Picks: Accenture Match Play Championship

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T.J. Auclair
PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer
Pick: Ernie Els
Els hasn't come close to ever winning the Accenture Match Play Championship, which is surprising when you consider he's a two-time winner in the European Tour's HSBC World Match Play Championship (played at his home course, Wentworth). Furthermore, in seven starts at the Accenture Match Play Championship the Big Easy has failed to make it beyond the first round on four occasions. So what makes him the favorite this week? Your guess is as good as mine. If he meets Tiger in the semifinals all bets are off. The fact of the matter is all the guy's I've picked this year (save Tiger at the Buick Invitational) have let me down. This week I'm going with someone I'm not expecting a ton from with the hopes that he can surprise me. And, as the adage goes, "anything can happen in match play."

Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator
Pick: Geoff Ogilvy
I'm going with the obvious pick here and, surprisingly, his name doesn't start with a T. Ogilvy's record in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship has been nearly spotless. In just two appearances, he's won once and finished second. The 2006 U.S. Open champion hasn't made a cut this season but with his consistently strong showing in match-play competition -- he beat Steve Stricker at The 2007 Presidents Cup in head-to-head Singles -- this week should turn his year around.

Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.com Correspondent
Pick: Scott Verplank
No matter how much I want to pick Tiger, we can only do it seven times in his 16-tournament year. Funky format, always filled with surprises so... we'll save Tiger. Yes, Chad Campbell and Phil Mickelson are formidable. Yet, it doesn't get tougher than Verplank, who has a stunning match play record in Ryder and Presidents Cups. We won't mention that U.S. Amateur.

Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent
Pick: Geoff Ogilvy
Obviously the Aussie is a huge fan of this format, given his victory in 2006 and runner-up finish in 2007. Look for the former United States Open champion to cement his reputation as one of the world's best in mano-a-mano duels.

John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor
Pick: Phil Mickelson
Trying to pick a winner at the Accenture Match Play Championship is like throwing darts blindfolded. Obviously any time that Tiger is in the field he is a favorite -- but maybe not this week. Match play is a lost art, honed through years of learning the strategy and, well, let's face it, gambling. I don't know if Phil plays a lot of $2 Nassaus but he certainly is one heck of a match play player. Look for Lefty to go back to back this week. Sunday at Riviera was all but match-play anyway.

Win McMurry
Host, PGA TOUR Today
Pick: Steve Stricker
It's hard to not go with top-ranked Tiger, who's won 25 of the 31 matches he's played at Accenture, but 2001 champion Stricker isn't scared of taking down the big boys. Stricker is a top seed for the first time -- but he's won when he's ranked 55th out of the 64 spots. Solo second at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and tied for fourth at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Stricker heads to Arizona off a tie for 11th at the Northern Trust Open.

Scott Pianowski
The Fantasy Insider
Pick: Scott Verplank
He's off a solid ball-striking week in L.A. (fifth at the Northern Trust Open), and he's got plenty of match-play moxie, as we've seen at the Ryder Cup and at the Presidents Cup. And while there are no gimmes in this field, Verplank doesn't have to worry about seeing Tiger for at least four rounds.

Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
Pick: Phil Mickelson
We're only allowed to pick Tiger Woods seven times, and this week is too unpredictable to squander one of those chances. Instead, I'm going with Phil Mickelson, who has been impressive over the last three weeks with a playoff loss and a win at the Northern Trust Open. He's never gone past the quarterfinals, but Mickelson enters this year's renewal as confident as ever. An Accenture Match Play Championship title would polish off his personal West Coast Swing.

Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
Pick: Phil Mickelson
He's the No. 2 seed, which is a combined 11-9 in the history of this event, and he's coming in with the Northern Trust Open title under his belt, a status that hasn't helped the winner at Riviera the last nine times in match-play competition. Nevertheless, Mickelson needs only this event for a clean sweep of West Coast events, and though his record in this tournament is spotty, we believe he's on his game and ready to win. Don't think his waxing of Vijay Singh in Presidents Cup singles last year, 5 and 4, isn't a boost as well.

John Swantek
PGA TOUR Productions Fantasy Insider
Pick: Padraig Harrington
The way this Irishman grinds his way around a golf course -- think of a European Steve Stricker - is the ideal style to meet the methodical demands of match play. His top TOUR rank in putts per round doesn't hurt, either. And I like Paddy's draw in the bottom half of the Snead bracket.