Fantasy Golf: US PGA Championship preview

It’s the final Major of the season and there are triple points available in the Today’s Golfer Fantasy Golf game at this week’s US PGA Championship.

The strongest field of the year has assembled at Oak Hill CC in Pittsford, New York, with 99 of the top 100 in the world rankings in attendance – Louis Oosthuizen is still absent through injury.

The course, which hosted the US PGA Championship when Shaun Micheel won in 2003, is a par 70 that measures a manageable 7,163 yards – only 29 yards longer than it was a decade ago.

It will be a tough test off the tee with narrow fairways and lush rough but it’s a risk and reward track that will reward bold play with birdie opportunities if it’s well executed. If it’s not, a big number is never far away.

Heavy rain in the last couple of months has softened the course so players will have the opportunity to be reasonable aggressive in their approach play. The softer it remains throughout the week, the more important putting could become.

Here is TG’s six-man team for the US PGA Championship:

Tiger Woods, £5.5m
Woods comes in off the back of a dominating seven-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational. He has two top-6 finishes in Majors this year but has shown disappointing weekend form. Leads the PGA Tour in scoring average, 2nd in birdie average and 4th in strokes gained – putting. 

Jim Furyk, £2.2m
The world number 27 has come back into form at a good time with a pair of T9 finishes in his last two starts. Oak Hill should suit him. He’s 8th in driving accuracy and 3rd in proximity to the hole.

Zach Johnson, £2.2m
His great run of form continued with a T4 at Firestone – following a play-off loss at the John Deere Classic and T6 at The Open. He’s 12th in driving accuracy and knows how to win a Major.

Bill Haas, £2.1m
Haas is quietly putting together a very good 2013 season. He leads the PGA Tour with nine top 10s, including four in his last six starts (T7 last week). He’s 12th in greens in regulation.

Henrik Stenson, £1.8m
He’s got the best form of anyone on the planet who isn’t called Tiger or Phil. Finishes of T10-T3-2-T2 in his last four events have catapulted him to number 11 in the world. He’s 2nd on the PGA Tour for greens in regulation and 6th in fairways hit.

Harris English, £0.9m
The second-year PGA Tour player claimed his maiden victory at the FedEx St Jude Classic in June. He’s only missed four cuts in 22 starts this season and finished T15-T15-T14 in his last three. He’s 13th in birdie average and 20th in strokes gained – putting.

> Click here to see a full entry list and player values. You have until 12.10pm on Thursday 8th August to select your team.