Jan. 20, 2009
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 sleeper picks:
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SLEEPER PICKS How it works: Our 10 experts from PGATOUR.COM select any player who isn't ranked in the top 20 of the FedExCup rankings, the top 30 of the Official World Golf Rankings and hasn't won that season. By using a draft process, no two picks can be the same. EXPERT PICKS Who do our experts think will capture the Sony Open in Hawaii title? Here's who they've picked to win. Click here |
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| Sleeper picks: The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer |
Brian Wacker |
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STEVE MARINO. Sure, Marino is laidback, but don't let that veil his drive to win. He has the attitude and is starting to show results, with a T7 and a T3 in his last two starts. And remember, he shot a fourth-round 66 here last year. |
Ceri Mobley |
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RYAN MOORE. He only had a couple of close calls last year, but one of them was at this event -- he tied for fifth, despite opening with a 75. |
Helen Ross |
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CHAD CAMPBELL. He's a former champion who's got to be raring to go after traveling all the way to Hawaii only to find out that he forgot to commit for the Sony Open in Hawaii. Look for Campbell to go low. |
John Swantek |
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KEN DUKE. He closed '08 with 11 top 25s in 13 starts and makes a ton of birdies (second on TOUR in '08). That's the perfect formula for the Bob Hope Classic. |
T.J. Auclair |
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DAVID DUVAL. The guy has shot 59 in this tournament before. Everybody's waiting for his return to the winners' circle since going away to oblivion after his '01 British Open win. He's beefed up his schedule in recent years, which tells me he wants to win again. |
Mark Spoor |
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CHARLIE WI. Wi tied for 22nd at this event last year, firing back-to-back 67s on the weekend to get there. This is his first event of '09, but he finished '08 with three top-15s in his last eight events.
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Mike McAllister |
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WEBB SIMPSON. I'm jumping on this rookie's bandwagon early ... and I'll be jumping on it often this season. You'll be hearing a lot from him the next few years. |
Ryan Smithson |
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DUSTIN JOHNSON. I like the fact that he was smart enough to skip last week. He'll be ready to go at the Bob Hope Classic. |
Win McMurry |
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HARRISON FRAZAR. He has three top-10s in his last five starts at this event. Plus, Frazar has good vibes returning to PGA West after carding a 59 on the Nicklaus Tournament course at q-school in the Fall en route to medalist honors. |
Lauren Deason |
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JESPER PARNEVIK. Experience is important at the five-day, multi-course event, and Parnevik has played in the Bob Hope Classic 12 times. He has one win there and three other top-5 finishes. |
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LAST WEEK: David Toms' run for the trophy gave PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents Helen Ross a sharp finish for a sleeper. 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:
| Standings after Week 2 |
| 1 |
Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
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1 |
- |
1 |
299 |
| 2 |
Mark Spoor Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
135 |
| 3 |
Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
- |
111 |
| 4 |
John Swantek Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
94 |
| 5 |
Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
85 |
| 6 |
Win McMurry Host, PGA TOUR Today |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
82 |
| 7 |
Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
75 |
| T8 |
T.J. Auclair Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
52 |
| T8 |
Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
52 |
| 10 |
Ceri Mobley Associate Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
30 |
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