Aug. 5, 2009
The World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational will take place at Firestone South this week. 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. Click here
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. |
|
| Sleeper picks: World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational |
Helen
Ross |
 |
 |
DAVIS LOVE. In his nine starts at the Bridgestone Invitational, Love has finished lower than 13th only once. In fact, he's finished sixth or better five of the last six times he's played at Firestone. Pretty strong.
|
Mike
McAllister |
 |
 |
DARREN CLARKE. The 2003 winner at Firestone tied for sixth last year and was also third in 2001, so the course suits his game. Unfortunately, he hasn't been all that productive this year in Europe, but perhaps he'll find a spark in Akron.
|
Ryan
Smithson |
 |
 |
STUART APPLEBY. It's been a miserable year for Stu, but he looks like he's on the verge of turning it all around. Thing that bothers me: He's broken 70 just once on the weekend this year.
|
John
Swantek |
 |
 |
MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ. Plays a limited schedule in the U.S. and usually performs at a high level. He tied for 10th last year at Firestone. The Mechanic has the shots to attack this shotmaker's course.
|
Mark
Spoor |
 |
 |
PRAYAD MARKSAENG. He tied for 13th at the last World Golf Championships event, the CA Championship in March. Sure, he missed the cut at both the Masters and the British Open, but he made the cut last year at Firestone. |
Ceri
Mobley |
 |
 |
JUSTIN ROSE. My favorite Brit has made four starts at Firestone, two of which resulted in top-5s. He was a runner-up in 2007, and while '09 has been tough on Rose, his last two finishes are strong -- T16 and T13. |
T.J.
Auclair |
 |
 |
WOODY AUSTIN. Woody has three top-10 finishes over the course of his last six starts. Firestone requires low scores and patience. We all know Austin is more than capable of the low scores; it's just the patience he has issues with at times.
|
Brian
Wacker |
 |
 |
ROBERT ALLENBY. This is a reach, but that's what sleepers are for. Allenby has just two top-10s this season, but he plays well here, with seven top-25s. He's also an excellent driver, and he tied for fourth in Memphis.
|
Lauren
Deason |
 |
 |
DANNY LEE. Lee tied for seventh at Tiger's AT&T National in July and won earlier this year as an amateur on the European Tour. He's young, but the 2008 U.S. Amateur winner has enough talent to compete with the best at Firestone. |
Win
McMurry |
 |
 |
SCOTT VERPLANK. I'm trying again with Verplank this week. He's finished inside the top-20 in his last two starts at Firestone and before missing the cut last week at the Buick Open, he had racked up three consecutive top-10s.
|
|
LAST WEEK: Helen Ross' sleeper pick of Woody Austin last week gave her the lead in the overall standings:
| Standings after Week 31 |
| 1 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
3 |
4 |
6 |
1,485.5 |
| 2 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
2 |
3 |
7 |
1,445.75 |
| 3 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
3 |
3 |
6 |
1,332.61 |
| 4 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
- |
2 |
5 |
1,235.01 |
| 5 |
John Swantek
Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
- |
2 |
- |
5 |
967.19 |
| 6 |
T.J. Auclair
Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
2 |
8 |
900.85 |
| 7 |
Mark Spoor
Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
3 |
5 |
870.4 |
| 8 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
3 |
3 |
6 |
848.74 |
| 9 |
Ceri Mobley
Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
2 |
5 |
794.72 |
| 10 |
Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
- |
- |
3 |
6 |
792.03 |
|
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network