Expert picks: British Open

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Jul. 14, 2009

The British Open will take place at Turnberry this week. 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: British Open
Expert
 
Pick order Player selected
 
Win
McMurry
TIGER WOODS. The only reason I've heard for NOT taking Tiger? He entered the past two majors coming off victories, yet he didn't win the Masters or U.S. Open. He's also heading into the British Open after a win, but I still think he ends his major drought.
 
Lauren
Deason
JIM FURYK. He's notched three top-12s in the past three British Opens, including a T5 in '08 and a T4 in '06. He's also earned seven top-10s this year, with four of those coming in his last five starts. The stars seem to be aligning for his first win in two years.
If Deason had the top pick ... Woods
John
Swantek
IAN POULTER. He nearly stole the Claret Jug from Paddy Harrington last year. To avoid becoming this era's Colin Montgomerie -- a great European player without a PGA TOUR title -- he must deliver on the major stage.
If Swantek had the top pick ...Woods
Mike
McAllister
HUNTER MAHAN. Since finishing a disappointing T71 at THE PLAYERS, he's improved his position in each of his last six starts (including that T6 at Bethpage). Since his last start was a second-place finish at the AT&T National, there's only one more spot to improve to.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Woods
Helen
Ross
ERNIE ELS. Els hasn't exactly had the kind of year he hoped for but there's one thing for certain - he knows links golf. He won the Open in 2002 at Muirfield and has 10 other top-10 finishes, including each of the last three years.
If Ross had the top pick ... Woods
Brian
Wacker
SERGIO GARCIA. This has been anything but Garcia's best season, but he's finally starting to pull out of the funk he was in for most of the year. He also has a great track record with top-5 finishes three of the last four years at the British Open.
If Wacker had the top pick ... Woods
Mark
Spoor
PADRAIG HARRINGTON. Someone has to go with the two-time defending champ. It might as well be me. He'll definitely have the crowd on his side and he'll certainly have the media attention with the whole quest for three in a row.
If Spoor had the top pick ... Woods
Ceri
Mobley
LEE WESTWOOD. The seasoned Brit played well as usual at the U.S. Open and has a second and a tie for eighth in his last two starts. He wants a major badly, and this one would be particularly sweet.
If Mobley had the top pick ... Woods
T.J.
Auclair
HENRIK STENSON. He can't be overlooked in the majors where he has three top-10 finishes in his last four major starts, including a tie for third at the 2008 Open Championship. With a win at THE PLAYERS in May, a major is the next logical step.
If Auclair had the top pick ... Woods
Ryan
Smithson
MARTIN KAYMER. Kaymer's coming off back-to-back wins on the European Tour. Since guys don't usually go victory, victory, missed cut, I like his chances.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Woods

LAST WEEK: Ceri Mobley's reign atop the standings was short lived; after just one week, Win McMurry returned to No. 1 with a victory from Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic. 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 27:

Standings after Week 27
Pos. Expert Wins Top 5s Top 10s Top 25s FedExCup points
1 Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
3 7 6 7 3,739.35
2 Ceri Mobley
Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM
4 4 2 7 3,454.03
3 Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM
3 4 2 7 2,932.85
4 Mark Spoor
Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM
2 3 1 4 2,052.88
5 Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM
- 3 3 5 1,580.52
6 Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 1 7 1 1,530.92
7 T.J. Auclair
Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 2 - 7 1,525.84
8 Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- 5 4 1 1,436.12
9 Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM
- 5 2 6 1,272.43
10 John Swantek
Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions
- 2 1 8 1,056.75
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