May. 13, 2009
The best golfers in the world will be in San Antonio, Texas, for this week's Valero Texas Open. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
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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 |
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| Expert picks: Valero Texas Open |
Mike McAllister |
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JUSTIN LEONARD. Hard to ignore his track record at LaCantera -- three wins, a couple of seconds, and three other finishes in the top 11 or better. Good to see a Texan dominate a Texas event (and yes, I'm from Texas, so excuse my Lone Star State exuberance).
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Ceri Mobley |
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ZACH JOHNSON. The defending champ reignited his game at LaCantera last year, and the flame is still burning red-hot this season with one win and several other strong finishes under his belt.
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| If Mobley had the top pick ... Johnson |
John Swantek |
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CHARLIE WI. No one on TOUR hits it closer from 125 yards and in; that's the go zone at LaCantera, which is only 6,800 yards. Runner-up here last year, Wi stacks and tilts his way to the next level. |
| If Swantek had the top pick ... Wi |
Win McMurry |
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TIM CLARK. A breakthrough win this year is in Clark's cards. He's knocked on the door all season, even last week in Ponte Vedra where he walked away with a top-10. While Clark hasn't played LaCantera since 2004, that year he tied for fifth.
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| If McMurry had the top pick ... Leonard |
Lauren Deason |
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ANTHONY KIM. Which AK will show up this week? Let's hope it's the two-time TOUR winner and player who had a T2 at the 2006 Valero Texas Open, not the Kim who missed the cut last week and has been struggling with some poor habits off and on the course. |
| If Deason had the top pick ... Johnson |
T.J. Auclair |
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SCOTT VERPLANK. This course never really favors the big hitters. Verplank isn't a big-hitter. He is a grinder, however, and with eight consecutive cuts made, I like his chances this week in San Antonio. |
| If Auclair had the top pick ... Leonard |
Mark Spoor |
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BRIAN DAVIS. He's not a sexy pick, but he sure is effective. Davis has three top-20 finishes in his past five starts, punctuated by a tie for fifth at THE PLAYERS last week. Could his first win be too far off?
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| If Spoor had the top pick ... Leonard |
Brian Wacker |
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CHARLEY HOFFMAN. After a strong start to his season, he has struggled of late. A trip to the Lone Star State should help. Since 2006, he has a T11 and a T8 at the Valero Texas Open, plus other strong finishes at the Shell Houston Open and the EDS Byron Nelson.
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| If Wacker had the top pick ... Leonard |
Helen Ross |
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MARK WILSON. He has only played here five times, but he tied for second last year and third in 2005. He has the game to prosper at La Cantera -- hopefully he comes in playing like he did in Mexico when he won his second TOUR title earlier this year. |
| If Ross had the top pick ... Leonard |
Ryan Smithson |
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PAT PEREZ. This is a pretty sporty pick for having the last pick in the draft. But then again, I am used to picking last, and my sporty picks always miss the cut. By a lot.
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| If Smithson had the top pick ... Wi |
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LAST WEEK: Mike McAllister picked Henrik Stenson to win THE PLAYERS Championship and picked up 600 points, while Ceri Mobley selected runner-up Ian Poulter and vaulted to third in the standings. Each week, we'll update the standings based on the FedExCup points accumulated by the players selected by our experts. Here's how it stands after Week 17:
| Standings after Week 17 |
| 1 |
Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
3 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
2,394.60 |
| 2 |
Win McMurry Host, PGA TOUR Today |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2,052.23 |
| 3 |
Ceri Mobley Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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3 |
2 |
7 |
1,295.53 |
| 4 |
Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
6 |
- |
1,291.92 |
| 5 |
Mark Spoor Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1,167.55 |
| 6 |
T.J. Auclair Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
- |
5 |
1,154.75 |
| 7 |
Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
5 |
- |
4 |
957.43 |
| 8 |
John Swantek Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
- |
2 |
- |
6 |
791.35 |
| 9 |
Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
1 |
4 |
760.72 |
| 10 |
Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
3 |
1 |
569.62 |
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