The Fantasy Insider: Memorial Tournament

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A loaded field, a decorated host, a tournament steeped in tradition . . . if the yearly pilgrimage to Jack Nicklaus' place doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know how to relate to you. Of course you'll have more fun with the event if you bag a bunch of fantasy points, so let's see how the stars look on this week's track.

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You need one player in each of the six groups, one wild card selection, and a little horseshoe luck in Sunday.

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Stewart Cink has a solid record at Muirfield Village.

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Group 1 Pick: Stewart Cink
Other Options: Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Ryuji Imada

It's certainly not easy to pick against Mickelson in this spot; he's been on top of his game for the last month, and he's been very much in contention at the Memorial in three of the last four seasons. If you want to stay with the sizzling left-hander, you certainly have my blessing. At the end of the day, I gave Cink the nod for three reasons: He's been remarkably consistent at Muirfield Village (5, 12, 45, 40, 6, 9, 4 in recent starts), his steady driving and dynamite iron play will serve him well, and given his outstanding 2008 resume, he's just flat-due to hoist a trophy on a Sunday.

Imada is obviously a talented player, but he has limited experience on this course (last year, he finished 51st). Ogilvy has four straight checks here with three in the top 25, but Cink's resume was too much to look past.

Group 2 Pick: K.J. Choi
Other Options: Boo Weekley, Jeff Quinney, J.B. Holmes

Normally a strong field produces a loaded Pool Two, but this week Choi becomes somewhat of an easy selection. He's the defending champ and he's run in the top 10 here three times in four seasons, and we're not going to look past that. There isn't a flaw in this guy's game tee-to-green and he's capable of putting well enough to win here, obviously -- run the 2007 tape.

Quinney's putter could get him into the mix, too, and I like what he's done the last two months (remember he was one shot out of a playoff at THE PLAYERS Championship). The one strike against Quinney is a lack of experience at Muirfield; he's only made one visit, a tie for 51st. Weekley's also making his second stop at Jack's Place (29th last year), while J.B. Holmes has yet to make the cut in two tries. Keep Vijay Singh out of your lineup; he withdrew from the event Monday.

Group 3 Pick: Sergio Garcia
Other Options: Jim Furyk, Bart Bryant, Sean O'Hair

Here's where it really gets fun: Furyk won here in 2002 and has done well since; Bryant took the trophy in 2005; O'Hair was fifth last year. I think we'll see all of them on the weekend, but I can't get Garcia's closing act at TPC Sawgrass out of my mind -- the ball striking, the improved focus, the calm but confident look in his eye when he realized he was going to be in the playoff. That's the look of a champion, and I know I'm not the only scribe who expects an avalanche of significant wins to follow Garcia now that he's gotten over the hump. He's finally learned how to get out of his own way, and the rest of the TOUR better watch out.

Steve Stricker, unfortunately, won't be with us this week; he withdrew from the event Monday.

Group 4 Pick: Kenny Perry
Other Options: Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, D.J. Trahan, Daniel Chopra

Perry's having a nifty revival this year, making 15 cuts in a row and just missing wins at the AT&T and THE PLAYERS in the last month. The Kentucky native feels more than at home in neighboring Ohio; he's grabbed 16 of 17 checks at this stop, including two wins, a third last year, and a sixth in 2004. You can't afford to have him on your bench this week.

Els won here in 2004, but he hasn't been the same player in the last few seasons, though he was 15th last season. Your guess is as good as mine there. Immelman has just one good showing at Muirfield over five turns, and Trahan and Chopra both missed the top 30 in their debuts last year. If I had to take anyone from that quad, I'd toss the dice on Els, but Perry's track record here looks like the clear play.

Group 5 Pick: Chad Campbell
Other Options: Robert Allenby, Steve Lowery, Luke Donald, Johnson Wagner

We always knew Campbell was a premier ball striker, straight off the tee and rock-solid from the fairway, but what about his putting? So far in 2008, that hasn't been a problem -- he ranks 16th with the flat stick. Campbell also has four straight checks at Muirfield Village, and he's been in semi-contention for three straight years. Sign me up.

There are other big names in this pool but none of them have solved the Memorial yet. Donald hasn't seen the top 30 in four starts, Allenby's last finish of note came seven years ago (seventh in 2001), and Lowery hasn't cracked the top 25 in eight years. Wagner's making his first start overt the course, which probably limits his upside; he'll need to straighten out his driver a bit if he wants to play four rounds.

Group 6 Pick: Aaron Baddeley
Other Options: Stuart Appleby, Rod Pampling

Baddeley is more of a feel pick than usual; he had no track record here at all until last year's ninth-place check. I guess I'm always afraid to leave a putter of his caliber on the sidelines, and he's shown signs of a major breakout over the last two months.

Appleby has played the weekend nine straight times at Memorial, but he hasn't really contended since 2003. Pampling might be the logical pick from this group (third in 2007, 18th in 2006), albeit he's in the middle of a hit-or-miss season (he's missed seven cuts this year, but he's also grabbed four six-digit checks). His true driving will serve him well here, but he needs to get the irons back in form (134th in GIR).

Brian Gay withdrew on Monday, not that he was in your plans. He hasn't made this stop since 2001.

Rest of the Field: Fred Couples is having a season very similar to Perry, and he's also a former champion here. Keep striping it, Freddy; I'll look forward to four more rounds . . . Zach Johnson only has two missed cuts on his 2008 card and he's fared well in three of his turns here (second in 2006), for what it's worth . . . Mike Weir has missed the cut in two of his last three stops at Muirfield, but he's also got a third and a fourth here this decade, and this always seemed to be like a course that would fit his game . . . Carl Pettersson won here two years ago and he's been hitting the ball solidly for three months now. It wasn't that long ago where he was seen as a potential star and not just another good player. Perhaps he'll make a loud statement back on a track he clearly likes; he's never missed a cut in four starts at Jack's Place . . . Ryan Moore had a splendid duel with Choi last year down the stretch, and while 2008 hasn't been Moore's best year, he has played very well for a month now. His stat profile doesn't fit the logical demands of the course (106th in driving accuracy, 144th in GIR), but there's a lot to be said for returning to a course that you feel confident about. I expect to see Moore on the weekend.