Sleeper Picks: Shell Houston Open

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Mar. 30, 2011

The PGA TOUR travels to Redstone Golf Club this week for the Shell Houston Open. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized 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. To see who our experts picked, click here.
SLEEPER PICKS
Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top picks, which have the best chance as sleepers?

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Sleeper picks: Shell Houston Open

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Helen Ross			J.J. HENRY. He hasn't missed a cut in nine starts this season, ranks 17th on TOUR in total driving and he's coming off a tie for 12th at Bay Hill. Here's hoping Henry's consistency is rewarded at Redstone this week.
Ryan Smithson			SCOTT VERPLANK. Purely a Texas pick. Even though Redstone stretches well past the 7,000 yard mark, guys like Verplank can stay around with a solid putting week. Hybrids have really helped some of the shorter hitters negate the bomber advantage.
Lauren Deason			DAVIS LOVE III. With a renewed energy for golf after being named 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, Love has made seven cuts in eight starts. He currently ranks 18th on TOUR in driving distance which will come in handy on this long course.
John Schwarb			D.J. TRAHAN. With a T12 last week at Bay Hill, the former Clemson Tiger is waking up from a slow start to 2011. He's T11 and 8th in his last two starts at Redstone, which sets up well for his long game.
Brian Wacker			VAUGHN TAYLOR. Augusta, Ga. native again needs to win to get into the Masters (he nearly did last year but lost in a playoff). Taylor is a good putter, which plays well here -- assuming he found a replacement for the one he threw in the water last week.
Anne Szeker			KYLE STANLEY. Stanley has made eight cuts in nine starts his rookie season. The 2010 q-school graduate ranks seventh in total birdies, second in total eagles and 23rd in driving distance -- all good qualities on this 7,500-yard track.
Amanda Balionis			BRENDON DE JONGE. Just like a year ago, de Jonge is keeping busy and having great success. He's already played in nine events this season, made seven cuts and notched five top-25 finishes. Ranks third on TOUR in total birdies.
Mike McAllister			BLAKE ADAMS. Played well last year in his four starts in Texas, including a T14 at Redstone. His results this year have been nothing to smile about, although he's at least made the cut in his last three starts.
Chris Dunham			JUSTIN LEONARD. He's been solid here historically, not missing a cut since 2006. I look at his T17 and T20 in two starts prior to Bay Hill more than last week's missed cut in an event he hadn't played since 2002.
John Swantek			FRED COUPLES. The 51-year-old Cougar (University of Houston Cougar, that is!) always saves his best for a few PGA TOUR starts -- remember his 36-hole lead at the Northern Trust Open? The 2003 champ also finished in the top 6 in 2008 and '09.

Standings after nine events

LAST WEEK: Anne Szeker vaulted from sixth to third with Sam Saunders' T30 finish at Bay Hill:
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	0	2	2	3	516.97
2	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	1	1	230.00
3	Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	2	224.00
4	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	3	222.50
5	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	3	211.00
6	Chris Dunham Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	2	2	2	207.05
7	John Schwarb Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	1	1	157.00
8	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	0	1	84.57
9	John Swantek Host, On The Tee	0	0	0	0	23.00
10*	Amanda Balionis Host, PGA TOUR Today	0	0	0	0	10.50