Expert picks: Sony Open in Hawaii

text size

The PGA TOUR remains in Hawaii for the second straight week, as the first full-field of the season tees it up at the Sony Open in Hawaii. 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: Sony Open in Hawaii

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Mike McAllister ERNIE ELS. In his last four TOUR starts, the Big Easy has three finishes of T6 or better. And he has never finished outside the top 5 at Waialae.   Win McMurry DAVIS LOVE III. Love has five top-10s at Waialae since 1993 and tied for second last week, his first start since winning the final event of 2008. He's on a roll ... look for him to rock again this week. If McMurry had the top pick ... Ernie Els John Swantek K.J. CHOI. Waialae, tight and short, suits the defending champion's fairways and greens game perfectly. Always patient and in control, the South Korean's game will be unaffected by the wind. If Swantek had the top pick ... Ernie Els Ryan Smithson KENNY PERRY. He's not showing any signs of slowing down. I really believe he's got 3-4 wins in him this year. If Smithson had the top pick ... K.J. Choi Mark Spoor GEOFF OGILVY. Not only did he win at Kapalua, but he dominated a pretty strong field in the process. You'd have to think at least some of that has to carry over to this week. If Spoor had the top pick ... K.J. Choi Helen Ross SEAN O'HAIR. Granted, his record at Waialae isn't anything to write home about. But O'Hair is coming off a solid performance at Kapalua; his 65 was the low round on Sunday. He'll ride that momentum this week. If Ross had the top pick ... Ernie Els T.J. Auclair STEVE STRICKER. In the last two years, Stricks has finished tied for fourth at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He obviously knows the track well and after another stellar season in 2008, he'll get 2009 started on a high note. If Auclair had the top pick ... Ernie Els Ceri Mobley BOO WEEKLEY. He tied for 15th last week in Maui, so let's see if he can do a little better on this island. If not, at least I'll enjoy watching him. If Mobley had the top pick ... Ernie Els Lauren Deason J.B. HOLMES. In three starts at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Holmes has tied for 17th, tied for 10th and missed the cut. Hawaii could be the site of his third TOUR victory. If Deason had the top pick ... K.J. Choi Brian Wacker ZACH JOHNSON. He's coming off a T6 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in which his final two rounds featured 13 birdies, one eagle and, most importantly, no bogeys. One of the TOUR's best ballstrikers, his game is well-suited to Waialae. If Wacker had the top pick ... Ernie Els

LAST WEEK: Geoff Ogilvy's win gave PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor Mike McAllister the early lead among our experts. 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 1: