Expert Picks: Shell Houston Open

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Mar. 29, 2011

The PGA TOUR travels to Redstone Golf Club this week for the Shell Houston Open. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:

MAKE YOUR PICK: Tell us who you expect to win this week's Shell Houston Open:

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? To see who our experts picked, click here.

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Expert picks: Shell Houston Open

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Helen Ross			LEE WESTWOOD. The world No. 2 has played at the Shell Houston Open four times and has tied for 11th and eighth the last two years. With the season's first major on the horizon, look for Westwood to be on top of his game.

Ryan Smithson			STEVE STRICKER. I am still bitter that I didn't get Martin Laird last week. That won't be his last win this year. Tough tournament to pick this week; I wanted a medium hitter that putts well. Stricker fits the bill at the Redstone Course. He's also past due.
If Smithson had the top pick ... Stricker
Lauren Deason			PHIL MICKELSON. With continuing efforts to make Redstone GC play more like Augusta National, who better to pick than a man with three green jackets? Mickelson's game isn't as far off as people think and he'll show it this week.
If Deason had the top pick ... Mickelson
John Schwarb			MATT KUCHAR. From my lousy spot in the standings, I need a home run or at least a solid double. Kuchar's almost certain for the latter, with five top-7s in seven starts, and seems due for the former.
If Schwarb had the top pick ... Kuchar
Brian Wacker			BEN CRANE. He leads the TOUR in greens in regulation, is 28th in putting average and third in birdie average. My only concern is a rib injury that forced him to pull out of the WGC-Cadillac a couple weeks ago. By all accounts, though, he's ready to go.
If Wacker had the top pick ... Kuchar
Anne Szeker			SPENCER LEVIN. Going with the hot hand this week. He's had three-top tens in his last six starts, including a T6 last week at Bay Hill. Levin has only had one finish outside the top 15 since the first week of February. He ranks third in scoring average.
If Szeker had the top pick ... Westwood
Amanda Balionis			LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN. The TOUR rookie and reigning British Open champion knows it's time to get his game into form with the year's first major just one week away. His T18 at TPC Blue Monster in his last start was encouraging.
If Balionis had the top pick ... Westwood
Mike McAllister			CHARL SCHWARTZEL. A year ago, he finished T3 at Redstone after posting a T52 at Bay Hill. I'm hoping for a similar rebound after last week's T47. Seems to be struggling to find his form in America, but he's a world-class player ranked 29th in the OWGR.
If McAllister had the top pick ... Westwood
Chris Dunham			HUNTER MAHAN. A win this week and he can quit his part-time gig working in a hot dog stand at the turn. Mahan hasn't gone back-to-back starts without a top 10 this season and I don't expect him to start now.
If Dunham had the top pick ... Mahan
John Swantek			MARC LEISHMAN. He was the best player at Bay Hill over the weekend, leading the field in putting for the week. The big Aussie has the touch -- ranked 9th in scrambling -- to handle Redstone's big, undulating greens.
If Swantek had the top pick ... Leishman

Standings after 13 events

LAST WEEK: John Swantek notched the panel's second victory of 2011 and moved into second place with Martin Laird at Bay Hill:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	1	5	5	9	1761.88
2	John Swantek Host, On The Tee	1	3	4	7	970.08
3	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	4	6	6	862.90
4	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	3	8	718.08
5	Chris Dunham Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	2	6	7	674.99
6	Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	2	7	538.54
7	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	2	3	6	529.82
8	John Schwarb Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	2	6	446.37
9	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	3	5	399.40
10*	Amanda Balionis Host, PGA TOUR Today	0	0	0	0	37.50