Stephen Ames

Until last season, Ames had been one of the more consistent players on the PGA TOUR. In the four previous seasons, he earned at least $2 million each year. During that span, he won three events, including his rout at the 2006 Players Championship. Amazingly, Ames only carded one top-10 last season. This looks like a great buy-low opportunity on a solid player. Ames should bounce back this season and earn what he used to. Ames' stats are all over the place. Certain years he putts well, while other years his best category is driving accuracy of GIR.

At times, Stephen Ames looks like a phenomenal golfer. The problem is, there are other times where he really seems to struggle. It's safe to say that Ames is not as good as he looked when he lapped the field at the 2006 Players Championship, but he has consistently finished in the low $2 million range in earnings each of the last four seasons. Ames will play well in a couple tournaments but flounder in others; and in the end, he'll wind up in the middle of the pack among the rankings.

Ames had a nice start to the season and a decent run in the middle of the year, but overall it was a pretty uneventful year for him. Ames won an event in 2006 and 2007, but failed to do so in 2008. Expect Ames to find the winner's circle again in 2009 and improve upon his 2008 number.

Stephen Ames is hard to figure. When he's on, he can play with anyone in the world, anyone. More often that not though, he does not show that form. In can be frustrating for those that have Ames on their team because they know what he capable of. Last year was not a great year for Ames. Yes, he finished 31st on the money list, but $840k came from the last event in the fall season. Ames is capable of cracking the $3 million dollar mark in 2008, but it's more likely that he'll hover around $2 million again this year.

Ames will be remembered for two things from 2006. The first was irritating Tiger Woods before their match play event and getting throttled 9-8. The second was destroying the field at The Players Championship. After that event, however, he accomplished little the rest of the year. Ames comes off as smug and cocky in his press conferences and maybe a little too high on himself. That's not really a good trait when you play a sport that can kick you in the backside at any given moment. One wonders if Ames got a little too high on himself after the Players win last year. Aside from that win, he has one other good stretch on his resume from 2004. Ames is still a mystery, and it's probably best to see what unfolds this year before putting him on your team.

Ames did a good job of spreading out his earnings in 2003, but only cracked the top-five just once. His upside is limited as a result.