Expert picks: Valero Texas Open at La Cantera GC

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Editor's note: PGATOUR.com has tried to make our experts work a little harder when they make their picks each week. The favorite can be anyone in the field, although Tiger Woods could only be used seven times during the year. Sleepers can't have won in 2008 or had a top 10 in their last five starts. A sleeper can't be ranked in the top 30 in the field, either.

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T.J. Auclair
PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
Pick: Justin Leonard
How do you turn a great year into a magnificent year? If you're Justin Leonard, it means multiple wins, which he has a wonderful opportunity to accomplish this week in San Antonio. Leonard, winner of the Stanford St. Jude Championship earlier this year and a member of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team, is the defending champion this week at the Valero Texas Open. I love Leonard's chances. In 10 starts, the Texan has amassed three wins and two runner-up finishes. The trend will continue this week.

Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator
Pick: Davis Love III
He finished in a tie for third last week even after opening with a 75 at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Thanks to a 66 on Saturday that was sandwiched between rounds of 70, Love managed his first top-10 finish since August 2007. Last year, Justin Leonard had a comeback of sorts when he won the Valero Texas Open, Leonard's first PGA TOUR victory in two years. Can Love, who last won in 2006, do the same this year?

Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Pick: Justin Leonard
You'd pick against him? He has an impeccable record at the event. He's the defending champ and has played so well, he has to be the favorite. He's rested from the Ryder Cup and knows this course. It's the perfect way to usher the Texas Open out of the fall and into the new spring spot.

Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
Pick: Dean Wilson
He's solid as can be at La Cantera with finishes of tied for sixth, tied for second, seventh and tied for third. He's never been worse than 12-under par over the course of 72 holes there. One more birdie a round will do it.

John Maginnes
PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Pick: Davis Love III
Finally, Davis Love III has started to play like Davis Love III. His strong finish at the Turning Stone Resort Championship will undoubtedly give him the confidence that he has been lacking lately. Obviously, the golf course -- and particularly the greens at La Cantera -- will be quite different from those the boys faced in upstate New York. For Davis, that is a good thing. Bermuda greens fit right into his game, and so do the expected warm temperatures. Watch for Davis to continue to push the sun back up into the sky in San Antonio.

Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
Pick: Justin Leonard
Look for this Texan to successfully defend in San Antonio as he continues to ride his Ryder Cup momentum.

Scott Pianowski
The Fantasy Insider
Pick: Justin Leonard
Pete Sampras at Wimbledon. Reggie Jackson in October. Justin Leonard at the Valero Texas Open. Some connections are so obvious, it's silly to go in any other direction.

Helen Ross
PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
Pick: Justin Leonard
A successful title defense is not unprecedented since Leonard did it in 2000 and 2001. Not to mention, he's got to be consumed with positive vibes coming back to La Cantera where he ended a two-year victory drought and jump-started a run to the Ryder Cup team.

Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.COM Senior Correspondent
Pick: Chad Campbell
Oh, we know the virtues of Justin Leonard's game at La Cantera. But he can't win them all. (Can he?) Campbell fits the profile for this event; mainly, he's from Texas, and Texas guys do very well in this event. Plus, we think his star continues to be back on the rise, as is his game, after the Ryder Cup.

John Swantek
PGA TOUR Productions Fantasy Insider
Pick: Rory Sabbatini
He hasn't cracked the top-10 since January and was a non-factor at the majors and in the Playoffs, but I'm just feeling a Sabbatini surge this week. The irrefutable fact remains; he's as talented as any player in this field and, if motivated, I just can't see the brash South African going an entire year without making any noise - with his mouth or his clubs.