Sleeper Picks: Transitions Championship

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Mar. 16, 2010

The PGA TOUR heads to Florida's Gulf coast for the Transitions Championship this week. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts size up the top contenders:

EXPERT PICKS
How it works: Our 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. The player who wins the previous week picks last the following week. Click here
SLEEPER PICKS
Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? Here's how our experts see it.
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Sleeper picks: Transitions Championship

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Mike McAllister			CHARLES HOWELL III. Howell's best results in 2009 were a couple of ties for second, including at Transitions. With three top-10s already on his resume this year, he should be coming in this week with full confidence.
Brian Wacker			JASON DUFNER. Dufner has very quietly registered three top-20s this season, including one at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, where he shot a final-round 65. He also tied for 17th in Tampa last year.
Nick Zaccardi			BRYCE MOLDER. T10, T8, T7. Those are Molder's last three results. I'll take anything close to that, as I'm still looking for my first top-25 sleeper but thankfully am no longer in the cellar.
John Swantek			RYO ISHIKAWA. Armed with three assets that are crucial to winning on TOUR for the first time; talent, confidence and a high school diploma. Makes the long trip over from the Far East and makes an impact this week.
Helen Ross			JOHN SENDEN. He shot 9 under and tied for 11th at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship last week so he's obviously playing well. Not to mention, he's been runner-up at Innisbrook two of the last three years.
Anne Szeker			STEVE WHEATCROFT. The Nationwide Tour grad has improved from early-season missed cuts to almost winning in Puerto Rico. He also picked up a T17 at the Honda. This could be the week he breaks through.
Ryan Smithson			JAMES NITTIES. He's had a miserable year so far, so his tie for third last week was surprising. His sand-save percentage (38 percent) rivals an 18 handicapper, but his iron game is a good match for Copperhead.
Lauren Deason			TREVOR IMMELMAN. Immelman has appeared in commercials for Transitions lenses, but the 2008 Masters champ hasnt done much on the course since wrist surgery last year. His fellow South Africans did well last week, though, so maybe hell be inspired.

Standings after Week 7

TWO WEEKS AGO: Nobody picked up a top-25 at The Honda Classic, allowing Ryan Smithson to hold onto the lead:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	1	1	1	371.92
2	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	-	1	1	1	270.33
3	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	2	2	2	254.5
4	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	1	2	199.33
5	Nick Zaccardi Associate Site Producer. PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	-	169
6	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	1	1	152.5
7	John Swantek Host, PGA TOUR Today	-	-	1	1	156.33
8*	Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	-	-	-	-	-