CHARITY
LIVE SCORING
TOURNAMENTS
- COMPLETE SCHEDULE
- BUY TICKETS
PLAYERS
The 25
VIDEO
NEWS
STATS
SHOP

Expert Picks: Panama Claro Championship

text size

Feb. 23, 2010

Panama Claro Championship: Field | Complete coverage

PGATOUR.COM will have expert picks and sleepers for each Nationwide Tour event this year. Our experts -- Nationwide Tour producer Nick Zaccardi and Nationwide Tour Insider John Dell -- will each choose two players they consider favorites that week and a sleeper pick (a player who is not inside "THE 25"). Here are their selections for this week's Panama Claro Championship.

Dell's picks	Zaccardi's picks
Jim Herman. After 50-something Nationwide Tour events, Herman showed his talent by winning his first title at the Moonah Classic. What will also give him a boost is that the Tour will be coming to his hometown of Cincinnati this year. The deal was struck earlier this month. Another reason for him to have a good week - he was T4 in the '09 Panama Claro Championship.	Mark Hensby. The veteran Aussie has been one of the steadiest players in the world to open this year. He took fifth in the Michael Hill New Zealand Open, tied for 32nd at the Moonah Classic and tied for 13th on the PGA TOUR at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. What a story it would be if Hensby could go seven years between Nationwide Tour victories.
Chris Kirk. Last time out on Tour, Kirk lost to Herman in a playoff. Kirk, a former star at Georgia, is third on the money list so far through two tournaments. His scoring average is solid at 70.75, and he may have something to prove after losing in the playoff to Herman. It won't be a surprise if Kirk wins this week, or any other week on the Nationwide Tour.	Jamie Lovemark. I have a feeling the fresh-out-of-college Lovemark will be a fixture in Expert Picks this season. I'm willing to forget that second-round 81 to miss the cut at the Moonah Classic three weeks ago. Instead, let's focus on his solo third at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open and a 66-69-68 to finish the Bob Hope Classic on the PGA TOUR.

Dell's sleeper	Zaccardi's sleeper
Notah Begay. While his main focus in 2010 will be his seven starts he gets on the PGA TOUR thanks to a major medical exemption, he'll play some tournaments on the Nationwide Tour. Begay, a former teammate at Stanford of Tiger Woods, was at Woods' press conference last week. Maybe Begay can break out and get his first win on the Nationwide Tour.	Charles Warren. The diminutive Clemson alum performed pretty well on the big TOUR last week, going 67-69-65 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun before a Sunday 73 pushed him barely out of the top 10. It marked his first event of 2010 after finishing No. 147 on the 2009 PGA TOUR money list, so he may be playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Standings after Week 1

Nick Zaccardi picked Robert Gates, who finished second, and Chris Kirk, who finished third, at the Moonah Classic to take the early lead in the standings:

Pos.	Expert	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Top 25s	Money earned
1	Nick Zaccardi Nationwide Tour Producer	-	2	2	2	$127,260
2	John Dell Nationwide Tour Insider	-	-	1	1	$24,430