Feb. 18, 2009
The PGA TOUR travels south from Pebble Beach to L.A. this week for the Northern Trust Open. Here's who the PGATOUR.COM experts selected as sleeper picks:
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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 Northern Trust Open title? Here's who they've picked to win. Click here
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| Sleeper picks: Northern Trust Open |
Lauren Deason |
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LUKE DONALD How can you pass up Donald when he qualifies as a sleeper? This two-time TOUR winner tied for third at Riviera last year and, after taking off the second half of 2008 to recover from wrist surgery, has kicked off 2009 with three top-25 finishes. |
Mark Spoor |
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RORY SABBATINI. He has two top-15 finishes in his first three TOUR events of 2009. If he's in contention Sunday, look out. He's fourth on TOUR in final-round scoring average. |
Win McMurry |
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JEFF QUINNEY. He has a great record here, is from the West Coast, and is bound to break through soon. |
Ceri Mobley |
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CHARLES HOWELL III. He's made it into a playoff twice here -- one of which ended in a W. He hasn't showed me anything great since the Sony Open, but I can't ignore him just for that. |
Mike McAllister |
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RYO ISHIKAWA. That's right, I'm jumping on the bandwagon early (OK, maybe too early). But if he's half as good as the hype, he'll at least make the cut. And just how much fun will it be on Sunday if the kid's in contention? |
T.J. Auclair |
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MARK CALCAVECCHIA. Calc is coming off a tie for fourth at Pebble Beach after two missed cuts to start the season. Something is finally clicking for Calc. He won at Riviera 20 years ago this week. Can you put the magic together again?
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Helen Ross |
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ROCCO MEDIATE. It's good to have Rocco back. His knee may be a question mark, but not his heart. He's well acquainted with Riviera where he's got a tie for ninth and 13th in two of his last four starts.
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Ryan Smithson |
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CHAD CAMPBELL. If he wins this week, I will document the number of times websites and newspapers use "Mmm, mmm, good" in a headline. Time to retire that one.
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John Swantek |
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TIM CLARK. Doesn't bomb it but doesn't need to at the Riv. Needs to shed label as one of the best players without a "W". |
Brian Wacker |
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CHARLIE WI. This is a total momentum pick, but Wi has also shown that dedicating himself to fitness is paying off. The journeyman from South Korea finished T14 at the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week and was T14 in L.A. last year. |
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LAST WEEK: Ryan Smithson's sleeper pick again helped him move up the standings when Retief Goosen tied for third last week. 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 6:
| Standings after Week 6 |
| 1 |
Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
1 |
1 |
440.5 |
| 2 |
Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
1 |
2 |
417.75 |
| 3 |
Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
1 |
2 |
231.25 |
| 4 |
Win McMurry Host, PGA TOUR Today |
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1 |
1 |
214.5 |
| 5 |
Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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- |
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2 |
211.60 |
| 6 |
Ceri Mobley Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
1 |
181.5 |
| 7 |
John Swantek Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
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- |
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2 |
172.5 |
| 8 |
Mark Spoor Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
169.42 |
| 9 |
Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
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3 |
156.5 |
| 10 |
T.J. Auclair Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
93.99 |
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