2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Where: TPC Louisiana
When: Thursday 28th April (first tee 10:00pm)
Purse: $7,000,000
The PGA Tour stays in the south with TPC Louisiana hosting the 2016 Zurich Classic. There will only be three top 10 players attending this week including Jason Day, Justin Rose and Ricky Fowler. Justin Rose won this event last year with 22 under the card. In previous years 19,20 and 19 under have been the winning scores. It’s not exactly a course that the players fear.
My tactics this week are players that have a good track record in the categories of long approaches, birdie average and greens-in-regulation. A player that fits the bill is world number 5 Ricky Fowler. Although he has missed the cut in his last two tries at the Zurich Classic, his stats and results this season speak for themselves. Last week you may have seen Fowler and other PGA young guns Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas ('the rat pack') all enjoying a week off in the Bahamas. They uploaded videos and pictures to a number of social media outlets showing us a glimpse of their private lives. In my opinion it was great and showed everyone they are characters, something golf needs more of.
However, many people/journalists are condemning them for having fun on their week off. We all remember what Tiger Woods was getting up to off the golf course. This was just boys being boys and I don’t think it will affect their preparation for the Zurich Classic. I actually think it’s a positive. It would be great if one of these young guns like Fowler won this week in Louisiana and I think he has the game to do so.
Ricky Fowler
The world number 5 actually has an all-around ranking of number 1. He hits plenty of greens at 71.88% (ranked 5th) his birdie average is right up there at 4.38 (ranked 5th) with a scoring average of 69.63 (ranked 2nd) and he is also ranked high in approaches from 175+
Tip: Ricky Fowler to win outright - $13-1 at CrownBet
Smylie Kaufman
I actually think this course suits Smylie better than Ricky. The Alabama boy went to college at LSU just up the road so he should be very comfortable here. He stacks up in all the stats categories as well. Smylie hits the green 68.38% of the time and has a birdie average of 4.12 (ranked 13th) he can bomb it off the tee and can go very low. Already has a low round of 61 this season.
Tip: Smylie Kaufman to win outright - $34-1 at CrownBet
+ Kaufman to finish Top 20 - $2.40 at CrownBet
+ Kaufman to finish Top 10 - $4.00 at CrownBet
Jason Bohn
My value pick is Jason Bohn. Bohn has already finished 2nd twice this season and a 3rd.He is ranked 19th in Greens in regulation at 69.87% and has a birdie average of 4.12 ranked 13th. He is ranked 14th in approaches from 175-200 but best of all his putting is great averaging 1.71 (ranked 3rd)
Tip: Jason Bohn to win outright- $126 at CrownBet
+ Bohn to finish Top 20 - $6.50 at CrownBet
+ Bohn to finish Top 10 - $13 at CrownBet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
