Sleeper Picks: Northern Trust Open

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Feb. 15, 2011

The PGA TOUR travels to Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open this week. 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 the picks, 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: Northern Trust Open

Expert	Pick order	Player selected
Lauren Deason			CHRIS STROUD. He hasn't gotten off to a great start this year and doesn't have a stellar record at Riviera. With that being said, once this Texan gets on a roll, he's dangerous. Case in point: Stroud rattled off four top-25s in eight starts to end 2010.
Anne Szeker			ANDRES ROMERO. Not off to a stellar start this season, but he has played well here in the past. He finished T5 last year and T3 the year before. Hopefully he feels the good vibes from those years before and cashes a big check.
John Swantek			ALEX CEJKA. The German has a nice west coast swing in the works -- T13 at the Bob Hope Classic and T21 last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. A streaky player who should keep it going for one more week.
Chris Dunham			CHARLIE WI. If you can putt, you can contend anywhere. Wi finished 13th in putts per round last year and 21st in total putting. It's no wonder he was one of just five players to post three rounds in the 60s to close out this event in 2010.
Helen Ross			KEEGAN BRADLEY. This big-hitting rookie certainly has found his comfort zone with top-25 finishes in his last three starts, including a T15 last week as his aunt Pat Bradley looked on. Maybe Riviera member Amy Alcott will be this week's lucky charm.
John Schwarb			MARC LEISHMAN. OK, I'll bite on Rob Bolton's Power Rankings and take the Aussie, who is 4-for-4 on cuts made this season with three top-30 finishes. That's what we look for in sleepers -- (hopefully) sure points.
Ryan Smithson			TOM GILLIS. At 42, just hitting his stride on TOUR after toiling for 20 years. Finished solo third last week at Pebble Beach, so he's absolutely playing with house money. Cracked the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking last week.
Brian Wacker			BO VAN PELT. He's missed three of four cuts this year, but he had eight top-10s a year ago and tied for 15th in L.A. He also drives it straight (hitting 65 percent of his fairways in 2010) and that will play well at Riviera.
Mike McAllister			KEVIN SUTHERLAND. He's hung around the top 20 in his last three starts at Riviera, and as a California native, he obviously feels at home in the Golden State. Hopefully there are no lingering effects from his final-round 79 at Pebble Beach.

Standings after Week 5

LAST WEEK: With Tom Gillis posting a solo third-place finish, Lauren Deason picked up the best sleeper pick of the young season and took over the points lead.
Position	Name	Wins	Top-5s	Top-10s	Top-25s	FedExCup points
1	Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	1	1	219.00
2	Chris Dunham Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM	0	2	2	2	206.07
3	Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	3	171.00
4	John Schwarb Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	1	1	1	157.00
5	Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	1	126.00
6	Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	1	1	122.00
7	Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	0	1	90.47
8	John Swantek Host, On The Tee	0	0	0	0	8.0
9	Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM	0	0	0	0	1.07