Expert Picks: Northern Trust Open

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Feb. 2, 2010

The PGA TOUR heads to sunny L.A. for this week's Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. 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
MORE NORTHERN TRUST OPEN: Power Rankings | Inside the Field | Inside the course | Round 1 Tee Times
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Expert picks: Northern Trust Open

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Ryan Smithson			PHIL MICKELSON. Unlike last week, Phil's actually going to have to hit some fairways ar Riviera. He looked rusty at Torrey, but you can't ignore his record here -- first, first, tie for second the last three years.

Brian Wacker			MIKE WEIR. Two-time winner in L.A. Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Bob Hope Classic. Good ball-striker and putter. Yep, that works for me.
If Wacker the top pick ... Mickelson
Helen Ross			CHARLES HOWELL III. He won at Riviera in 2007 and was second in 2004. Not to mention, Howell's already got two top-10s in three starts this season, including a tie for fifth at Torrey Pines Sunday. A win here would get him back to his beloved Masters, too.
If Ross had the top pick ... Mickelson
Lauren Deason			STEVE STRICKER. He finished second at Riviera last year, he's ranked third in the world and he placed T10 and third in his two prior 2010 starts. He also doesn't the same distractions or pressure as Phil, so Stricker is truly the top pick.
If Deason had the top pick ... Stricker
Mike McAllister			PADRAIG HARRINGTON. As the TOUR's top Paddy fanatic, I'm pleased he's still available at this point. But it's more than merely picking with my heart. Prior to a MC at Riviera in '09, he finished top 10 the two previous years here. Time to make an early statement.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Mickelson
John Swantek			JIM FURYK. Closed 2009 with a strong finishing kick in the Playoffs and a win at the Chevron World Challenge in SoCal in December. I sense a big year for Furyk, who will make an early statement this week.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Furyk
Nick Zaccardi			ROBERT ALLENBY. Everyone knows about his great start to 2010, but upon looking at Allenby's recent results at Riviera (T3, T7, T17) I am stunned he dropped to the last pick.
If Zaccardi had the top pick ... Mickelson

Standings after Week 4

LAST WEEK: Most of our experts did well last week, with three picking up T9 finishes and two more in the top 20:
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	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	1	2	3	313
3	Nick Zaccardi Associate Site Producer. PGATOUR.COM	-	1	3	3	290.83
4	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	1	3	182.33
5	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	2	169
6	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	3	164.5
7	John Swantek Host, PGA TOUR Today	-	-	1	2	147.83