Jun. 22, 2010
The PGA TOUR travels to Cromwell, Conn. for the Travelers Championship this week. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders at TPC River Highlands:
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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: Travelers Championship |
Anne
Szeker |
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BILL HAAS. I made this pick after Matt Kuchar dropped out. Haas has not missed a cut since the first week of March, but unfortunately lacks a top-5 finish in that same span. He's gone from T136 to T29 to T19 in his last three starts at TPC River Highlands. |
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Ryan
Smithson |
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 | HUNTER MAHAN. I'd pick Hunter this week even if he'd missed every cut leading up to this week. Well, maybe not, but he has missed three in a row. But he's definitely the man to beat until anyone proves otherwise. Last three events here? Win, T2, T4.
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| If Smithson had the top pick ... Mahan |
John
Swantek |
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RICKIE FOWLER. The kid has never played TPC River Highlands before. No sweat. He hadn't seen Muirfield Village before finishing second at the Memorial. At 12th in FedExCup, he's just playing too well to pass up.
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| If Swantek had the top pick ... Fowler |
Lauren
Deason |
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STEWART CINK. He's heating up after a somewhat slow start to the season, having earned three of his six top-25 finishes for the year in his last four starts. Cink has also won twice at TPC River Highlands (1997, 2008).
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| If Deason had the top pick ... Mahan |
Helen
Ross |
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JUSTIN ROSE. He broke through at the Memorial Tournament so he's obviously playing well. Not to mention, he's got two top-10s in Hartford, including a third in 2005, and here's betting he'll be ready after watching the U.S. Open on TV last week. |
| If Ross had the top pick ... Cink |
Brian
Wacker |
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KENNY PERRY. I've fared pretty well with defending champs in the past (see: Luke Donald in 2009; Geoff Ogilvy this year in Hawaii). Perry makes perfect sense on other levels, too. He hits it straight and when he has the putter working, he makes birdies by the bushel.
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| If Wacker had the top pick ... Mahan |
Casey
Black |
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RICKY BARNES. Having a great year, he's cracked the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. He's coming off a tie for 27th at the U.S. Open and has only played this event once, opening up with a 65 and finishing with a 69. He should be pretty competitive.
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| If Black had the top pick ... Barnes |
Mike
McAllister |
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Padraig Harrington. Europeans have won the last three PGA TOUR events. Can Harrington make it four straight? He doesn't have much of a history at Hartford, but he's coming off a T22 at the U.S. Open, and he needs to ramp up his game for St. Andrews.
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| If McAllister had the top pick ... Mahan |
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| Standings after Week 24 |
LAST WEEK: Mike McAlister picked his third consecutive top-10 finisher and moved up a spot into fourth place.
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| Position |
Name |
Wins |
Top-5s |
Top-10s |
Top-25s |
FedExCup points |
| 1 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
5 |
6 |
9 |
13 |
3280.83 |
| 2 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
7 |
7 |
9 |
1825.03 |
| 3 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
2 |
4 |
10 |
1628.48 |
| 4 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
1436.49 |
| 5 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
1 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
1401.22 |
| 6 |
John Swantek
Host, On The Tee |
1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
1250.08 |
| 7* |
Anne Szeker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
3 |
3 |
5 |
643.66 |
| 8* |
Casey Black
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
- |
2 |
2 |
2 |
426.50 |
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