We leave South Carolina behind us this week and head 1100 kilometres West to Avondale, Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans which is being played at TPC Louisiana for the eighth 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.
The Purse this year is US$6.6 million with the Winner taking home US$1,152,000. In comparison Harry Cooper fromEnglandtook 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 week it is all about ball control and course management. Hitting your tee shots and approach shots to the right part of the course will see you go a long way. If you do not plot your way around TPC Louisiana you will end up at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The Bookies Top 5 in betting are:-
$13 Justin Rose. Finished T10th last year. Three Top 10’s from five starts so far in 2013.
$17 Jason Dufner. Defending Champion who has had four Top 25’s from nine starts this season.
$19 Keegan Bradley. Missed the cut here last year. Was T26th in 2011. Has had five Top 10’s from eleven tournaments this season.
$19 Rickie Fowler. Was T10th here in 2012. This season has seen him with three Top 10’s in eight starts.
$19 Bubba Watson. Won here in 2011. T18th last year. This year he has had two Top 10’s from seven outings.
Other notable players include Nick Watney (207 Champion), Billy Horschel ( three Top 10’s from last three starts), Thorbjorn Olesen, Ernie Els (runner up last year), KJ Choi (2002 Champion) and Brendon De Jonge.
The two selections this week are-
Rickie Fowler $19.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
The verdict is still out on Rickie in many peoples mind. Some people love him while others think he is just another young punk who likes to look the part with his fancy clothes.
He divides opinion more than most other golfers. He is not scared to go for a pin, try a shot when he’s in trouble or push the envelope when he sees the opportunity.
What you can not ignore is his results. He claimed his first PGA Tour win last year in the Wells Fargo Championship. After that win he went on to finish T2nd the following week in the Players Championship. Rickie then went on to finish T5th in his next start at the Crowne Plaza Invitational.
He finished 2012 with 20 cuts from 23 starts to be 18th in the FedExCup standings.
This season sees Fowler with three Top 10’s from eight starts with only one missed cut. He is coming off a T38th at The Masters.
When it comes to this tournament Rickie was T10th last year and T26th in 2011. Lets hope the upwards curve continues this week.
His stats also look good for TPC Louisiana with rankings like 24th in driving accuracy, 22nd in strokes gained putting, 26th in birdie average, 9th in sand saves, 19th in Par 5 birdie or better and 16th in scrambling.
Billy Horschel $29.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
Billy started 2013 ranked number 318 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Fast forward four months and he is now number 91. He has really hit the ground running!
He is currently on a run of 22 consecutive made cuts. Last season it was 15 cuts from 17 starts while this year its 11 from 11.
Those 11 starts have seen him with four Top 10’s. Three of those have come in his last three tournaments. They include T2nd Shell Houston Open, T3rd Valero Texas Open and T9th RBC Heritage.
Stats wise he is ranked 30th in driving accuracy, 46th in greens in regulation, 26th in strokes gained putting, 4th in birdie average, 17th in scoring average, 9th in Par 4 birdie or better and 23rd in ball striking.
In this tournament last year Billy missed the cut while he was T26th in 2011. It would not surprise to see him continue his fabulous form this week.
Good luck and good punting.
