Expert Picks: Sony Open

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Jan. 12, 2010

The Sony Open at Hawaii is the other half of the two-tournament Aloha Swing. 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: Sony Open at Hawaii

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Lauren Deason			ZACH JOHNSON. IThe defending champ should perform well on Waialae's narrow fairways again. After all, he's finished in the top 10 on TOUR in driving accuracy for three years running. We could have back-to-back wins by defending champs in Hawaii.

Mike McAllister			ERNIE ELS. Until last year's tie for 39th, Els had not finished outside the top five at the Sony in five previous starts (including two wins). He's well rested and will have plenty of confidence going into Waialae. That's a nice combination to have.
If McAllister the top pick ... Johnson
John Swantek			DAVID TOMS. His record at Waielae has been sensational; five top 13 finishes, including the title in 2006. He'll be motivated to spring from the blocks quickly after a solid 2009 season yielded strong stats ... but no trip to victory circle.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Toms
Helen Ross			RORY SABBATINI. As if his strong play on Sunday wasn't enough, consider this: The feisty South African has finished as the runner-up at Waialae two of the last four years. Sabbatini should be brimming with confidence, too.
If Ross had the top pick ... Toms
Ryan Smithson			STEVE STRICKER. Talk about a rust-shaker. I am not sure Strick was able to practice putting much in Wisconsin: His putts per round at Kapalua went from 35 on Thursday to a mere 26 on Sunday. He should be good to go on Waialae's tiny greens.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Toms
Nick Zaccardi			LUKE DONALD. I'll take the steady Englishman who registered top-25s in his last four showings at Waialae, including a T2 in 2007. Donald also missed just two cuts in 21 events last year, so I'll be in the mix on the weekend.
If Zaccardi had the top pick ... Johnson
Brian Wacker			RETIEF GOOSEN. He hasn't played in the Sony Open in Hawaii since 2005, but he is coming off a sneaky-good tie for sixth at Kapalua. He tied for 10th at Waialae in 2004 and 20th the year before. His ball-striking and strong putting serves him well here.
If Wacker had the top pick ... Johnson

Standings after Week 1

LAST WEEK: Geoff Ogilvy's win gave Brian Wacker the early lead among our experts. 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 1:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	1	1	1	1	500
2	Nick Zaccardi Associate Site Producer. PGATOUR.COM	-	1	1	1	123
3	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	1	1	68
4	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	1	57
T5	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	1	55
T5	John Swantek Host, PGA TOUR Today	-	-	-	1	55
7	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	1	53