Mar. 12, 2009
The PGA TOUR makes its second Caribbean stop this week at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
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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 Ranking 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 Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular title? Here's who they've picked to win. Click here |
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| Sleeper picks: Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular |
Lauren Deason |
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CASEY WITTENBERG. He's currently T25 in driving accuracy, T35 in hitting greens in regulation and 35th in ball striking. On the windy Trump International course, it will take stellar ball striking like that to succeed. |
Mike McAllister |
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BO VAN PELT. In 215 career starts, Van Pelt has finished a career-best second just once -- a T2 last year in Puerto Rico, where he led for the first three rounds. And he already has a top-five finish this year. |
Ceri Mobley |
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CHARLES HOWELL III. Simply put, Howell was the highest ranked player in the field in FedExCup points outside the top 20. A lot of that is due to his season-opening, fourth-place finish in Hawaii, so I hope another island tournament will liven him back up.
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Win McMurry |
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TIM WILKINSON. His tie for sixth here in 2008 was the first of three top 10s in his rookie year. With eyes on Miami, the 5-foot-7 lefty has a chance to slip in under the radar for his first career victory. |
John Swantek |
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BRETT QUIGLEY. He always plays The Honda Classic well (T13), so was that just home cooking or some real momentum? I'm banking on the latter. After more than 300 career starts, he has to break through eventually. |
Mark Spoor |
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JASON DAY. Sure, he has yet to score a top 10 this year, but he also has yet to miss a cut this season, and he's just one of those guys you know is going to figure out how to win. Why not this week.? |
Helen Ross |
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KEVIN STADLER. He's finished in the top 20 in two of his three starts this season - and he tied for fourth in Puerto Rico last year. Need I say more?
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Ryan Smithson |
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RICH BEEM. I can't believe he's still available as a sleeper, even though Spoor picked him as a favorite. Rich, don't withdraw, and be sure to get the putter rolling.
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T.J. Auclair |
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JOE DURANT. He's one of those guys you always pull for to do well. He needs to start playing better golf, and hopefully this is the week he gets it turned around. |
Brian Wacker |
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JERRY KELLY. Last year's runner-up wasn't exactly playing great golf when he came into this event in 2008, and he isn't right now either. Kelly seems to do well in alternate-field events, though. |
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LAST WEEK: With a tie for fifth from Robert Allenby, Mike McAllister parlayed his recent dominance in the expert picks into the sleeper picks, where he has jumped up to third 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 9:
| Standings after Week 9 |
| 1 |
Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
1 |
2 |
555.25 |
| 2 |
Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
1 |
2 |
499 |
| 3 |
Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
2 |
2 |
2 |
401 |
| 4 |
Mark Spoor Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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- |
2 |
3 |
392.4 |
| 5 |
Win McMurry Host, PGA TOUR Today |
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- |
1 |
2 |
355.81 |
| 6 |
Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
2 |
4 |
342.5 |
| 7 |
John Swantek Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
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- |
- |
3 |
294 |
| 8 |
T.J. Auclair Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
290.49 |
| 9 |
Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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- |
- |
2 |
244.83 |
| 10 |
Ceri Mobley Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
2 |
239.75 |
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