Expert picks: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

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May. 26, 2009

The PGA TOUR will tee it up in Fort Worth, Texas at this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. 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: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Expert
 
Pick order Player selected
 
Win
McMurry
JUSTIN LEONARD. The Texan has had a hot hand in his home state. Look for him to play well on Colonial's tightly knit layout.
 
Mike
McAllister
KENNY PERRY. Since 2002, he's won twice in Fort Worth and also has a T2. And he's obviously playing well this year. Still, I have my concerns -- just two of his last 10 rounds at Colonial have been under par.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Perry
Lauren
Deason
ZACH JOHNSON. This course rewards accuracy, so it suits his game. He's coming off that Valero Texas Open win, plus he hasn't placed outside the top 30 in three starts at Colonial. He used to only win in Georgia -- now he's going to dominate in Texas.
If Deason had the top pick ... Perry
Mark
Spoor
BRIAN DAVIS. Davis is riding a streak of three consecutive top-five finishes. Perhaps as impressive is that the streak includes nine rounds under 70. The first rule of picking winners is to go with the hot hand. There isn't one hotter.
If Spoor had the top pick ... Perry
Brian
Wacker
GEOFF OGILVY. This is one of those "best available" picks, but Ogilvy also finished in a tie for seventh at Colonial last year and had a second-round 64. It's also been a little over two months since his last win and a month since his last top-10, so he's due.
If Wacker had the top pick ... Perry
Ryan
Smithson
JIM FURYK. He's finished second here twice -- once to Tom Watson in 1998, and once to Rory Sabbatini in 2007. If I miss the cut this week, I give up. Officially.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Furyk
John
Swantek
LUKE DONALD. He hasn't played Colonial since '04 but will love the way it fits his game. His best finishes this year have also come on classic, old style tracks at Riviera and Harbour Town.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Donald
Ceri
Mobley
PAUL CASEY. One of my favorite Brits just moved to No. 3 in the world with a big win at Wentworth last week, making him the highest-ranked player in the field. He's never played at Colonial, and last time he tried a new course (Redstone GC), he won.
If Mobley had the top pick ... Perry
T.J.
Auclair
SEAN O'HAIR. He's had six top-10s in 11 starts this year. O'Hair lost a five-stroke lead on Sunday at Bay Hill and eventually finished second to Tiger Woods, but bounced back with a win in Charlotte. He's a player to watch every time he tees it up.
If Auclair had the top pick ... Leonard
Helen
Ross
RORY SABBATINI. He won at Colonial two years ago and he's coming off a win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. I can't believe Rory lasted this long.
If Ross had the top pick ... Sabbatini

LAST WEEK: Our experts were highly successful at the HP Byron Nelson Championship last week, with Win McMurry picking winner Rory Sabbatini. Mike McAllister still holds the top spot, though, after selecting runner-up Brian Davis, while Lauren Deason chose Dustin Johnson (T4) and moved up a spot. 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 19:

Standings after Week 19
Pos. Expert Wins Top 5s Top 10s Top 25s FedExCup points
1 Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM
3 4 2 5 2,790.85
2 Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
2 5 5 5 2,587.73
3 Ceri Mobley
Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 3 2 7 1,795.53
4 Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 1 7 1 1,411.92
5 Mark Spoor
Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 2 1 4 1,315.80
6 T.J. Auclair
Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM
1 1 - 6 1,198.25
7 Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM
- 5 - 6 1,017.93
8 Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM
- 1 1 4 884.19
9 John Swantek
Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions
- 2 - 6 842.35
10 Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM
- 1 3 1 592.62
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