Expert picks: The 50th Bob Hope Classic

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The PGA TOUR kicks off its six-week West Coast Swing in Palm Springs, Calif., at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. Here's who the PGATOUR.COM experts selected as to win:
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our picks were selected before the news came down Tuesday that Anthony Kim had withdrawn from this week's event due to a shoulder problem (click here for more information). We allowed Ceri Mobley, who had the No. 2 pick, to redraft. But we kept each expert's "If I had the first pick" choice as is. You can see that Kim was a popular choice.

EXPERT PICKS How it works: Our 10 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. SLEEPER PICKS Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top 10 picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? Here's how our experts see it.Click here

Expert picks: 50th Bob Hope Classic

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Brian Wacker JUSTIN LEONARD. Horses for courses is what it comes down to for Leonard. Not only is he coming off a T5 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, but Leonard was second at the Bob Hope last year, won it in 2005, T8 in 2003 and T6 in 2002.   Ceri Mobley SCOTT VERPLANK. Since my original pick, Anthony Kim, withdrew, I'm going with a veteran in his place. Scott Verplank tied for second here in '06, eighth in '07 and 22nd in '08. Plus he was T3 in his last TOUR start. If Mobley had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Helen Ross D.J. TRAHAN. He's 20 under in his last two starts, despite trouble reading the greens in Hawaii. Trahan will need to go much lower in the desert birdie-fest, but the defending champion is striking the ball well and should have a comfort zone when he returns. If Ross had the top pick ... Anthony Kim John Swantek STEVE MARINO. If you can't make birdies in bunches at the Hope, stay home. Marino bagged 440 of them last year, which was the best on TOUR. Too much game to go much longer without a win. If Swantek had the top pick ... Anthony Kim T.J. Auclair STEVE STRICKER. He doesn't play a ton on the West Coast, but when he does, he plays well. He's coming off a strong finish in his first start of the year, too. If Auclair had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Mark Spoor RYUJI IMADA. I'm playing pretty conservatively here. Imada tied for 16th in this tournament last year, plus he's started this season with back-to-back runs in the top 25. If Spoor had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Mike McAllister MIKE WEIR. In 2003, he won the Hope. In 2006, he tied for fifth. If the "every third year" rule remains in place, then you can expect to see the well-rested Canadian down the stretch Sunday afternoon. If McAllister had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Ryan Smithson KEVIN STREELMAN. This guy will make a billion birdies this week. Please, Kev, get the putter going, and we'll win this thing. If Smithson had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Win McMurry BILL HAAS. In four starts he's finished inside the top-35 every year. Plus he's coming off a strong showing at the Sony where he tied for ninth. Look for Haas to grab another top-10 this week. If McMurry had the top pick ... Anthony Kim Lauren Deason DAVID TOMS. He's carrying positive momentum into this week after a runner-up finish at the Sony Open. Plus Toms has never missed the cut in nine starts at the Bob Hope Classic, where he tied for third in 2003. If Deason had the top pick ... Anthony Kim

LAST WEEK: Zach Johnson's win helped PGATOUR.COM Site Producer Brian Wacker take the lead among our experts. Each week, we'll update the standings based on the FedExCup points accumulated by the players selected by our experts. Here's how it stands after Week 2: