Expert Picks: St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew

text size

Jun. 15, 2010

The PGA TOUR travels to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. for the St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew. 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 ST. JUDE CLASSIC: Power Rankings \| Inside the Field \| Inside the course \| FANTASY GOLF: Play our game -- FREE!

Expert picks: St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Lauren Deason			RORY MCILROY. He played well last week with a T10 at the Memorial, plus he won a little over a month ago in Charlotte. The Northern Irishman is one of the top young guys on the PGA TOUR and should have the confidence necessary to win in Memphis.

John Swantek			DAVID TOMS. Playing through a shoulder injury that will eventually require surgery, but T13 at Colonial was encouraging. Toms has been terrific at TPC Southwind through the years, with two victories and three other top 3 finishes in his last six starts.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Toms
Ryan Smithson			LEE WESTWOOD. He is one of the best iron players in the world, so be sure to put him on your fantasy team at TPC Southwind this week. He'll join Poulter and Rose in the winner's circle.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Toms
Anne Szeker			BEN CRANE. He's hot -- T4, T7, T3 in his last three starts -- so it's only a matter of time before he adds his name to the list of multiple-tournament winners this year. Plus, he finished in the top 15 here last year.
If Szeker had the top pick ... Crane
Brian Wacker			PADRAIG HARRINGTON. I fear this might be a reach, which sounds strange given we're talking about one of the best players in the world, but Harrington has missed the cut in two of his last three starts on TOUR. The upside? He was T4 in Memphis in 2008.
If Wacker had the top pick ... McIlroy
Helen Ross			IAN POULTER. He wasn't at his best at Colonial two weeks ago, but Poulter has his eyes on the majors so he should be ready. Not to mention, he'll be inspired by his good buddy Justin Rose's victory last week.
If Ross had the top pick ... Crane
Mike McAllister			HEATH SLOCUM. TPC Southwind is a shotmaker's course, so it's hard to ignore Slocum, who ranks fourth in driving accuracy and seventh in GIR this year. Plus, he's playing well, with 11 of his last 12 rounds under par.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Slocum
Casey Black			CHARL SCHWARTZEL. Two wins on the European Tour and a runner-up to Els at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral. This South African is one of the world's best young players that U.S. fans should watch out for over the next two weeks.
If Black had the top pick ... Toms

Standings after Week 22

LAST WEEK: Helen Ross inched closer to second with Jim Furyk's T10, while Casey Black posted her first top-5 finish with Phil Mickelson:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	4	5	8	12	2767.83
2	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	1	6	6	8	1661.03
3	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	1	2	4	9	1569.48
4	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	1	2	3	11	1303.72
5	John Swantek Host, On The Tee	1	1	2	8	1187.58
6	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	1	1	5	9	1126.49
7*	Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	3	3	4	583.00
8*	Casey Black Host, PGA TOUR Today	-	1	-	-	276.50