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Expert Picks: Who'll win the Mercedes-Benz Championship
 
Jan. 3, 2007
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Who's the guy to beat this weekend in the Mercedes-Benz Championship? Here are our picks:

Brett Avery
Fantasy Insider
Pick: Stuart Appleby
C'mon, how can you pick against the guy? He's prevailed through a variety of weather and course conditions against a representative sampling of the world's best players. Even if he doesn't win he should be close Sunday -- and big paychecks are precisely whats needed to get your Salary Cap Cup team off to a roaring start.
T.J. Auclair
PGA TOUR.com Interactive Producer
Pick: Adam Scott
For the fourth time in as many years, the winner of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship will be Australian. Only this time it's not going to be Stuart Appleby. Adam Scott will start off the 2007 season the way he left off the 2006 season, with a victory. Scott finished No. 3 on the money-list last season, thanks largely to his win at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, over a short, but elite, field -- similar to the kind that will be teeing it up at Kapalua. In two previous showings in Maui, Scott has finished T5 and alone in seventh.
Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator
Pick: Trevor Immelman
The 2006 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year made his first full year on TOUR a memorable one, earning his way into the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship with a victory at the Cialis Western Open. He got off to a rocky start last year, as he failed to make the cut in four consecutive tournaments in March and April, but he didn't miss one after that, finishing the year at seventh on the money list and earning an impressive 11 top-10s. Immelman tied for fifth at THE TOUR Championship in November and earned a second place at the South African Airways Open on the European Tour in December, so he has the momentum and the game to win against a strong field in Hawaii.
Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.com Correspondent
Pick: Stuart Appleby
So tempting to go with Adam Scott or Jim Furyk. Or Trevor Immelman. They're the best players in the field and they're all about to have sensational seasons. But -- while this may be a new era on the PGA TOUR, it's the same old winner. Yep. We're going with Stuart Appleby. Why? 'Cause no one figures Apples can pull a Tiger and win this for the fourth year in a row -- and, well, he loves this course and loves to prove people wrong.
Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Nationwide Tour columnist
Pick: Stuart Appleby
He has impeccable record in Hawaii and can take advantage of the absence of one Big Cat.
John Maginnes
PGA TOUR Network on XM Radio analyst
Pick: Vijay Singh
The fabulous Fijian, Mr. Vijay Singh, will win the Mercedes-Benz Championship. As for Vijay, he has seven consecutive top-10 finishes including six top-5s at Kapalua. With only one win in 2006, Vijay will come out firing in 2007.
Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
Pick: Vijay Singh
It's hard to pick against a guy with Stuart Appleby's track record in the Mercedes-Benz Championship, but I am. After all, the Aussie himself cited his duels with Vijay Singh, who lost in a playoff last year, tied for fifth in 2005 and was second when Appleby won his first at Kapalua in 2004. In fact, Singh has never finished outside the top 10 in seven previous appearances in Maui. If anyone can dethrone Appleby, it's the big man from Fiji.
Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
Pick: Jim Furyk
Picking against Stuart Applebly isn't a wise move, because the Aussie all but owns the place with his three straight victories. But Jim Furyk has won at Kapalua, too, and he really does have some ownership -- a house overlooking the golf course. This starts his march to FedExCup history.
Mike Vitti
PGATOUR.com ShotLink Analyst
Pick: Adam Scott
Adam Scott enters the season looking to start his 2007 the same way he ended 2006 and the Plantation Course at Kapalua -- particularly the fairways -- could be very accommodating to his quest. Driving accuracy at this event has eclipsed 70 percent in each of the last three years and of all the players in the field, Scott had the highest averages last year in both greens in regulation and birdie percentage from the fairway. With the receptive landing areas on this course, Scott can use his power from the tee (he ranked 16th in driving distance in 2006) and still find plenty of opportunities to approach the green from the short grass.