Expert Picks: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

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Feb. 9, 2010

The PGA TOUR visits the scenic Monterey Peninsula for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:

EXPERT PICKS
How it works: Our 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. The player who wins the previous week picks last the following week.
SLEEPER PICKS
Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? Here's how our experts see it. Click here
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Expert picks: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Helen Ross			PHIL MICKELSON. Lefty thrives in this environment, as evidenced by his three victories and two third-place finishes on the Monterey Peninsula. Mickelson wasn't at his best last week at Riviera but some work on his short game should do the trick.

Brian Wacker			JIM FURYK. I don't have an enormous amount of confidence in this pick given just two top-10s by Furyk at Pebble Beach (T6 in '07 and a T5 in '03), but he was Mr. Top-10 last year with 11 of them. Plus, I can't think straight after passing on Steve Stricker last week.
If Wacker the top pick ... Furyk
Mike McAllister			MIKE WEIR. I don't know what to make of that second-round 77 at Riviera. But until then, Weir had looked sharp this year. Plus, he loves Pebble Beach -- seven top-10s in his last 10 starts at the event, including second last year.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Weir
Ryan Smithson			RETIEF GOOSEN. Two starts in 2010, two top-10s. Pebble Beach is a new addition to his schedule -- he played for the first time in his career in 2009 and had a shot at winning until weather wiped out the final round.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Mickelson
Nick Zaccardi			DUSTIN JOHNSON. The big hitter won here last year (T7 in '08) and would have won last week at Riviera had that third-round 74 been a little more respectable. I'd take him over anybody other than Mickelson.
If Zaccardi had the top pick ... Mickelson
John Swantek			LUKE DONALD. The Englishman says he's more focused than ever. That runner-up at Riviera caught my attention. He needs to improve on a record at Pebble that's merely respectable (3 top 20s in 5 starts) and win on TOUR for the first time in nearly 4 years.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Mickelson
Lauren Deason			BRANDT SNEDEKER. Mr. Consistent is ranked ninth in FedExCup points after three straight top-25 finishes in 2010. He was runner-up two weeks ago and tied for 10th at the Bob Hope Classic, an event with a similar feel to Pebble Beach.
If Deason had the top pick ... Weir

Standings after Week 5

LAST WEEK: Lauren Deason moved into second in the standings thanks to Steve Stricker's win at the Northern Trust Open:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	1	3	3	3	863.83
2	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	1	1	1	4	664.5
3	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	1	2	3	338.5
4	Nick Zaccardi Associate Site Producer. PGATOUR.COM	-	1	3	3	332.83
5	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	1	3	182.33
6	John Swantek Host, PGA TOUR Today	-	-	1	3	195.83
7	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	2	169