LATE WITHDRAWALS: Brandt Snedeker
After last week's debacle in Hilton Head, I wish I was in the Big Easy for this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans to drown my sorrows with a few Hurricanes on Bourbon Street.
Alas, I'm stuck in South Florida for now, so I'll vow to stay sober and try to figure out what the heck went wrong last week. New Orleans has been good to me though, as my Florida Atlantic University Owls won our first bowl game there in December 2007, so I'm getting good vibes.
Thinking too much gets you in trouble, so let's get right into the gory details.
This week's tournament is being held at TPC Louisiana, which is a 7,341-yard, par-72 layout that ranked 32 (out of 54) in difficulty on tour last season. This will be the fourth time this course has hosted (2005, 2007-09), as Hurricane Katrina ruined things in 2006.
Your previous winners on this track are Tim Petrovic, Nick Watney and Andres Romero, with scores ranging from 13 to 15 under.
Looking back at stats from those three victories, it's clear that driving distance or accuracy will not be factors this week. However, two of the three winners finished in the top 10 in putting, while two others finished in the top-15 in greens.
From what I've read, there isn't too much to this course -- the winner will be hitting greens and making putts, just like usual. There are a few tough holes out there, but birdies shouldn't be too hard to come by. The weather is supposed to be perfect all four days, so that won't be a factor.
$200,000 and up
Nick Watney ($283,750) -- I really felt like suggesting you pick Kenny Perry or Steve Stricker here, but those two would be far too obvious selections with a field like this. So, instead I'll go with Watney, who won here a couple of years ago and is playing stellar golf so far in 2009. He'll be a popular pick for sure, but for good reason.
Rory Sabbatini ($267,500) -- I picked Sabbatini earlier this year a couple of times with mixed results (MC, T12), and I'm coming back to him in this spot with his recent form and the weak field in New Orleans. The jug-eared South African hasn't played in this event since 2000, but that doesn't worry me.
Woody Austin ($238,250) -- Woody finally showed up last week with a T11, his best result of the season, but he has quietly made all eight cuts so far in 2009, so his game hasn't been in horrible shape by any means. Austin seems to like TPC Louisiana, as he's finished T4, T18 and T5 in his three trips. Plus, at this price, you can take Perry, Austin and one of these other top selections and still have a decent sum left over for your final two slots.
$75,001-$199,999
Lucas Glover ($186,250) -- I went with Glover a few weeks ago in Houston and his nice history at this event has me coming back for more. While he missed the cut last year, Glover finished T3 in 2005 and T8 in 2007. He also picked up a T7 when the event was moved back to English Turn in 2006. He seems to be over a little three-tournament funk he went through in late-February/early-March, and I'm banking on a top-10 from him at least.
Bob Estes ($108,250) -- Another guy I've picked a couple of times this season, Estes is one of the few shining lights in this price bracket this week. He has two top-20s in his last three events, finished T8 here two years ago, and has three other top-25s -- including a T2 in 2003 -- among his 10 total trips to the Big Easy.
Steve Elkington ($75,750) -- Not having the greatest season by any means (zero top-50s in seven events), but seems like a decent price for a guy who finished T10 here last year and T28 in 2007. If you're a studs-and-duds kind of players, just throw him in there as your final pick and see what happens.
$75,000 (Did you like the alphabetized list this week?)
Todd Hamilton -- Can't ignore his form at this price. A T15 at the Masters and a T4 last week tell me he's doing something right, but how long can Hamilton keep this up? He does pop up with top-25s now and again, and actually had three in the Fall Series last year, but he's pretty much done a big bag of nothing since winning the British Open in 2004.
Tim Wilkinson -- This Kiwi finished T3 last year, and is coming off his best result since a T2 at last year's Texas Open, as he picked up a T9 in Hilton Head. This guy hits a ton of fairways, and did surprisingly well last week for a guy who is 160th in GIR, so maybe he's finally getting it together after a brutal start to the year.
Patrick Sheehan -- It's been done once before, winning one week on the Nationwide Tour and winning the next week on the PGA Tour (Paul Stankowski, 1996), so it's not impossible. Sheehan did actually play well in his last big league start, in Puerto Rico (T13), and has never missed the cut in three trips to TPC Louisiana.
My Golf Challenge lineup
Perry, Stricker, Austin, Hamilton, Sheehan
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