The Fantasy Insider: Crowne Plaza Invitational

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You know Ben Hogan will be looking down this week, very interested to see who can tame the historic Colonial Country Club layout that he played so masterfully. As usual, we'll see a strong field teeing it up at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Let's enjoy our third consecutive week in Texas with one of the familiar staples of the season -- four days at "Hogan's Alley."

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Last week: It's been a good run in the spring but we hit a rough patch last week -- Briny Baird (eighth), Justin Leonard (T16) and Charley Hoffman (T23) did just fine, but our two C-List picks (Scott Verplank and Ian Poulter) both missed the cut, and ultimately we scored a disappointing 108 points. For the year, we're sitting in the 91st percentile. .

Fantasy game basics: We're picking eight players every week from three separate pools: two players from the A-List, four players from the B-List, and two players from the C-List.

From round to round, you'll "start" four of those players (one of your A players, two from B, one from C), making daily changes as you see fit. If your guys play well that day or for the week, you score well.

The eight players you pick at the beginning of the week are the only ones you can use and switch up during a particular tournament; the next week, you'll re-evaluate and refresh your group of eight.

You're allowed to use any player up to 10 starts for the year, and anything from 1-4 rounds in a given event counts as a single "start." As always, choose carefully, and have a long-term plan in addition to your short-term goals.

A-List Selections

KENNY PERRY (Round 1 starter): He has a couple of Colonial titles on his mantle (setting and then equaling the 72-hole record), and he's still one of the best ball-strikers around (sixth in total driving, tenth in GIR). And when Perry misses the odd green, no worries, he's ninth in scrambling. I expected a modest letdown from Perry after his dynamic, and somewhat draining, run in 2008, but he's been pretty much just as outstanding this year. JUSTIN LEONARD: I tend to pick Leonard for any event in Texas; it's clear he's comfortable playing in his home state. You have to go back a little bit to see his five top-10s at Colonial (he ran second in 2003), but you have to respect that he's cashed 15 straight times at this tournament, and he's played well the last few weeks (T16 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, T5 at the Valero Texas Open). OTHER A-LIST OPTIONS: Geoff Ogilvy finally got a notable check at the Crowne Plaza Invitational last year (T7); his earlier visits to Colonial were less lucrative. Ogilvy at times gets a little wayward with the driver (163rd in tee accuracy), but he has everything else going for him (second in putting average, first in birdie average, 14th in scoring) ... There are a lot of reasons to pick Jim Furyk, like there seem to be every week. He has five top-10 runs at Colonial and he's been in the hunt in three of his last four events, but why has it been almost two years since Furyk bagged a win? ... Brian Davis's confidence has been sky-high in his last five events; things really came together with a T5 at The PLAYERS Championship, and he's followed that with a T5 at the Valero Texas Open and a sole second at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. The one thing that does concern me here is fatigue -- he's playing for the seventh consecutive week ... Paul Casey has a chance to win anytime, anywhere, but I'm always leery of selecting someone who has no history at the tournament in question. Casey's iron game is rock-solid and he's an outstanding putter, but he's not having the best scrambling year (106th) and that's a stat I take seriously when someone heads to a new track ... It's a little surprising that Vijay Singh hasn't been here in so long (last visit was in 2002) because he has a strong Colonial track record. The key as always will be figuring out the greens quickly; Singh ranks 167th in putting this season ... Mike Weir generally gives you a good run when you plug him into the lineup, and he's made 7-of-8 cuts at Colonial, including a T15 last year and a T8 earlier in the decade. He's not having his best ball-striking season, but he's making up for it around the greens (11th in scrambling, sixth in putting) ... Anthony Kim has an ordinary, for him, track record at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, and for all his talent, he doesn't have a stroke-play finish better than T20 since the opening month of the year. We need to wait this out and let him get his confidence back ... Stewart Cink knows the ins and outs of Colonial, cashing 11 straight times here including a fourth-place run in 2006 and a second-place check in 2000. Why no Cink selection this week? I'm a little worried about the flat stick (he's 157th in putting average).

B-List Selections

ROD PAMPLING(Round 1 starter): The Aussie spends much of his time at his Texas residence in Flower Mound, so he's essentially playing a home game this week. He's comfortable with the track, with excellent finishes in his last four starts here. It's time for Pampling to add that third trophy to his collection. RORY SABBATINI (Round 1 starter): He's always been a bit of a streak player, so why not use him now? Sabbatini was spectacular in last week's win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, and he knows what it takes to succeed at Colonial -- he won the Crowne Plaza Invitational two seasons ago and has a couple of other top-10 checks on his record here. STEVE STRICKER: It's been a boom-or-bust event for Stricker, who has two strong finishes (T24, T13) and a couple of missed cuts over his last four visits to Colonial. He comes into the event in fine form, however, finishing T22, T7 and T6 in his last three events, and all of his cashes this year have landed in the top 25. BRINY BAIRD: He wears out the greens (first in GIR), he makes cuts (12 of 15), he gets the ball in the hole (12th in scoring) and he's playing well right now (T8 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship). There's a lot of security with this type of pick. OTHER B-LIST OPTIONS: Zach Johnson deserves to be considered every week off his very balanced game and consistent stat profile, though he hasn't played Colonial since 2006. Obviously he's in the middle of an outstanding year (two wins, two other top-10s) ... Sean O'Hair finished T26 in his Colonial debut last year and he's in the midst of a fantastic campaign (six top-10s, including the win at Quail Hollow). He enters this event well rested, taking two weeks off after his surprising MC at The PLAYERS Championship ... David Toms rolled up four top-10 finishes in a six-year span at Colonial in the early part of the decade; he's cooled off a little since. But when you see that many solid checks from a name player at an event he comes to every year, it buys credibility and makes for a good fantasy play. I'm only skipping Toms on my sheet because I've already used him a bunch this season, but if you want to go this way, I'll sign off on the pick ... Tim Clark's versatile game (seventh in driving accuracy, 36th in GIR, 15th in putting) is portable to just about any track, and Clark certainly feels comfortable walking along Hogan's Alley, grabbing four strong checks in the second part of this decade. It's just a matter of time before someone this consistent manages to win an event ... Could this be the tournament that sees Steve Marino break through? He's got a good thing going at Colonial over two visits, and he has a stat profile to die for with no discernible weakness ... Charley Hoffman's breakthrough season puts him on our contender list more often than not, but he's still trying to figure out Colonial, finishing T74 and T30 the last two seasons.

C-List Selections

IAN POULTER (Round 1 starter): He was one of the hottest players in the world before last week's surprising missed cut, but let's offer a mulligan and go back to this emerging star. Poulter ran T15 in his Colonial debut last year and I like the internal toughness and resiliency here; he consistently scores better than the stat profile might suggest. He's going to win a notable event pretty soon. CHARLIE WI: He finished T15 in his first start at the Crowne Plaza Invitational last year, he's made 10 of 13 cuts this season, and he always seems to play well when I give him some pub in this section. OTHER C-LIST OPTIONS: Luke Donald feels like an automatic C-List selection, but Colonial hasn't been his best friend over the years. Let's wait for a better spot to use Cool Hand Luke ... Ben Crane finished T2 in his first look at Colonial in 2002, but it's been a rougher go in recent stops. I've burned through a lot of Crane options already this year; this seems like a time to save one ... Scott Verplank is playing for the sixth time in seven weeks and maybe last week's missed cut is a sign that it could be time for a break. That said, if the Texas native is in the hunt on the weekend, I'll gladly pull for him even if it comes at the expense of my fantasy interests ... Danny Lee feels like a good hunch play this week; he grabbed a respectable T38 check at Quail Hollow, then ran T13 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. This talented teenager is going to be around for a while ... It's time to welcome Matt Kuchar back into the circle of trust. He's cashed in his last two events after a brief slump, he had a T9 run at Colonial last season, and he's in the middle of a strong year around the greens (fourth in scrambling, 32nd in sand saves).