Jul. 17, 2012
The PGA TOUR travels to Royal Lytham & St. Annes for the British Open. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:
MAKE YOUR PICK: Tell us who you expect to win at Royal Lytham
EXPERT PICKS: True South Classic | YOUR PICKS: True South
| Expert picks: British Open |
Mike
McAllister |
 |
 |
TIGER WOODS. 1. He's due for another major win. 2. His refined swing changes should allow him to adapt to any and all course and weather conditions; 3. He says British Open is his favorite major; and 4. Did I mention that he's due? |
|
Ryan
Smithson |
 |
 |
GRAEME MCDOWELL. Still mad at myself for taking Stricker over him for Olympic. Not making that mistake again. Graeme is an excellent bad-weather player for bunker-heavy Royal Lytham. Has enjoyed a sneaky good year with a pair of seconds. Major tested. |
| If Smithson had the top pick ... McDowell |
Anne
Szeker |
 |
 |
PADRAIG HARRINGTON. Harrington thrives in bad weather and Lytham is where he played his first British Open. He's found some consistency lately with four top-15s on TOUR and tied for 16th in his last start on the European Tour. |
| If Szeker had the top pick ... Woods |
John
Swantek |
 |
 |
JUSTIN ROSE. Has any player produced a superb season as quietly as Rose? 12th in the FedExCup, he won a World Golf Championship, finished T8 at the Masters and T21 at the U.S. Open. Now, the Englishman may quietly win his first major. |
| If Swantek had the top pick ... Woods |
Helen
Ross |
 |
 |
ERNIE ELS. There are a lot of good players still out there, but Els has 12 top-10s in 21 British Open starts, including a win, three seconds and two thirds. One runner-up finish came at Lytham in 1996 and he was third here in 2001. |
| If Ross had the top pick ... Woods |
Amanda
Balionis |
 |
 |
LUKE DONALD. The Englishman's game is in top form heading into his 12th British Open. Donald is coming off solid play at the Scottish Open, where he finished 16th. Before missing the cut at the U.S. Open, Donald reeled off three consecutive top-12 finishes. |
| If Balionis had the top pick ... Woods |
Chris
Dunham |
 |
 |
LEE WESTWOOD. Look for Westwood to be closer to his top-3 finishes in 2009 and 2010 than his missed cut a year ago in this championship. I don't know if or when he will break through for a major victory, but I believe in him. |
| If Dunham had the top pick ... Woods |
Bill
Cooney |
 |
 |
SERGIO GARCIA. Earlier this year, Sergio said "I'm not good enough" to win a major. Well, I'm here to say he's wrong. He's placed in the top 10 seven times in the past 11 British Opens. He's too good of a ball-striker. Sergio, you are good enough. |
| If Cooney had the top pick ... Harrington |
Lauren
Deason |
 |
 |
ADAM SCOTT. He just celebrated his 32nd birthday this week. The Aussie is quietly having a solid season with six top-25s, including a solo third in his last start and a T15 at the U.S. Open. |
| If Deason had the top pick ... Woods |
Brian
Wacker |
 |
 |
RORY MCILROY. He's too good not to win a British Open, and his tie for 10th at the Irish Open is a sign McIlroy's game is trending in the right direction. He recovered from that horrific final round at Augusta last year, and he's starting to pull out of this mini-slump too. |
| If Wacker had the top pick ... McIlroy |
John
Schwarb |
 |
 |
JASON DUFNER. The two-time winner this year is well-rested, his last start was a T4 at the U.S. Open. Somehow I just see him really comfortable in what could be a down-and-dirty week at Royal Lytham. Fans should warm to him quickly, too. |
| If Schwarb had the top pick ... Dufner |
|
|
| Standings after 28 events |
LAST WEEK: After an entire year in the cellar, John Schwarb finally hit paydirt with his selection of Zach Johnson last week. Points leader Ryan Smithson's missed cut with Sean O'Hair caused him to lose a lot of ground:
|
| Position |
Name |
Wins |
Top-5s |
Top-10s |
Top-25s |
MCs |
FedExCup points |
| 1 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer |
4 |
10 |
11 |
18 |
3 |
3336.00 |
| 2 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator |
3 |
6 |
8 |
16 |
3 |
2800.49 |
| 3 |
Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
1 |
6 |
12 |
15 |
8 |
2123.25 |
| 4 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer |
2 |
5 |
6 |
11 |
5 |
1971.53 |
| 5 |
John Swantek
Host, On The Tee |
1 |
4 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
1908.90 |
| 6 |
John Schwarb
Site Producer |
1 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
5 |
1684.15 |
| 7 |
Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator |
1 |
3 |
5 |
15 |
3 |
1680.74 |
| 8 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents |
0 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
6 |
1655.20 |
| 9 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor |
1 |
3 |
5 |
12 |
5 |
1628.35 |
| 10 |
Anne Szeker
Site Producer |
0 |
2 |
9 |
15 |
1 |
1364.83 |
| 11 |
*Bill Cooney
Site Producer |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
739.50 | |