Golfweek Amateur Fantasy Picks: Jones Cup

Harris English and Blayne Barber

• Click here for staff picks of the Jones Cup Invitational

The 2011 amateur golf season kicks off Feb. 4 at the Jones Cup Invitational, played at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. Golfweek’s amateur experts weigh in with their favorite and sleeper picks.

Rank	Winner	Wild Card

Martin	Harris English English is often overshadowed by Georgia teammate Russell Henley, but English is incredibly consistent, including a tie for eighth at last year's Jones Cup.	Bo Hoag The Ohio State Buckeye is accustomed to competing in the cold, windy weather that should hit Ocean Forest this week.

Wildman	Blayne Barber The redshirt sophomore is often forgotten since he sat out a year ago after transferring to Auburn. However, he had such a strong summer in 2010 he is a potential Walker Cupper this summer.	Bobby Wyatt Alabama's freshman is starting to make a name for himself at the collegiate level after making one at the junior ranks. Wyatt knows how to win tournaments and this is a golden opportunity for him to make an amateur name for himself.

Lavner	Blayne Barber Was third here last year, an auspicious start to a season that included eight top 10s in major amateur events. Hasn’t won since 2009, but could break through in Sea Island.	Sean Dale Bit of a wild card here, because Dale, a junior at North Florida, announced last month that he was redshirting this semester to focus on academics. But there’s no denying he’s a strong player when on his game. (At one point last year, he cracked the top 20 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.)

Piehowski	Peter Uihlein Uihlein’s record should speak for itself. The world’s top-ranked amateur has finished first or second in his last six Oklahoma State events.	Bobby Wyatt Wyatt made a quick transition into the college game at Alabama this fall and climbed all the way to No. 6 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. He also finished fifth at last year’s Jones Cup.