BlogZurich Classic Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

The season is halfway over and already folks feel comfortable that they don’t need to increase FedExCup points and are taking the week off.  This is probably the lowest ranked field on the PGA Tour since the fall events, guess the timing is good for many of the top names to take the week off.  Still there are a lot of loyal folks that like the course and are showing up.  But with the Match Play next week and the Players the week after, you can’t blame folks for not showing up.

For those playing this week, it’s a love affair with the great city of New Orleans.  The Cajun food is still great and the folks that run this event take good care of the players with a fishing trip, plenty of good food and the New Orleans spirit that hasn’t gone away with all the hardship that has hit the region with Hurricane Katrina almost 7 and a half years ago.  For many of the players making the decision based on their stomach with such great places like Emeril’s and Brennan’s and you can’t beat breakfast at Cafe Beignet this is the best eating week on tour.  With the French Quarter back to normal after Katrina it’s a bit hard to see players taking this event off their schedule.

I am in California (an all day affair, thanks to United Airlines for making my day so horrible) and will be in Seattle checking out Chambers Bay over the weekend and on Monday for Media Day.  Since the Match Play will start on Wednesday, will probably have the Match Play up on Sunday and update it on Tuesday.

Things you need to know about the Zurich Classic:

This will be the 66th edition of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which was formerly called the New Orleans Open, then the USF&G Classic,then the Freeport McDermott Classic followed by the Compaq Classic before Zurich became the sponsor in 2005.  English Turn was the site of the tournament between 1989 and 2004.  It moved to TPC Louisiana in 2005 but because of Hurricane Katrina it went back to English Turn in 2006.  In 2007 it returned to TPC Louisiana and the course is back to normal again.

The first New Orleans Open was played in 1938 and was won by Harry Cooper.  Between 1949 and 1957 no tournaments were played, with the tournament starting back up in 1958.

Course information:

TPC Louisiana

• Avondale, La.
• 7,425 yards     Par 36-36–72
• TPC Louisiana features a course rating of 76.6 and a slope rating from the back tees of 138. The tees, fairway, and rough are TifSport bermudaGrass as the greens are bermudagrass overseeded with Poa. The course is semi-private and can be played by the public.
• In 2014 TPC Louisiana was the 37th hardest course on the PGA Tour playing to a 71.211 average which is three quarters of a shot under par.  In 2013 TPC Louisiana was the 34th hardest course on the PGA Tour playing to a 70.75 average which is 1.25 strokes under par.
• The course was designed and built by Pete Dye with player consultants Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson.  The course opened in 2004 and held the Zurich Open the next year.  The course is on 250 acres of former swamp land that Dye transformed into a course that can stretch up to 7,600 yards. The average green size at TPC Louisiana is 5,700 square feet, which is pretty much the average on the PGA Tour.  It features 71 bunkers with 20 acres of area covered in sand. Water comes into play on eight of the 18 holes .

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Zurich Classic:

Key stat for the winner:

The TPC Louisiana has hosted eight Zurich Classics, 2005, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13 & 14.  In looking at the 84 players that were in the top-ten in the nine years, one common trend shows.  Of the 84 only 19 were in the top-ten of driving accuracy (none in 2014) giving the tale that you don’t have to be a straight driver to do well at TPC Louisiana.  Here is how the nine champions did in that stat:

• 2014 – Seung-Yul Noh     32 of 54 hit – ranked T59th
• 2013 – Billy Horschel       31 of 54 hit – ranked T63rd
• 2012 – Jason Dufner        36 of 54 hit – ranked T31st.
• 2011 – Bubba Watson      40 of 54 hit – ranked T13th.
• 2010 – Jason Bohn           43 of 54 hit – ranked T2nd.
• 2009 – Jerry Kelly            35 of 54 hit – ranked T30th.
• 2008 – Andres Romero   30 of 54 hit – ranked T73rd.
• 2007 – Nick Watney         37 of 54 hit – ranked T32nd.
• 2005 – Tim Petrovic         23 of 54 hit – ranked 81st.

One thing all nine of the TPC Louisiana champions had in common were putting well on greens hit.  Here are those averages:

• 2014 – Seung-Yul Noh hit 56 greens (T4th) and took 109 putts for a 1.625 average – 7th
• 2013 – Billy Horschel hit 59 greens (T2nd) and took 108 putts for a 1.559 avearge – 1st
• 2012 – Jason Dufner hit 52 greens (T25th) and took 105 putts for a 1.458 average – 3rd.
• 2011 – Bubba Watson hit 58 greens (rank T1st) and took 117 putts for a 1.625 average – T57th.
• 2010 – Jason Bohn hit 54 greens (rank T6th) and took 107 putts for a 1.486 average – 5th.
• 2009 – Jerry Kelly hit 57 greens (rank 1st) and took 114 putts for a 1.583 average – T36th.
• 2008 – Andres Romero hit 54 greens (rank T6th) and took 113 putts for a 1.569 average – ranked T35th.
• 2007 – Nick Watney hit 51 greens (rank T9th) and took 108 putts for a 1.500 avearge – ranked T14th.
• 2005 – Tim Petrovic  hit 50 greens (rank T20th) and took 109 putts for 1.514 average – ranked T7th.

Silly fact: The course has been shortened, but length and accuracy doesn’t seem to be a key

• Fitness around the greens will be needed.  Miss a green and you will have to master the chip and roll. This venue will be a perfect preview for the greens of Pinehurst next year.
• The greens do not have as much undulation as the average TPC courses, so look for an average to below average putter to have a good week.
• Since this is the ninth year in a row for this course being used, anything can happen and anybody can win. Of the 9 champions at TPC Louisiana, five of them have been rookie winners and Bubba Watson was the most experience champion, when he won in 2011 he only had two PGA Tour wins.
• One major trait at this event is the fact that many of its champions don’t have a lot of experience playing in this event. 12 of the last 19 Zurich Classic winners and 19 overall have not won on the PGA Tour, including 9 of the last 13. Eleven of the last 22 winners, including 2014 Seung-Yul Noh, 2013 winner Billy Horschel, 2010 winner Jason Bohn, 2009 winner Jerry Kelly and 2008 champion Andres Romero, had either missed the cut the year prior or were making their tournament debut.
• Lastly there is no rhyme or reason for why a player wins here.  In the case of the last nine winners — Tim Petrovic, Chris Couch, Nick Watney, Andres Romero, Jerry Kelly, Jason Bohn, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Billy Horschel and Seung-Yul Noh — they weren’t favorites to win coming in so the odds are pretty good that another long shot could rule this week.
• The weather forecast couldn’t be better for the week in Louisiana with temperatures in the 80s each day with no wind and very small chance of rain with the exception of Friday that has a 50% chance of rain.