Fantasy Golf: The Barclays preview

We’re staying on the PGA Tour for the Today’s Golfer Fantasy Golf game, in association with Your Golf Travel, as the FedEx Cup Play-offs get underway with The Barclays.

The top 125 players on the PGA Tour will be doing battle around Bathpage’s Black Course, with the top 100 in the standings after this week advancing to next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, also a TG Fantasy Golf event.

This is the first time the 7,486-yard, par 71 layout will be hosting The Barclays but it was the venue for the 2002 and 2009 US Opens, won by Tiger Woods and Lucas Glover.

The length of the course combined with the relatively small greens make long and straight driving a key skill and the ability to hit greens in regulation takes on added importance. The greens are expected to run at about 12 on the Stimpmeter.

Here is TG’s six-man team for The Barclays:

Graeme McDowell, $3.0m
The Northern Irishman has done well in the big events this year with a worst Major finish of T12. He’s finished in the top 25 in his last six starts worldwide and is 40th on the PGA Tour in total driving and 14th in adjusted scoring.

Justin Rose, $2.8m
He recorded top 5s at the Bridgestone Invitational and USPGA Championship in a run of eight top 10s in his last 11 tournaments. He leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation.

Bubba Watson, $2.6m
The Masters champion has played 15 events this year, finishing in the top 23 on 13 occasions and missing only two cuts. He leads the PGA Tour in driving distance and sits second for greens in regulation.

Louis Oosthuizen, $2.6m
The South African has fared far better this year in America than his debut campaign in 2011. He has one of the best swings in the modern game and ranks 31st for total driving and 41st in greens in regulation.

Keegan Bradley, $2.4m
Last year’s USPGA champion seems to like this time of year and comes in this week on the back of a win at the Bridgestone Invitational and a T3 while defending his Major crown. Leads the PGA Tour’s all-around ranking.

Robert Garrigus, $1.3m
The 34-year-old has finished T4-T25-T2-T21 in his last four starts. He’s 4th on the PGA Tour for driving distance and 9th in greens in regulation. He could be a threat if the long putter holds up under pressure.

> You can see a full list of all the golfers playing this week and their prices by clicking here. You have until 12.10pm on Thursday 23rd August to select your team.