Establishment (Estes) vs. Youth (Laird)

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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPEN: Rankings | Inside the field

One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the younger players and the established ones. How will the veteran players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigree -- fare against the hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?

Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running team tally throughout the year.

For the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, we've selected Bob Estes and Martin Laird, both former winners of the event. Unlike Laird, who has played a full season to this point, Estes, who has battled injury and last year finished 132nd on the money list, has made just nine starts this season. One of those was a playoff loss at The Greenbrier Classic.

Laird, on the other hand, won at Bay Hill earlier this season and finished 31st in the FedExCup standings, just missing last week's TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, after a half-dozen top-10s, including the win and a third-place finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He also lost in a playoff last year at this event when Jonathan Byrd made a walk-off hole-in-one.

ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 45 YEARS ON TOUR: This is the 23rd year on TOUR for Estes. He finished 132nd in money in 2010 and has made just nine starts this year as a result. In his career, he's made 584 starts. OVERVIEW: Estes is the definition of a grinder. He's been around for more than two decades and won four times, the last coming at the 2002 Kemper Insurance Open. During that time, he's finished outside the top 125 on the money list just three times. Two of those occasions have come since 2008, however, as he's battled a wrist injury. He has one top-10 this season, a playoff loss HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: He won the event in 2001 when it was known as the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas and has a good record otherwise with a tie for 18th in 2007, a tie for 11th in 2004 and ties for third in 1993 and 1992. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Estes is healthy again, but his last start on TOUR was at the Wyndham Championship, where he missed the cut. He also played in the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour two weeks ago, again missing the cut.   YOUTH AGE: 28 YEARS ON TOUR: This is Laird's fourth year on TOUR after spending 2004-06 playing the Nationwide Tour. OVERVIEW: Laird had a big run early this season with four top-10s, including a win, in five starts. The Swede has cooled off since then, but he is coming off a tie for 12th at the BMW Championship, which was his last start before being eliminated from the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: He won this tournament in 2009 with a birdie on the third playoff hole to beat George McNeill. A year later, Laird was on the losing end of a playoff when Jonathan Byrd made an ace on the par-3 17th, again the third extra hole, to win. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Laird didn't advance to East Lake, so he arrives in Las Vegas fresh. He also has just two finishes inside the top 30 in his last nine starts.

Here are the results of the previous matchups this year

Score/Finish Tournament   Score/Finish   Steve Stricker 20 under (T-4th) Hyundai TOC Dustin Johnson 14 under (T-9th)   Ernie Els 4 under (T-42nd) Sony Open Jason Day 8 under (T-20th) Stewart Cink 5 under (MC) Bob Hope Classic Bubba Watson 7 under (MC) Davis Love III 5 over (MC) Farmers Insurance Open Rickie Fowler 5 under (T20) Angel Cabrera 7 under (T-49th) Waste Management Phoenix Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (MC)     Padraig Harrington 2 over (T63) AT&T Pebble Beach National Dustin Johnson Even (T55) Jim Furyk 1 under (T35) Northern Trust Open Louis Oosthuizen 3 over (T62)     Vijay Singh 9 over (MC) The Honda Classic Anthony Kim 7 over (MC) Luke Donald 11 under (T6) WGC-Cadillac Championship Jhonattan Vegas 2 under (T31)   Sergio Garcia 7 under (T15) Transitions Championship Matteo Manassero 6 under (T20)   Phil Mickelson 1 under (T24) Arnold Palmer Invitational Graeme McDowell 9 over (MC)     Fred Couples Even (T60) Shell Houston Open Gary Woodland 10 under (T13) Tiger Woods 10 under (T4) The Masters Martin Kaymer 6 over (MC)   Justin Leonard 2 under (T30) Valero Texas Open Anthony Kim 7 over (MC)     Jim Furyk 5 under (T21) The Heritage Jason Day 7 under (T9) David Toms 7 under (T18) Zurich Classic of New Orleans Brandt Snedeker 2 over (MC)   Phil Mickelson 10 under (T9) Wells Fargo Championship Bubba Watson 3 under (T48)     Tiger Woods Withdrew THE PLAYERS Championship Charl Schwartzel 6 under (T26) Paul Goydos 5 under (T10) Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Jason Day 3 under (T31)     Vijay Singh 5 over (T27) HP Byron Nelson Championship Nick Watney 1 over (T8)   Jim Furyk 8 over (MC) the Memorial Tournament Bubba Watson 1 under (T42)   David Toms 5 over (MC) FedEx St. Jude Classic Camilo Villegas 8 under (3)   Ernie Els 6 over (MC) U.S. Open Graeme McDowell 2 under (T14)   Padraig Harrington 4 under (T63) Travelers Championship Aaron Baddeley 11 under (T24) K.J. Choi 11 under (2nd) AT&T National Adam Scott 9 under (T3)   Stewart Cink 3 under (MC) John Deere Classic Louis Oosthuizen 3 under (MC)   Tom Watson 6 over (T22) British Open Bubba Watson 9 over (T30)     Mike Weir (WD) RBC Canadian Open Matt McQuillan 5 over (T31)   Davis Love III 2 over (MC) The Greenbrier Classic Jeff Overton Even (T49) Steve Stricker 7 under (14) WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Nick Watney 2 under (T23)     Tiger Woods 10 over (MC) PGA Championship Dustin Johnson 7 over (MC) Davis Love III 11 under (T12) Wyndham Championship Bill Haas 2 under (MC)   Phil Mickelson 8 under (T43) The Barclays Keegan Bradley 1 over (MC)   Ernie Els 8 under (T16) Deutsche Bank Championship William McGirt 3 under (T42)   Jim Furyk Even (T22) BMW Championship Rickie Fowler 4 over (48th)   Vijay Singh Even (T16) TOUR Championship Webb Simpson 2 over (22ndth)