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On The Tee: Verizon Heritage

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On The Tee: Verizon Heritage

Can't get your AT&Ts straight? You're not alone. It's not easy separating the AT&T-sponsored professional golf tournaments these days.

There's the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the erstwhile Bing Crosby Clambake, which won won by Phil Mickelson back in February. There's the AT&T Classic, formerly called the BellSouth Classic, being played this week. And then there's "Tiger's Tournament," known formally as the AT&T National, which will be played on Fourth of July weekend.

Not enough? Well, there's also the AT&T Champions Classic and AT&T Championship on the Champions Tour.

Enough with the confusion, though. Let's talk about this week's event (that would be the AT&T Classic), where defending champ Mickelson is skipping the festivities, meaning a new champion will be crowned. Who will take the title? Our experts make their weekly predictions.

AT&T Classic experts' predictions
	Bob Harig ESPN.com contributor	Jason Sobel ESPN.com golf editor	Ron Sirak Golf World executive editor	John Antonini Golf World senior editor
Horse for the Course	Cink Stewart Cink lives at Sugarloaf and has had six top-10 finishes in the event.	Cink Stewart Cink lives just off of the TPC-Sugarloaf course and has a solid track record there. Coming off a T-3 at the Players, this one's a no-brainer.	Johnson Zach Johnson finished second here last year, won it in 2004 and already has had one pretty good experience in Georgia this year.	Cink Stewart Cink calls the TPC-Sugarloaf his home course, and although he has never won the tournament, he does have six top-10 finishes.
Birdie Buster	Johnson 2004 winner Zach Johnson has been solid, if not spectacular, since winning the Masters, with two top-20 finishes, including a tie for 16th at The Players Championship.	Weekley Ball-strikers beware: Firm and fast courses are becoming en vogue every week and this venue is no different. Look for shotmakers like Boo Weekley to fare well.	Henry J.J. Henry handled the course pretty well last year, finishing T-4 with a 65 in the second round.	DiMarco Wouldn't it be something if a Florida guy wins the Georgia event? Although he's a Gator, Chris DiMarco always has had a bulldog mentality.
Super Sleeper	Andrade Long-time Atlanta resident Billy Andrade is looking for his fifth PGA Tour victory and first since 2000.	Kuchar Matt Kuchar only has one top-10 in 12 starts this year, but the Georgia Tech product could regain some good thoughts in the Atlanta area.	Beem Second here in '05 and T-19 last year, Rich Beem could get his first win since the 2002 PGA Championship.	Hayes This is a field of sleepers, but I'll take J.P. Hayes. Under medication for the blood pressure problem that sidelined him early this year, Hayes doesn't have a great record at Sugarloaf, but he didn't at Sawgrass either and still finished T-6 last week.
Winner	Howell Charles Howell III has cooled after a hot start to the season, but the Georgia native gets his second victory of the year.	Johnson Before he was a Masters champion, Zach Johnson was a BellSouth (now AT&T) champion. This might be a weak field, but it'll be a fun finish, with Johnson pulling out the win.	Toms David Toms bounced back from an opening-round 75 last year to finish T-15. He'll get off to a good start and ride it to victory.	Johnson Zach Johnson won this event in 2004 and was second last year. He wasn't on my original list of players who might win twice this year, but a victory will give him two in the state of Georgia in 2007.