Sep. 9, 2009
The third leg of the 2009 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup takes place this week at Cog Hill. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
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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 |
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| Expert picks: BMW Championship |
Brian
Wacker |
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TIGER WOODS. Steve Stricker has been very good in these Playoffs (and previous ones), but Woods won't play as poorly as he has -- at least by his standards -- three weeks in a row. And when you have a chance to take Tiger, you do it. |
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John
Swantek |
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PADRAIG HARRINGTON. I'm bellying up to the bar with Paddy for the third straight week. He has been pounding on the door for a month and I see no reason why he won't be right there again, though he must eliminate the one sloppy hole on Sunday that's been killing him.
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| If Swantek had the top pick ... Woods |
Lauren
Deason |
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STEVE STRICKER. Though I'm worried he will be exhausted after last week's win, there's no one I'd rather have in the Playoffs than Mr. September. The Illinois alum lives in nearby Wisconsin, so he'll have the crowd support, and he also won at Cog Hill in 1996.
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| If Deason had the top pick ...Woods |
Ryan
Smithson |
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JIM FURYK. I had Tiger the last two weeks, and scored two whiffs. It was 100 percent my fault, because I had the option of using Stricker. But I like Furyk this week. Cog Hill's length is not going to hurt him.
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| If Wacker had the top pick ... Woods |
Mark
Spoor |
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SCOTT VERPLANK. Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Verplank has stepped his game up in the Playoffs with back-to-back top-10s, the latest of which ended with a four-birdie string. Clearly, he's found something - and at the most opportune time. |
| If Spoor had the top pick ... Woods |
Mike
McAllister |
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RETIEF GOOSEN. He was back in the pack at The Barclays, and in contention at the Deutsche Bank, so who knows what we will see from the Goose this week. But if Cog Hill is playing like a U.S. Open course, then he should feel right at home. |
| If McAllister had the top pick ... Harrington |
Ceri
Mobley |
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JERRY KELLY. Dustin Johnson almost got this spot, but I had to go with experience over youth. Kelly is a past champ and has a pair of top-fives to boot. He's playing well, and his buddy Stricker's win might fire him up. It has been the year of the Wisconsinites after all.
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| If Mobley had the top pick ... Woods |
T.J.
Auclair |
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ZACH JOHNSON. He has been brilliant all year with seven top-10 finishes, including two wins. Since a missed cut at the U.S. Open, he's been routinely logging top-20 finishes and would love to make some noise in Chicago and have a chance at the FedExCup.
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| If Auclair had the top pick ... Woods |
Win
McMurry |
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GEOFF OGILVY. A strong finish last week (seventh) shows Ogilvy has returned to the form that brought him two early wins in 2009. He should contend again this week (T5 in '05). |
| If McMurry had the top pick ... Woods |
Helen
Ross |
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DUSTIN JOHNSON.. He's got the length to challenge a course that the U.S. Open doctor, Rees Jones, has tinkered with and he's got to be confident after finishing 15th or better in his last three events, including a tie for fourth last week.
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| If Ross had the top pick ... Woods |
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LAST WEEK: Brian Wacker moved to the top of the standings when his pick, Steve Stricker, won the Deustche Bank Championship:
| Standings after Week 34 |
| 1 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
2 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
5,255.92 |
| 2 |
Ceri Mobley
Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
4 |
6 |
2 |
9 |
4,224.53 |
| 3 |
Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
3 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
4,200.77 |
| 4 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
3 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
3,706.66 |
| 5 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
3 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
3,624.79 |
| 6 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
7 |
4 |
4 |
2,997.12 |
| 7 |
John Swantek
Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
- |
5 |
1 |
10 |
2,840.00 |
| 8 |
Mark Spoor
Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
2,696.00 |
| 9 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
5 |
4 |
7 |
2,316.75 |
| 10 |
T.J. Auclair
Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
3 |
- |
8 |
1,936.24 |
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