Expert Picks: Shell Houston Open

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T.J. Auclair
PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
Pick: Robert Allenby
Shockingly, the Aussie hasn't won on the PGA TOUR since 2001. He's missed just one cut in 2008 and that was in his first start -- the Sony Open in Hawaii. Since then, Allenby has had six top-25 finishes. He's a past champion in the Shell Houston Open. A win for Allenby is long overdue and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get it done this week

Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator
Pick: Justin Leonard
Don't mess with Leonard. He's a Texan to the core and has been on fire lately. He has finished in the top 10 in four of eight starts this season, including a runner-up finish at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in late January. His last PGA TOUR win came in his home state at the Valero Texas Open last fall. A strong field has gathered in Houston but look for Leonard, who has top-10ed twice in the event, to win the Shell showdown.

Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Pick: Stuart Appleby
Hard to overlook Geoff Ogilvy. And Adam Scott. And Steve Stricker. Harder still to pass on Apples. No one has a better record here in the last six times he's played here. Two wins (one at The Woodlands).Two seconds. Yikes. He was thisclose last year, but followed Scott into the water on the 72nd hole and . . . you know. Played well at the start of this year.

Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Pick: Stuart Appleby
Great record in his adopted home town with a pair of wins and two runner-up finishes. In the two years the tournament has been played at The Tournament Course at Redstone GC, Appleby is 33-under par with seven rounds in the 60s. Started off the season with five consecutive top 10s, but has cooled off. A week off and familiar surrondings might inspire him.

John Maginnes
PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Pick: Phil Mickelson
Phil is the second-ranked player in the world. He is also playing this tournament the same way that he played the AT&T Classic a few years ago at the TPC Sugarloaf. That tournament was over nearly before it started with Phil dominating the field. Oh, and by the way, he went on to win the Masters the next week, as well. Phil may be looking ahead, but he is one of the few players who can win here with his mind somewhere else.

Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
Pick: Stuart Appleby
In a tournament that has the most Australian winners of any PGA TOUR event, look for Stuart Appleby to top the leaderboard again. His last three starts at the Shell Houston Open: two runner-ups and a first place in 2006. And this year, he's been tearing it up again. In seven starts this season, the Aussie has five top-10s. Winless since 2006, Appleby's due for another win.

Scott Pianowski
The Fantasy Insider
Pick: Stuart Appleby
He's got two wins and two seconds over this track, and I like how he's playing this year, especially with the flat stick (11th in putts per round). Let's send another endorsement down under.

Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.COM Senior Correspondent
Pick: Steve Stricker
We're buying into the Johnny Miller theory that Pete Dye-designed golf courses tend to trip up good players more than any other venues. Thus, Stricker's missed cut at TPC Louisiana in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has to be an aberration. What isn't is the fact that he's ranked fourth in the world and he has finished joint ninth and third in his two starts at Redstone Golf Club's Tournament Course.

Helen Ross
PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
PIck: Geoff Ogilvy
I thought about three different Aussies -- and there were compelling reasons for each of them. Adam Scott is the defending Shell Houston Open champion and Stuart Appleby is a two-time winner who finished second last year. I'm going with Geoff Ogilvy, who was solid and steady in his win two weeks ago at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. He hasn't finished finished lower than 14th in his last three starts.

John Swantek
PGA TOUR Productions Fantasy Insider
Pick: Phil Mickelson
The only player on Tour ranked in the top 20 in both driving distance and scrambling - the essential mix of skills needed at a 7,500 yard layout with Augusta-like characteristics around the greens. Bonus geography nugget; 19 of Phil's 32 wins have come west of the Mississippi, and I'm pretty sure Houston falls into that category.