Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2012 Preview

We leave Texas behind us this week and head 900 kilometres East to Avondale, Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans which is being played at TPC Louisiana for the seventh time. The course has hosted this tournament since 2005 however it was moved to nearby English Turn G&CC in 2006 due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. TPC Louisiana was designed by Peter Dye in 2003 and opened its doors in 2004. It is a Par 72, 7520 yard course with 71 sand bunkers and 5 water hazards. The greens are Mini Verde Bermudagrass and partly due to the undulation of them the course was ranked the 7th most difficult Par 72 on the Tour last season. It has been ranked in the Top 10 for several years. The Par 5’s were also ranked 11th most difficult last year.

The Purse this year is US$6.4 million with the Winner taking home US$1,152,000. In comparison Harry Cooper from England took home US$5,000 when he won in 1938. There have been many notable winners of this tournament over the years such as Byron Nelson (1945,46), Gary Player (1972), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Tom Watson (1980,81) and Davis Love III (1995). When Davis Love III teed off in this tournament in 1995 he was in need of a win to qualify for the Masters. He went on to win in a sudden death play off. He then finished 2nd in the Masters a week later! This year sees the Current Master Champion, Bubba Watson make his first appearance since his victory at Augusta. And to make it all the more important he is the Defending Champion here after beating Webb Simpson in a play off last year. Judging by his current form there is no reason why he can’t defend his title this week and notch up back to back wins. Last year Bubba’s tournament stats were fantastic. He was ranked 1st in Driving distance, 1st in Greens in Regulation and 13th in Driving Accuracy. This season on tour he is ranked 1st in Driving Distance, 2nd in Greens in Regulation and is now up to No.4 in the Golf World Rankings. He will certainly have the crowd on his side this week and it would be a brave man to say he couldn’t do it again! You can certainly see why he is the joint favourite at 12/1. Joining Bubba this week are three other World Top 10 ranked players in Luke Donald (No.2), Steve Stricker (No.7) and Justin Rose (No.10). All three are in great touch this season and will no doubt push Bubba all the way. You can then add to this handy foursome a few other players who have also won on tour in 2012 such as Ben Curtis who is coming off a great win last week at the Valero Texas Open and Carl Pettersson who won the RBC Heritage by a whooping 5 shoots! Not to be outdone by the above mentioned players there are also some very handy Past Winners of this tournament teeing it up in Jason Bohn (2010), Nick Watney (2009), Andres Romero (2008) and KJ Choi (2002). When KJ Choi won here ten years ago he became the first ever Korean born golfer to win on the PGA Tour. Then you can throw some very talented International Players into the mix such as Geoff Ogilvy, Camilo Villegas, Angel Cabrera, Robert Karlsson, Peter Hanson and Trevor Immelman and you know we are in for a great week of competitive golf. Bubba Watson 12/1, Luke Donald 12/1 and Justin Rose 18/1 are all in with a great chance this week as they are all in tip top form and should be in contention over the week. However I am looking at two other players who would be very worthy winners as they are playing some great golf this season.

Jason Dufner 25/1

This guy is playing some of the best golf of his career at the moment. In 2011 he went so close to maiden PGA Tour victory with a P2 finish in the Phoenix Open where he lost out to Mark Wilson then later in the season another P2 finish after losing to Keegan Bradley in the PGA Championship. HE finished last season with 23 starts and made 15 cuts with 6 Top 10’s. This season he started out with a missed cut in the Sony Open before going on to make his next 9 cuts which include T12th in the Humana Challenge and T8th in the Phoenix Open. His last four tournaments have all been Top 25 finishes with T10th Transitions Championship, T15th Arnold Palmer Invitational, T24th Masters Tournament and T24th RBC Heritage. His stats this season are right up there with the best in the business. HE is ranked 8th in Total Driving, 8th in all round ranking, 13th in Driving Accuracy, 13th in Ball Striking, 10th in Par 5 Performance, 25th in Birdie Average, 20th in Scoring Average and 32nd in Greens in Regulation. All that sounds pretty good until you take a look at his form in this tournament. That’s when the excellent form jumps right out you. He was T3rd here last year finishing 2 shots back from the Winner Bubba Watson, T7th in 2010 and T9th in 2009. At the current odds he has to be rated an outstanding each way selection. This could be his week to claim that maiden Victory.

Greg Chalmers 50/1

Aussie Boy Chalmers had a fantastic finish to 2011. He won the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship. This season on the PGA Tour he has had 11 starts and made 8 cuts. The highlights being T19th Phoenix Open, T12th Honda Classic, T20th WGC- Cadillac Championship, T29th Transitions Championship, T20th RBC Heritage and T35th Valero Texas Open. Greg has always been considered one of the better putters on tour on this season he is ranked 1st in Putts from 5-15 feet and is ranked 24th in Strokes gained putting, 12th in Sand Save percentages and 16th in Scrambling. When you look at his record in this tournament you will realise that the 50/1 is a great price for a bloke who was T8th last year, 5th in 2010 and T24th in 2009. It’s about time we had another Aussie winner on tour and Greg could be just that man. Good Luck and Good Punting.