Sleepers: Mercedes-Benz Championship

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It's a new year ... and a new format for PGATOUR.com's weekly expert picks and sleeper selections. We've changed the list of experts who are doing the selecting, as well as the process by which we make our picks.

This year, we are taking a page from fantasy sports and "drafting" our picks. That way, we won't have every expert jumping on the most obvious sleeper in the field.

Instead, the expert with the top pick can choose any player who qualifies as a sleeper. The expert with the second pick can choose any sleeper except the No. 1 pick. The expert with the third pick can choose any sleeper except the first two picks ... and so on through the 10 picks.

Who qualifies as a sleeper selection? Generally, it will be 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. Since the Mercedes-Benz Championship is a limited-field and the season opener, we've adjusted the sleeper designation to include all players who weren't selected among the regular expert picks.

And who will do the picking? Here are our 10 experts this year (in alphabetical order):

T.J. Auclair, Interactive Producer, PGATOUR.com
Lauren Deason, Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.com
Mike McAllister, Managing Editor, PGATOUR.com
Win McMurry, Host, PGA TOUR Today
Ceri Mobley, Associate Producer, PGATOUR.com
Helen Ross, Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.com
Ryan Smithson, Producer, PGATOUR.com
Mark Spoor, Coordinating Producer, PGATOUR.com
John Swantek, Fantasy Insider, PGA TOUR Productions
Brian Wacker, Producer, PGATOUR.com

All right, now that the explanations are out of the way, here are the sleeper picks for this week's Mercedes-Benz Championship in Maui (the order was determined by random selection).

Sleeper picks: Mercedes-Benz Championship

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Lauren Deason ADAM SCOTT. A risky pick since the injury-prone Scott hurt his knee while running out of the surf at the beach in December. Even on one leg, though, Scott's an excellent choice since he's never finished outside the top 10 at Kapalua. Win McMurry MARC TURNESA. The late-season victory last year in Vegas gave the candidate for 2008 Rookie of the Year confidence he'll take into 2009. Look for him to continue to capitalize on his first trip to Kapalua. Mark Spoor ZACH JOHNSON. Johnson found his swing during the 2008 Fall finish, winning the Valero Texas Open. Call it a hunch, but I think Zach comes back big in 2009 and it starts at Kapalua. Brian Wacker JOHNSON WAGNER. A few years ago when Wagner was in q-school, a friend of his told me to watch out for Wagner. He showed up on the radar last year with a win in Houston. He's still worth watching. Mike McAllister ERNIE ELS. Yes, I know he hasn't played here since '05. I also know last season left more questions than answers. But Els and Kapalua are made for each other -- he has finished third or better (with one win) in four of his five starts on the Plantation Course. Ceri Mobley PARKER McLACHLIN. OK, he's not from Maui, but he is Hawaiian. This is his first chance playing in the Aloha State's winners-only tournament, but he tied for 10th last year in Oahu. John Swantek TREVOR IMMELMAN. He finished third in his only appearance in this event in 2007, and -- last time I checked -- he was the reigning Masters champion. Helen Ross CARL PETTERSSON. The three-time TOUR winner has played this course before, so he won't be bright-eyed at the scenery. Plus, no one has picked a Euro yet... T.J. Auclair RYUJI IMADA. After enjoying a career year in 2008 highlighted by his first win, I expect Imada to pick up where he left off. Ryan Smithson DUSTIN JOHNSON. Hawaii was good to him last year, and he's a much better putter than you think. He simply needs to hit his short irons better.