoo! game.

Chris Stroud -- The streaky Stroud is coming off his best finish of the year - a T10 at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he finished T8 in fairways hit and T5 in greens. The Texas native, resident and Lamar product posted a pair of T6s in three starts at LaCantera, which helps support that he can ball in the wind. The stars appear to be aligned.

Ryan Palmer -- Given that he played golf earlier this week with former president George W. Bush, I'm expecting the majority of his drives to curl right. Seriously though, he enters having missed his last five cuts, and hasn't broken par in his last 11 rounds. A Texas trap.

Jarrod Lyle -- Last start on his Minor Medical Extension. Needs no worse than a 14-place finish to get elevated to the Major Medical category for the remainder of the year. Worst case, he'll tumble to the bottom of the conditional status group. He's a wildcard in that he's a long-hitting Aussie that relies on putting to get the job done. He's 181st in ball-striking.

Martin Flores -- It's a homecoming of sorts for the rookie, who learned how to play golf in San Antonio (his home track was Northern Hills CC). Alas, he's missed five of his last six cuts and hasn't broken par in nearly two months. Nice story though.

Rob Bolton is PGATOUR.COM's new fantasy columnist. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the PGA TOUR. To contact Rob, please e-mail him at FantasyInsider@charter.net.