Expert Picks: Arnold Palmer Invitational

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The PGA TOUR travels to Bay Hill Club and Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders:

Note: Joining our panel for the picks is Amanda Balionis, the new host of PGA TOUR Today. To learn more about Balionis, click here.

MAKE YOUR PICK: Tell us who you expect to win this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational:

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. SLEEPER PICKS Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? To see who our experts picked, click here. MORE: Power Rankings | Inside the Field | Inside the Course | FANTASY GOLF: Play our game -- FREE!

Expert picks: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard

Expert   Pick order Player selected   Amanda Balionis RICKIE FOWLER. The New Breed took over at the Transitions Championship, and I see that trend continuing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Fowler has had two top-10 finishes so far this season, and I think it could be his time to get it done.   Mike McAllister TIGER WOODS. I have no clue if this will be "the" week for Tiger. But I do know he's won six times at Bay Hill since 2000, including his last two visits to the course. I do know he comes off his first top 10 of the year. He'll win at some point. Why not now? If McAllister had the top pick ... Woods Lauren Deason GRAEME MCDOWELL. Not too worried about his lackluster T42 finish in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Remains unpredictable on this course, where he missed the cut in 2010. Abilty to hit the ball straight gives him a big edge. If Deason had the top pick ... Woods Helen Ross BRANDT SNEDEKER. Snedeker has never finished lower than 30th in four starts at Bay Hill. Not to mention, the new dad has three top-10s in seven starts this season, including solo fourth last week at the Transitions Championship so he has momentum. If Ross had the top pick ... Snedeker John Schwarb DUSTIN JOHNSON.Was in contention last year until a Sunday 78, so that's an itch he'll want to scratch. And as Rob Bolton said in his Power Rankings, DJ's got all the key numbers: 11th in GIR, 21st in putting, first in birdie average. If Schwarb had the top pick ... Johnson Anne Szeker HUNTER MAHAN. Mahan has been impressive lately -- four top 10s, 12th in FEC standings. He ranks 14th in all-around ranking. Plus, he's been close here the last couple years with two top-25 finishes at Bay Hill. If Szeker had the top pick ... Woods John Swantek MARTIN LAIRD. The Scot is in top form during the Florida Swing. He tied for 10th at Doral and was tied for fifth at Copperhead. Playing with tremendous confidence, he's ranked sixth on TOUR and, ranked sixth in driving distance. He can overpower the course. If Swantek had the top pick ... Laird Ryan Smithson GARY WOODLAND. I really wanted Dustin Johnson. Then Martin Laird. Really surprised Swantek took Laird this early, but it's a really smart move. Woodland's going to have to putt lights-out again to do well this week, but he's going to win again on TOUR this year. If Smithson had the top pick ... D. Johnson Chris Dunham JUSTIN ROSE. It's hard to leave Mickelson on the board this late in the process, but Rose is really playing well and thrives on the tough tracks. His two victories last year came on the fourth and 19th toughest venues on the 2010 schedule. If Dunham had the top pick ... D. Johnson Brian Wacker ZACH JOHNSON. I thought about Phil Mickelson (arguably best available player left on the board) and Bill Haas (who's having a career year), but I like Johnson's consistency. He also has a solid track record at Bay Hill with three top-10s the last seven years. If Wacker had the top pick ... D. Johnson

Standings after Week 11

LAST WEEK: With a slew of upstarts doing well at Copperhead, not much movement in the standings last week: Position Name Wins Top-5s Top-10s Top-25s FedExCup points 1 Mike McAllister Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM 1 5 5 8 1717.38 2 Lauren Deason Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM 0 4 6 6 862.90 3 Brian Wacker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM 0 1 3 8 697.08 4 Chris Dunham Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM 0 1 5 6 529.99 5 Ryan Smithson Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM 0 2 3 6 529.82 6 Anne Szeker Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM 0 1 2 7 509.54 7 John Swantek Host, On The Tee 0 2 3 6 470.08 8 John Schwarb Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM 0 0 2 6 446.37 9 Helen Ross Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM 0 0 3 5 399.40