Expert picks: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

text size

The Zurich Classic takes place at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La. 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: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Ryan Smithson KENNY PERRY. Kenny, it's been over a week, and we still feel for you. A win this week won't relieve the sting, but it sure as heck wouldn't be unexpected.   T.J. Auclair NICK WATNEY. Watney has had an incredible season to this point, and he returns to the tournament where he won his first PGA TOUR event in 2007. He's already got the confidence, and this week, he gets to add the good vibes. If Auclair had the top pick ... Watney Ceri Mobley JOHN MERRICK. Still chasing that elusive first TOUR win, Merrick is coming off a tie for sixth at the Masters, and he's played well in New Orleans the last two years with ties for seventh and 18th. If Mobley had the top pick ... Watney John Swantek J.B. HOLMES. He should be able to bomb it around generous TPC Lousiana like he did in Houston (lost in playoff). He's playing the event for the first time, which tells me he likes his chances ... or maybe he just likes New Orleans cuisine. If Swantek had the top pick ... Watney Helen Ross CHARLES HOWELL III. Howell has three top 10s in six starts in New Orleans, including a tie for second last year. He's been steady this year, adding another runner-up finish in Tampa. Will this be the week that he gets back into the winners' circle? If Ross had the top pick ... Watney Brian Wacker STEVE STRICKER. I'm riding Stricker like I have Kenny Perry this year, and why not with the Wisconsin native having four finishes in the top six this year? He's also been good in Nola: T11 in '07, T20 in '04, T14 in '02, T4 in '00 and T20 in '99. If Wacker had the top pick ... Stricker Lauren Deason JUSTIN ROSE. Paul Casey captured his long-awaited first TOUR title several weeks ago; can fellow Englishman Justin Rose do the same this week? Rose tied for 17th at TPC Louisiana in 2005 and enters this week with top-30 finishes in three of his last four starts. If Deason had the top pick ... Watney Mark Spoor BOO WEEKLEY. Sure, he didn't defend at the Verizon Heritage, but he did snag his best finish of the year -- a tie for 13th. Here's hoping the climb continues in the Big Easy. If Spoor had the top pick ... Perry Mike McAllister TIM PETROVIC. He had been struggling all year until a tie for eighth last week in Hilton Head. Now with momentum and confidence, Petrovic goes back to the site of his only TOUR win (in 2005); in 12 career rounds at TPC Louisiana, he's a collective 27 under. If McAllister had the top pick ... Watney Win McMurry RORY SABBATINI. A solid showing this year for Rory: Two top 10s and four top 12s, and he tied for 20th at the Masters. Sabbatini hasn't made a start in the Crescent City since 2000, but I think he has as good a shot as any this week on the wide-open course. If McMurry had the top pick ... Perry

LAST WEEK: Ryan Smithson won last week with his pick of Rory Sabbatini (tie for eighth) but since he's hopelessly mired in last place, there was no movement in the standings. 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 15: