Predictions: St. Jude Classic

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to another round of predictions here on Pro Golf Now, as this week, we discuss the St. Jude Classic, which gets underway tomorrow from Memphis. A pretty strong field participating this week, as although the big two aren’t playing, there are still guys like Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy joining in on the action. It should be a fun tournament, so let’s get right to predictions!

The Sleeper

This week, I’m going to take Bryce Molder as my sleeper for several reasons. First of all, Molder has been playing some great golf thus far this season, with five Top 10’s already in 2010. He finished tied for fifth at Colonial, which shows that he’s very confident with his game at this point in the season.

And also, he tied for second at this event last year, which makes him an even easier choice in this spot. He’s already shown that he can play well here, and I expect him to definitely be in the mix on the weekend, and maybe surprise us with a victory.

The Favorites

Here are the favorites according to the oddsmakers in Vegas. My favorites are pretty similar: Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Zach Johnson, Camilo Villegas, Padraig Harrington, Robert Allenby, David Toms.

Honorable Mention: Heath Slocum, Ben Crane, and Brian Gay.

Let’s find a winner!

Johnson put on the unbelievable show at Colonial, but didn’t play very well last week. I wouldn’t expect him to have a down week here, however, as I think he’ll get to rolling again before Pebble Beach. I can’t see him playing bad, and think he’s a lock for a Top 25. But not a win.

Toms has such an illustrious history at this event that he has to be taken seriously pretty much every year. He’s been injured this season so perhaps he’s not as big of a threat, but you can bet that he will still find himself in contention on the weekend somehow. He’s going to have a big week, but I don’t think he’ll get the victory. A Top 10 is probably a good prediction though.

McIlroy has been up and down recently, but after a Top 10 finish at Memorial last week, he’s easily one of the favorites here. I think that the confidence from winning at Quail Hollow could show up this week, and give him a real good chance to win this tournament. I expect him to play well, but he’ll have to settle for a Top 25 and not a win.

Poulter should do well here, and will want to if he wants to start building momentum for the two upcoming majors. This will give him a great chance to hone his game a little more in preparation for those two tournaments, and you can pretty much count on him being towards the top of the leaderboard at some point in this tournament. I can’t predict a win for him though.

The Final Four

Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Camilo Villegas, Robert Allenby

Villegas has a win at the Honda Classic under his belt this season, and would like nothing more than to pick up a victory this week, and head into the U.S. Open with a ton of confidence. He finished tied for 28th at Memorial, so it’s certainly possible, but I see more of a Top 20 finish for him this week instead of a win.

Westwood is clearly the favorite heading into the event, and for good reason. He’s been solid all year, despite the disappointment at not being able to close out the victory at the Masters. He’s the best player in the field this week though, and while I’d like to see him win it, I’d much rather see him win at either Pebble or St. Andrews. A Top 10 is probably a lock this week for him, however, and hopefully it will give him all he needs to head into the U.S. Open at the top of his game.

The Finals

Padraig Harrington vs. Robert Allenby

Consider this. Allenby has made the cut in 10 of the 13 events he’s played in this year, and in those, he’s finished in the Top 25 eight times. That’s not too shabby, and another reason why he’s a heavy favorite this week: because he finished tied for 4th here last year, and tied for 2nd in 2008.

So why am I leaning more towards Harrington? I’ll be honest with you. I’m not exactly sure. But I feel like Harrington is due to get back in the mix again, especially since we’re about to hit a stretch of majors here that he could definitely win if his game is at a high level.

He needs a win here to get momentum going into next week. Every time we think he is no longer a factor in the major scene, he usually does something to put himself right back on the map.

Harrington wins in Memphis, and officially becomes a favorite to win at the U.S. Open.