May. 4, 2010
The PGA TOUR heads to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for THE PLAYERS Championship this week. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts size up the top contenders.
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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: THE PLAYERS Championship |
Mike
McAllister |
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PHIL MICKELSON. With a win this week, Mickelson could become the top-ranked golfer in the world (depending on if Tiger finishes outside the top five). I'd say that's pretty good motivation. |
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Ryan
Smithson |
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 | TIGER WOODS. I don't think anyone on Earth -- including Tiger -- has any idea how he is going to play at this week's PLAYERS Championship. Things have to turn around for him sometime.
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| If Smithson had the top pick ... Mickelson |
Anne
Szeker |
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IAN POULTER. He came close at TPC Sawgrass last year -- finishing solo second -- and has been having a great year. Last event was the Masters (T10), so he should be rested, and despite a knee injury, ready to play. |
| If Szeker had the top pick ... Mickelson |
Casey
Black |
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JIM FURYK. He's having a good year so far with two wins. This week, the Ponte Vedra Beach resident is playing in his backyard and, although he's never won at TPC Sawgrass, he's logged some top-10s here. |
| If Black had the top pick ... Mickelson |
Lauren
Deason |
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LEE WESTWOOD. The Brit hasn't had a top 10 at TPC Sawgrass since 1999, but you can't beat his recent TOUR record. With four top-20s this year -- including a solo second at the Masters -- he's one of the hottest players on TOUR right now. |
| If Deason had the top pick ... Mickelson |
Helen
Ross |
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ERNIE ELS. He may be a two-time winner, but he comes to TPC Sawgrass a little under the radar -- which is where The Big Easy likes it. He's had two top-10s at the Stadium Course in the last four years, too.
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| If Ross had the top pick ... Mickelson |
John
Swantek |
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PADRAIG HARRINGTON. The Irishman's stout effort in Charlotte, punctuated by a final round 68, convinced me to pick him this week. Hasn't been a factor at TPC Sawgrass since the move to May in '07, but his game is peaking right now.
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| If Swantek had the top pick ... Westwood |
Brian
Wacker |
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CAMILO VILLEGAS. One of the better ball-strikers on TOUR, Villegas not surprisingly has a pretty good track record at TPC Sawgrass, where he tied for 14th a year ago and tied for third in 2006. He's also played well this year with four top-10s.
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| If Wacker had the top pick ... Furyk |
Nick
Zaccardi |
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HENRIK STENSON. I'll gladly take the defending champ with the last pick. You can't argue his success at Sawgrass -- three top-10s in four starts at a course that regularly stymies the popular picks to win. He would be the first back-to-back PLAYERS champion.
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| If Zaccardi had the top pick ... Mickelson |
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| Standings after Week 17 |
LAST WEEK: Nick Zaccardi picked up 300 points with Phil Mickelson's second-place finish last week:
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| Position |
Name |
Wins |
Top-5s |
Top-10s |
Top-25s |
FedExCup points |
| 1 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
3 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
2055.33 |
| 2 |
Nick Zaccardi
Associate Site Producer. PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
6 |
11 |
12 |
1810.33 |
| 3 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1323.43 |
| 4 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
1271.10 |
| 5 |
John Swantek
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
1129.08 |
| 6 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
1042.00 |
| 7 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
940.49 |
| 8* |
Anne Szeker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
3 |
3 |
3 |
490 |
| 9* |
Casey Black
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
- |
- |
- |
- |
131 |
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