Expert picks: The Barclays

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The 2009 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup begin this week in Jersey City, N.J. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:

EXPERT PICKS How it works: Our 10 experts from PGATOUR.COM select the player they think will win this week's event. By using a draft process, no two picks can be the same. SLEEPER PICKS Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top 10 picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? Here's how our experts see it. Click here

Expert picks: The Barclays

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Ryan Smithson TIGER WOODS. You're going to be hearing a lot this week about how Tiger will tackle the brand-new Liberty National. We know this much: If he putts like he's capable of, he's unbeatable. It's that simple.   Lauren Deason LUCAS GLOVER. His last trip to the New York metropolitan area resulted in a U.S. Open win. Needless to say, he will have some good vibes as he returns this week. Glover is also playing well, with a T19, 5th and T24 in his last three starts. If Deason had the top pick ... Woods Ceri Mobley SERGIO GARCIA. I might regret this, but that shot out of the bunker on the 72nd last week was magic and a sign that El Nino's game might be back. He loves the Playoffs, and even though it's a different course, two of his seven TOUR wins have come at The Barclays. If Mobley had the top pick ...Woods Mark Spoor PHIL MICKELSON. He hasn't exactly set the world on fire lately, but it's tough to ignore his performance in some big events this year. Plus, the FedExCup is missing from his resume, so motivation this week is hardly in short supply. If Spoor had the top pick ... Woods Brian Wacker STEVE STRICKER. One of the TOUR's best ballstrikers and putters, Stricker is also second in scoring average and finished in the top 20 in the first three Playoffs events last year. With eight top-10s this year -- including two wins -- a third win isn't far behind. If Wacker had the top pick ... Woods T.J. Auclair VIJAY SINGH. Singh has been solid, but not spectacular in his last few starts. His history suggests that he's prone to streaks of invincibility, and he appears to hopefully be on the verge of that. Let the playoff run begin. If Auclair had the top pick ... Woods Mike McAllister HUNTER MAHAN. I thought about Y.E. Yang, but I worry about a potential PGA hangover. Mahan has been knocking on the door lately, with four top-10s in his last six starts. On a course hosting its first event, I like Mahan's all-around ranking (sixth on TOUR). If McAllister had the top pick ... Woods Win McMurry JIM FURYK. Yes, he hasn't won since 2007. But just look at his stats in the Playoffs -- he finished T12, T7, T3, T6 in the four events in 2008 and placed T25, T55, T14 and T11 in 2007. He will step it up again this year. If McMurry had the top pick ... Woods Helen Ross BRANDT SNEDEKER. I just like the way he's playing right now. And why not? He tied for second at the John Deere Classic and has a trio of top-fives in his last seven starts -- including last week at the Wyndham Championship so he should have some momentum. If Ross had the top pick ... Woods John Swantek PADRAIG HARRINGTON. Were it not for two disastrous holes in the last eight rounds he's played, the Irishman may have captured a WGC title and a fourth major. His form is sharp and he's motivated to erase the memory of a lackluster performance in the '08 Playoffs. If Swantek had the top pick ... Stricker

LAST WEEK: Ryan Smithson earned the most points last week when Sergio Garcia finished fourth, while Ceri Mobley took the lead from Win McMurry -- Mobley leads our standings now by just one point -- when David Toms tied for 24th at the Wyndham Championship :