Sleepers: FBR Open

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Jan. 28, 2009

The PGA TOUR heads to Scottsdale, Ariz., for the FBR Open, one of the biggest and loudest events on TOUR. Here's who the PGATOUR.COM experts selected as sleeper picks:

SLEEPER PICKS
How it works: Our 10 experts from PGATOUR.COM select any player who isn't ranked in the top 20 of the FedExCup rankings, the top 30 of the Official World Golf Rankings and hasn't won that season. By using a draft process, no two picks can be the same.
EXPERT PICKS
Who do our experts think will capture the Sony Open in Hawaii title? Here's who they've picked to win. Click here
Sleeper picks: FBR Open
Expert
 
Pick order Player selected
 
Mike
McAllister
J.B. HOLMES. Imagine my good fortune that Holmes, who has won two of the past three FBR Opens, was available under our sleeper qualifications. Had I not taken Mickelson to win, J.B. would be my man.
T.J.
Auclair
BRAD ADAMONIS. The second-year TOUR pro fired the best score of his career last week with a 10-under 62. He shot a 69 on Saturday and a 65 on Sunday -- his best final-round score -- for a T9. He's a late bloomer, but it's never stopped him from grinding it out.
Helen
Ross
LUCAS GLOVER. Call it a hunch but I liked the way he played last week in his '09 debut. Well-rested after taking the fall off, he made 35 birdies to T2 in that category. Glover is a big hitter in the J.B. Holmes mold, and something tells me he's motivated this year.
John
Swantek
SCOTT MCCARRON. Looks like he's fully healthy two years after elbow surgery. Still plenty long for TPC Scottsdale, where he was runner-up to Mickelson in '05.
Lauren
Deason
JEFF QUINNEY. This Arizona State University alum lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., and almost captured the FBR Open title in 2006 before losing to his neighbor Aaron Baddeley. What a fitting place it would be for him to win his first PGA TOUR event.
Win
McMurry
CHARLIE WI. He knocked his rust off last week, but still was 22-under par and finished T34. A year ago Wi opened with a 5-under 66 at the FBR Open and went on to tie for 13th. Maybe this will be the week for the nine-time international champion to breakthrough.
Mark
Spoor
MARK CALCAVECCHIA. He's coming off injury and he missed the cut last week, but he's been strong at TPC Scottsdale, including a record-breaking effort in 2001 when he set the 18-hole and 72-hole scoring records (60,256), which still stand today.
Brian
Wacker
NICK WATNEY. The former Fresno State star quietly put together three very nice rounds at the Bob Hope Classic and with his distance off the tee and accuracy into the green don't be surprised if his name is on the first page of the leaderboard come Sunday.
Ceri
Mobley
HUNTER MAHAN. It's the happy Ryder Cupper's 2009 premiere, and I like the way he ended 2008. He has a top-10 finish here, too, so he's as good a sleeper as any.
Ryan
Smithson
BRIAN GAY. There is nowhere to go but up for me, so I am pinning my hopes on Brian, who's had a fabulous start to the '09 season. Hopefully I didn't just jinx him.

LAST WEEK: Both Mike McAllister and Helen Ross had their sleeper picks finish in the top 10 at the 50th Bob Hope 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 3:

Standings after Week 3
Pos. Expert Wins Top 5s Top 10s Top 25s FedExCup points
1 Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM
- 1 1 1 369
2 Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM
- 1 1 1 181.25
3 Mark Spoor
Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 168.5
4 Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 153
5 John Swantek
Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions
- - - 2 120.5
6 Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
- - - 1 82
7 Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 78.5
T8 T.J. Auclair
Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 52
T8 Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 52
10 Ceri Mobley
Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- - - 1 30
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