July 17, 2012
PGA TOUR staff
The PGA TOUR travels to Annandale Golf Club for the True South Classic. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
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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: True South Classic |
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Mike
McAllister |  |  | BRENDON DE JONGE. He enters this week having made 13 consecutive cuts, with three top-20 finishes in his last four starts. No player in the field has a higher all-around ranking than de Jonge, who's 21st on the PGA TOUR in that category. | | | Ryan
Smithson |  |  | CHRIS KIRK. My original pick, Brian Harman, withdrew Tuesday. So it's either the defending champ -- or Dicky Pride. Pride's had a great year but plays better on tougher courses. Kirk has had a disappointing season, but he was still T5 at Colonial. We'll see. | | If Smithson had the top pick ... De Jonge | Anne
Szeker |  |  | BUD CAULEY. Last year's True South Classic provided us with a rookie breakthrough in Chris Kirk, and Bud Cauley is in position to do the same this week. He's had mixed results this season, but last year finished T4 here. | | If Szeker had the top pick ... Cauley | John
Swantek |  |  | LUKE GUTHRIE. What a start to his PGA TOUR career for the former Big Ten player of the year at the University of Illinois. He was T19 in Memphis and T5 at last week's John Deere since turning pro. No reason that trend won't continue this week. | | If Swantek had the top pick ... Cauley | Helen
Ross |  |  | J.J. HENRY. He broke 70 three times last week at TPC Deere Run before tying for 13th. Granted, his two top-10s at Annandale came early in this decade, but if Henry can put four rounds together he could be in for a stellar ride. | | If Ross had the top pick ... De Jonge | Amanda
Balionis |  |  | BRIAN GAY. Making his 12th start at the True South Classic, and he's notched three top-25 finishes here, including a runner up-finish in 2008. It's been a rough three weeks for Gay, missing his last three consecutive starts, but coming back to a course he is familiar with could turn his season around. | | If Balionis had the top pick ... Guthrie | Chris
Dunham |  |  | ROCCO MEDIATE. Maybe I fell asleep listening to INXS last night but something's got me thinking "Mediate" this week. There aren't many better records here: Seven starts, seven top-25 finishes. | | If Dunham had the top pick ... De Jonge | Bill
Cooney |  |  | TOMMY GAINEY. Two Gloves just seems like the logical choice in the heat and humidity of Madison, Miss. Plus, he's coming off a T13 at the John Deere Classic and finished T7 here last season. I'm hoping I'm catching him at just the right time. | | If Cooney had the top pick ... De Jonge | Lauren
Deason |  |  | D.J. TRAHAN. In the midst of a rough year, but very few players have enjoyed the success Trahan has had at Annandale. His win here in 2006 is one of four top-15 finishes in his career in Mississippi. | | If Deason had the top pick ... De Jonge | Brian
Wacker |  |  | BLAKE ADAMS. He has a half-dozen top 25s this year, and four of them have come in his last six starts -- meaning he's headed the right direction. He also tied for ninth in this event last year. | | If Wacker had the top pick ... Adams | John
Schwarb |  |  | KEN DUKE. One of the underrated stories of the year is this journeyman showing staying power on TOUR at age 43. He's 41st in FedExCup points with six top-10s and -- a fact that may only interest me -- five T7s. | | If Schwarb had the top pick ... De Jonge | |
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| Standings after 28 events |
LAST WEEK: After an entire year in the cellar, John Schwarb finally hit paydirt with his selection of Zach Johnson last week. Points leader Ryan Smithson's missed cut with Sean O'Hair caused him to lose a lot of ground:
| | Position | Name | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s | Top-25s | MCs | FedExCup points | | 1 | Ryan Smithson
Site Producer | 4 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 3336.00 | | 2 | Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator | 3 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 2800.49 | | 3 | Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today | 1 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 2123.25 | | 4 | Brian Wacker
Site Producer | 2 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 1971.53 | | 5 | John Swantek
Host, On The Tee | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 1908.90 | | 6 | John Schwarb
Site Producer | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 1684.15 | | 7 | Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 1680.74 | | 8 | Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 1655.20 | | 9 | Mike McAllister
Managing Editor | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 1628.35 | | 10 | Anne Szeker
Site Producer | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 1364.83 | | 11 | *Bill Cooney
Site Producer | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 739.50 | |
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