July 03, 2012
PGA TOUR staff
The PGA TOUR travels to the Old White TPC this week for The Greenbrier Classic. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
| Expert picks: The Greenbrier Classic |
|
John
Swantek |  |  | TIGER WOODS. No letdown in sight after three wins in the last seven starts for Woods, whose 27 percent winning percentage this season eclipses his career mark of 26 percent. Clearly, he is "back", and I have a strong feeling he's about to go back-to-back. | | | Amanda
Balionis |  |  | STUART APPLEBY. The 2010 Greenbrier champion missed the cut last year, but he's coming off his best finish of the year -- a T18 at Travelers -- and a week of rest. Hard to count out a guy who shot 59 at this course. | | If Balionis had the top pick ... Woods | Bill
Cooney |  |  | BRENDON DE JONGE. I'm willing to overlook his meltdown on Sunday at Congressional. He's playing well, and he's carded a third and a T4, respectively, at this event. His scoring average is a tidy 66.75 at Greenbrier so I'm hoping he cleans up again. | | If Cooney had the top pick ... Woods | Brian
Wacker |  |  | BILL HAAS. He lost in a playoff here a year ago and tends to play well on courses in this part of the country. With four missed cuts in his last six starts, returning here should spark a turnaround for the reigning FedExCup champ. | | If Wacker had the top pick ... Woods | Helen
Ross |  |  | WEBB SIMPSON. You can never go wrong picking the U.S. Open champion, especially when the win at The Olympic Club was his fifth top-10 of yet another consistent season. Simpson plays well at The Greenbrier, too, with a tie for ninth last year. | | If Ross had the top pick ... Simpson | Chris
Dunham |  |  | STEVE STRICKER. I don't follow many rules when making selections but there is one: Pick Stricker. He's won his first post-U.S. Open start each of the last three years. Granted, they were all John Deere Classics (next week's event). | | If Dunham had the top pick ... Stricker | Mike
McAllister |  |  | JIM FURYK. Some intriguing names still left on the board -- Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, to name two. But Furyk just seems on the verge of a win, and Greenbrier seems like one of those courses he should excel on. | | If McAllister had the top pick ... Woods | Ryan
Smithson |  |  | KEEGAN BRADLEY. I will take him anytime the TOUR visits a par 70 that requires a boatload of pars, and the Old White TPC fits the bill. My only worry? He's played four weeks in a row -- including a trip to the Irish Open -- so his gas tank has to be on low. | | If Smithson had the top pick ... Woods | Anne
Szeker |  |  | DUSTIN JOHNSON. Johnson's length (T12 on TOUR) should work well at Greenbrier's Old White TPC. It's his first appearance at this stop, and he's already pulled off one win on a course he'd never played before this year (TPC Southwind). | | If Szeker had the top pick ... Woods | John
Schwarb |  |  | PHIL MICKELSON. Been a long time since I've picked this late, but even with a bottom choice there's still a big name on the board. Granted, Phil missed the cut last year and has only one top 10 since the Masters, but you never know when he's going to break out. | | If Schwarb had the top pick ... Mickelson | Lauren
Deason |  |  | JOHN ROLLINS. The PGA TOUR leader in total driving has five top-10 finishes this season. He took last week off and should be ready to go in his second start at this event (T21 in 2010). | | If Deason had the top pick ... Woods | |
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| Standings after 26 events |
LAST WEEK: Lauren Deason inched closer to leader Ryan Smithson with her selection of Tiger Woods at the AT&T National. There's still some positioning to be had before the playoffs begin in eight weeks.
| | Position | Name | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s | Top-25s | MCs | FedExCup points | | 1 | Ryan Smithson
Site Producer | 4 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 3313.50 | | 2 | Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator | 3 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 2695.49 | | 3 | Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today | 1 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 2084.75 | | 4 | John Swantek
Host, On The Tee | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 1872.90 | | 5 | Brian Wacker
Site Producer | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1800.59 | | 6 | Mike McAllister
Managing Editor | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 1628.35 | | 7 | Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator | 1 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 1584.24 | | 8 | Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 1539.20 | | 9 | Anne Szeker
Site Producer | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 1313.33 | | 10 | John Schwarb
Site Producer | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1184.15 | | 11 | *Bill Cooney
Site Producer | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 672.50 | |
MAKE YOUR PICK: Tell us who you expect to win this week's event.
