July 05, 2011
PGA TOUR staff
The John Deere Classic is this week at TPC Deere Run. 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.
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. | | MORE: Power Rankings | Inside the Field | Inside the Course | FANTASY GOLF: Play our game -- FREE! | |
| Expert Picks: John Deere Classic |
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Chris
Dunham |  |  | STEVE STRICKER. The two-time defending champion doesn't have to birdie all 12 par-5s he tees off on like last year en route to victory. He just needs to continue to dominate TPC Deere Run like he has the last two years. | | | John
Swantek |  |  | JASON DAY. Rory McIlroy may be golf's brightest young star right now, but Day is not far behind. The Aussie is long, straight and a great putter. He's 13th in birdie average on TOUR, which will help him this week. | | If Swantek had the top pick ... Day | Amanda
Balionis |  |  | ZACH JOHNSON. Has finished in the top 35 in his last seven events. He's also done well at TPC Deere Run -- T21 last year and T2 in 2009. It's hard to bet against one of the best putters on TOUR. | | If Balionis had the top pick ... Johnson | Ryan
Smithson |  |  | DAVID TOMS. Leads the TOUR in driving accuracy and is second in GIR. He also hits it closer to the hole on average than any other TOUR player. He shot a final-round 64 at the Travelers, and will do well here if he can keep that momentum going. | | If Smithson had the top pick ... Stricker | Mike
McAllister |  |  | JONATHAN BYRD. In his seven starts in this event, Byrd has one win (2007), one tie for second (2003), has made every cut, has 24 (out of 28) rounds of par or better, and is a collective 70 under. | | If McAllister had the top pick ... Stricker | Helen
Ross |  |  | JOHN ROLLINS. He should be confident after that tie for second at the Travelers, his second top-10 in his last three starts. He ranks fourth in total driving and 21st in greens in regulation. If the putter cooperates, Rollins could challenge for his fourth PGA TOUR win. | | If Ross had the top pick ... Stricker | Lauren
Deason |  |  | STEVE MARINO. Has two second-place finishes this year, and showed his potential with a 63 in the third round of last week's AT&T National. He fell back Sunday with a 74, but it seems the 31-year-old is bound to break through soon. | | If Deason had the top pick ... Stricker | Anne
Szeker |  |  | CHARLES HOWELL III. Two straight T3 finishes in his last two starts, puts him at 10 top 20s this season. Seems like a safe bet with the solid season he's having. Ranks 11th in scoring average. | | If Szeker had the top pick ... Stricker | Brian
Wacker |  |  | STEWART CINK. A little bit of an unconventional play for this British Open champ to play the week before heading across the pond, but he's looking for momentum. Posted three top-20s in May. | | If Wacker had the top pick ... Stricker | John
Schwarb |  |  | HEATH SLOCUM. The four-time TOUR winner was T11 at the U.S. Open and T17 at the Travelers and now comes here after a week off. He likes TPC Deere Run, with two top-10s in 2006-07. | | If Schwarb had the top pick ... Day | |
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| Standings after 27 events |
LAST WEEK: John Schwarb joined the party this week, winning for the first time with Nick Watney at AT&T National to jump two spots in the standings. There was also a change at the top with Brian Wacker topping Mike McAllister.
| | Position | Name | Wins | Top-5s | Top-10s | Top-25s | FedExCup points | | 1 | Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM | 1 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 2540.91 | | 2 | Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 2401.71 | | 3 | Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM | 2 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 2301.55 | | 4 | Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM | 2 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2038.32 | | 5 | John Swantek
Host, On The Tee | 1 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 1740.11 | | 6 | Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM | 1 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 1552.10 | | 7 | John Schwarb
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 1414.87 | | 8 | Anne Szeker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM | 0 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 1243.82 | | 9 | Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 996.99 | | 10* | Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 435.00 | |
MAKE YOUR PICKS: Tell us who you think will win this week at TPC Deere Run.
