March 07, 2012
PGA TOUR staff
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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.
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| Expert picks: Puerto Rico Open |
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John
Schwarb |  |  | JEFF OVERTON. A T18 at The Honda was his best finish of the young season and he'll better that at Puerto Rico, where he was T15 in 2010 and eighth in 2009. This is an excellent spot to go ahead and notch that first PGA TOUR victory. | Brian
Wacker |  |  | MICHAEL BRADLEY. He's won in Puerto Rico twice before and is a combined 30 under in those two victories. In his other appearance, he tied for 15th. This is a case of horses for courses and Bradley's a thoroughbred there. | Anne
Szeker |  |  | DICKY PRIDE. He's only made two starts this season on the PGA TOUR, but he's made the most of them. He finished T5 at Mayakoba and an impressive T7 at The Honda. Should shine at this opposite field event. | John
Swantek |  |  | KEVIN STADLER. All trends pointing in the right direction for "little" Stads; T25, T24, T16, T9 (Honda Classic) in his last 4 starts. He's also finished inside the top 20 the last two years in Puerto Rico, which is setting up nicely as a potential breakthrough venue. | Helen
Ross |  |  | VAUGHN TAYLOR. His two PGA TOUR wins came in the same opposite-field event (the Reno-Tahoe Open), and he comes to another playing well with top-20s in his last two starts at The Honda and Mayakoba. | Chris
Dunham |  |  | BEN CURTIS. He's made just one start so far this season, (fewest at this point since 2003), but I'll take a flyer on the three-time TOUR winner and '03 Champion Golfer of the Year who tied for 15th in his lone start here (2008). | Ryan
Smithson |  |  | RYO ISHIKAWA. Yes, he is in the field at Trump International. Absolutely impossible to predict: He's had a hard time in his 30-some starts on the PGA TOUR, but yet, looked really good at Torrey Pines and at World Golf Championships-Accenture. | Mike
McAllister |  |  | MATT EVERY. Talk about a guy who's been either hit or miss this year. Every's made five starts and has two top 10s and three missed cuts. Which Every shows up this week? I'm thinking it's the guy who tied for third at Mayakoba a couple of weeks ago. | Lauren
Deason |  |  | HENRIK STENSON. Made his first PGA TOUR start of the year at The Honda Classic and finished T21. His last start in 2011 was a T12 at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. A turnaround could be under way for the Swede. | Amanda
Balionis |  |  | BILLY HORSCHEL. Missed the cut on the Nationwide Tour in Panama, but before that had top-30 finishes in Colombia and in Mexico on the PGA TOUR. He'll continue his travels and have a good showing here. |
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| Standings after Week 9 |
LAST WEEK: The Experts shined with four picks in the top-5 at The Honda, with Amanda Balionis taking the top prize with Rory McIlroy -- and the top spot in the standings:
| | Position | Name | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s | Top-25s | MCs | FedExCup points | | 1 | Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1160.25 | | 2 | Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1004.24 | | 3 | Ryan Smithson
Site Producer | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 968.25 | | 4 | Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 846.00 | | 5 | Mike McAllister
Managing Editor | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 833.10 | | 6 | Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 605.05 | | 7 | John Swantek
Host, On The Tee | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 503.00 | | 8 | Anne Szeker
Site Producer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 343.25 | | 9 | Brian Wacker
Site Producer | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 317.96 | | 10 | John Schwarb
Site Producer | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 314.50 | |
The PGA TOUR travels to Trump International GC for the Puerto Rico Open this week. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
