Best Ball preview: Woods will bounce back

The Masters is about the tradition and splendor.

The U.S. Open is about being the toughest test of golf on the planet.

The British Open is about returning to golf's roots.

And the PGA Championship is about … fourth.

I'm overstating it a bit, but the truth is the PGA Championship doesn't always carry the historic weight of the other three majors. However, within the ESPN.com Best Ball Challenge universe, it stands shoulder to shoulder with the others. If you beat your buddies in this version, your final chance of 2009 to show off your golf savvy. It'll feel even better than any of the previous three because you'll wear the crown for eight full months. That's a long time. And speaking of long, it's an important word for the PGA. More on this later.

First, a quick recap of how to tee it high and let in fly in our online game. Your job is to put together a foursome of golfers who will combine for the best score each day using "best ball" rules. Basically, each player's scorecard is combined, and you get the lowest score of any of your four players on each hole, so if three of your pros three-putt and your fourth guy lofts a bunker shot into the hole, you get his sandy birdie and the three ugly bogeys go away. You have 50 million fantasy bucks to spend on your ideal foursome, and I don't want to hear any complaints. When I was young, we had only 100 fantasy dollars for an entire family, and that meant we couldn't afford Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead on the same team.

Sorry, kinda got my curmudgeon on there.

As with the previous Best Ball Challenges, you have the ability to replace a player on your roster with anyone you think is playing better. That means if you put a wad of fantasy dough on Anthony Kim, only to notice the AK is misfiring, you can swap him for someone who is putting up red numbers. Stay engaged and watch things unfold, and you can adjust your roster as you go to maximize your birdie potential for the long haul. And as I hinted at above, this will be a long haul.

When the best players in the world tee it up at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., they will do so on the longest course to host a major. Longer than Torrey Pines at the 2008 U.S. Open. Longer than Medinah. Heck, at 7,674 yards, Hazeltine will play a stiff 248-yard three-wood longer than Bethpage Black. So the first thing we'll do is walk up to Corey Pavin and his pea-shooting ilk and say, "Don't take this personally … but I don't think we're gonna be hanging out in Minnesota this weekend." I'm not saying Tenacious P -- my old pal Jeffy coined the term for Pavin, and I still like it -- can't make the cut and compete, but if he does so, it'll be by making zero mistakes, not by making a lot of birdies. Fact is, ESPN Best Ball is about par-breakers.

So yes, long lumber is an important asset on a course where three of the four par-5 holes measure 606 yards or longer. The other thing that stood out in 2002, the last time Hazeltine hosted the PGA, was that hitting fairways wasn't all that important. Of the 15 players at that event who notched 14 birdies or more, only two finished in the top 10 in terms of driving accuracy. Compare that to six members of the club who were top-10 in length off the tee. If you can find yourself a bomb-and-gouger who is sporting a hot putter, it's a pretty strong combination.

Finally, it's worth noting that in 2002, Rich Beem outdueled Tiger Woods on the final day to claim his first and only major victory. In fact, Beem hasn't won on the Tour since. The PGA Championship has boasted plenty of big-name, multiple-major-winning champions lately -- Vijay Singh in 2004, Phil Mickelson in 2005, Tiger in 2006 and 2007, and Padraig Harrington a year ago -- but between Beem and 2003's champion, Shaun Micheel, there's no doubt that the PGA Championship is a major that opens the door to all comers.

Be bold, grab some gorillas who know how to putt, and put your best foot forth … and fourth.

Grip and rip

Tiger Woods: Tiger's missed cut at Turnberry has done two things. First, it has made recommending him a little less obvious. Second, it has made him angry, and an angry Tiger is dangerous. Oh, and don't forget that Hazeltine was the site of one of the few times when Woods started Sunday at a major in the final pairing, went lower than his playing partner and still didn't win. $18 million is a lot, even in fantasy dollars, but it's a decent price for a motivated Tiger.

Anthony Kim: I kinda disparaged him in my example before, but I'll make up for it here. As long as he keeps his head on reasonably straight, Kim will win a few majors in his career. In fact, that might be one of the least bold statements I make all year. It's one of those "when" things, not an "if" thing. So why not Hazeltine? He hits it a country mile, and only three full-time PGA Tour players in the field have a better putts-per-green-in-regulation average. With four top-20s wedged around a missed cut at Turnberry, Kim is rounding into form at the right time. $14.7 million is downright reasonable.

Retief Goosen: I pimped him at the British, and he was one of the few guys who didn't disappoint. I'm sticking with him because he has played lovely golf this summer. As of the end of July, Goosen has missed just one cut all year, at the Masters. He followed that up with six consecutive top-30s against world-class fields. He isn't a long hitter, but he isn't a short hitter, either. He hits for enough distance off the tee to compete on any course, and if there are birdies to be had, he'll get more than his share for $14.1 million.

Henrik Stenson: He doesn't get a lot of love stateside, but the guy is a beast when facing the best players in the world. He has won the match-play championship and the Players Championship in his career. He notched a top-10 at the U.S. Open this year, then chased it with a tie for 13th at the British. Stenson's stats don't paint him as an extremely long hitter, but he's 6-foot-1 and has plenty of power in reserve. A few years ago, he averaged more than 300 yards off the tee. $13.9 million gets you a real threat.

Chunked flops

Kenny Perry: Great golfer. Birdie machine. Fantasy stalwart and long hitter playing some of the best golf of his life. So why aren't I paying $14.8 million for him? The PGA just hasn't been his thing. He tied for 10th at Oak Hill in 2003, and that's his only top-20 at the PGA Championship in the past decade. In 2008, he shot an awful opening-round 79 at Oakland Hills, then withdrew with a scratched cornea. If Perry had shown some real flair at Hazeltine in 2002, I might not list him here, but he tied for 29th that year. That's a lot of money for a guy who isn't a great fit at this tournament, even when it appears the conditions should favor him.

Ross Fisher: Fisher is a strong young player and has a ton of buzz working after following up his solo fifth at the U.S. Open by contending for three days before falling into a tie for 13th at the British. But when I see him lurking just outside the top 10 salaries for the PGA Championship, I'm not buying. He makes a fair number of birdies, but for $14.5 million, I want a guy who has more than one top-25 on American soil in his career.

Sand saves

Martin Kaymer: If I'm trading fantasy dollars for fantasy euros to pay for a young stud from across the Atlantic, I like Kaymer's exchange rate at $12.4 million. He won two different events on the European Tour in July and ranks third among full-time members of that tour in scoring average. This year, he has posted at least 14 birdies in every U.S. event in which he has made the cut, although in the interest of fairness, he missed the cut at both the Masters and U.S. Open. Still, I like him as much as Fisher in terms of talent and potential, and he's more than 2 million fantasy bucks cheaper.

Robert Allenby: This is an admitted hunch play, but I like Allenby's history at Hazeltine. In 2002, he tied for 10th but was the fifth-longest driver in the field, parlaying that distance into 15 birdies and an eagle. This year, his putter has gone south, and although that may not be an insult to an Aussie like Allenby, it's not good news. Still, with his fantasy value depressed to $11.4 million, he offers plenty of reward for the risk. If the greens of Hazeltine bring back good memories, you could reap the benefit.

Bubba Watson: I had to give you one good old American bomber, and because I can't trust John Daly to play well when he's on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, Bubba it is. Watson's 2009 season has been disappointing in terms of overall scoring. He missed the cut or withdrew in all three July events he played leading up to when this article went live. But he leads the PGA Tour in driving distance and in eagles while ranking 34th in birdie average. You could spend $10.1 million on him and watch the long lefty flame out, forcing you to replace him with whatever unexpected hot hand rises to the top. But if he goes off, he's one of only a handful of players who will have eagle putts this week.

Enjoy the PGA Championship from Hazeltine, and here's hoping you have eight months of bragging rights coming your way.

Shawn Peters covers fantasy golf for ESPN.com fantasy games.