Zurich Classic of New Orleans Predictions
Dates: April 23-36, 2015
Course: TPC Louisiana – Avondale, LA
TV: The Golf Channel/CBS
by Evergreen, Golf Handicapper, Predictem.com
Ive never played golf in the New Orleans area as Ive never found any courses on Bourbon Street but I can watch some NOLA golf this week as the PGA Tour heads to Avondale for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. TPC Louisiana hasnt been a Tour host for too long but the PGA and the New Orleans area have been together since the late 1930s and just about every big time golfer has teed it up on the bayou at some point. Seung-Yul Noh bested the field last year for his first PGA Tour win and he defends his title against a strong field that has hung around since the Masters. Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler highlight the participants but this field is deep overall and sports a good mix of young talent and old-school vets.
TPC Louisiana is simply a fantastic course. The 7,399 yard, par-72 layout weaves its way through natural wetlands and features plenty of water and sand to navigate. The Cypress-dotted course is routinely among the best places that you or I could play each year and this might be the most democratic event on Tour in terms of who can win here. A quick look at past champions reveals bombers like Bubba Watson but also control players like Jerry Kelly and it doesnt seem like any one strategy is better for getting around here. Players will need a balanced and varied game to succeed as there is a good balance between power and finesse opportunities with plenty of trouble to avoid throughout the Pete Dye design. The par-3s should play a big part during the week as all four can stretch over 210 yards, making the long approach game a key at times. Since the post-Katrina return to Avondale, the winning total has been at least 13-under par so look for a pretty quick scoring pace again this year.
Each week, we take a look at the online betting sites and highlight the players that we think can win it all. It was a happy week for you if you went along with us last time as we correctly tabbed Jim Furyk to win at 20 to 1 so we are looking to make it two weeks in a row. Well give you some picks to win and also breakdown a couple of head to head matchups that you can find at any online sportsbook. Here are our picks to win the 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Justin Rose (10 to 1 to win)
It has been a relatively tough year for Justin so far as his T2 at the Masters was just the first top-10 of the season in seven starts against three missed cuts. Rose makes a strong play this week however as he has three top-15s here is the last three years including a T8 last year. Justin is long enough – 36thin distance – to attack this course and he gets a good amount of birdie chances by hitting the 38thmost greens. It hasnt really happened for him on the greens so far as he is outside the top-150 in strokes gained-putting but Rose still nets the 35thbest birdie average with that shaky putter and maybe the Masters run has gotten him on the right track. Justin has been around plenty and can maneuver around this tricky layout and avoid the trouble while still making birds. Bet on golfer to win, golfer vs. golfer, the lowest odds AND MORE at the web’s best golf wagering site: 5Dimes.
Billy Horschel (30 to 1)
The defending FedEx champ, and 2013 Zurich winner has quietly gotten himself inside the top-20 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Horschel did miss the cut at Augusta but was 3rd just a week prior and this event should be in his wheelhouse. Billy is 14thon Tour in total driving and 14thin greens hit to produce the 7thbest overall ballstriking mark. He has a good putter so the birdies are falling but just not enough to really make a push. His putting average is holding him back but he isnt making bogeys so he just needs to get hot and have those couple extra putts fall through the week to put him over. Id rather bet on that equation than have someone who needs to fix some swing flaws to win. Ideally, there is a natural boost for Billy on a course where he already has a win and he can make a run this week.
Steve Stricker (40 to 1)
It is good news to see Stricker playing just two weeks after the Masters as it means his back must be in good enough shape to take on some more events. Steve has just the Masters on his record this year but he did make the cut at Augusta while hitting 75% of the fairways and making 3.75 birdies per round. Those are some pretty impressive numbers considering he was on the shelf for the better part of the winter. Stricker even averaged 305 yards on eight measured drives during Masters Week so he must be feeling good if he can go full like that. The putter never missed a beat and Steve made it through four rounds at Augusta without a three-putt. Im sure there is some rust on his game yet but it wasnt too long ago that an ailing Stricker was a top-5 player in the world and he is playing events to get himself back in the exempt fields so there is motivation to do well. He has three top-13 finishes here in his last three Zurich starts.
Charles Howell III (55 to 1)
Howell is one of those players that just never seems to take a week off. He is making his 17thstart of the season and he has three top-10s, with a recent T5 at the Shell as his standout finish. That isnt setting the world on fire but all that action eventually preps players for a breakout week and TPC Louisiana might be the spot. CHIII will have no problem tackling the long holes as a top-20 distance player and the trouble off the tee is avoidable so a little left and right should hurt too much. I like that his scoring average is much better than his birdie average would suggest so he isnt making a ton of mistakes. He will need to make a few more birdies, especially if the pace pushes 20-under par but he has made the cut here enough to suggest he can solve the riddle.
Head to Head Matches
Picks to win based on final score after all four rounds. Check with your favorite online betting site for single round matches and prop bets. Bet the Zurich Classic for FREE by cashing in on a sweet 50% bonus at MyBookie!
Jason Day v. Rickie Fowler (pick to win: Day)
I think I saw this pairing at every betting site and it really has me wondering if the books didnt miss one here as I think Day is a clear favorite but this is being listed as a pick em at many outlets. Day is currently the No. 1 all-around player while Fowler is number 39. Stats can mislead plenty but a 38 spot difference in this category typically keeps two names from being paired together. I dont know, maybe Im missing something. Day is longer, hits more greens, putts better and makes more birdies than Fowler entering the week and is even the better scrambler. There really just isnt anything to point to in favor of Rickie so Im not going to overthink this one.
Harris English v. Keegan Bradley (pick to win: Bradley)
Unlike the match above, I think this one has plenty of intangible attached to it. Bradley, who once looked like a threat to be a top-5 player, has struggled through a putter change this year but gets my pick this week as he is starting to put together better results. I think that improvement is only going to continue and he is probably going to pop off a really good run at some point this summer or fall. Bradley is longer and straighter than English so this really does come down to how much you believe in Bradley on the greens. Harris is very underrated on the greens and owns a big edge in 2015 putting performance but Keegan was a good putter previously and will better his current 125thrank as he continues to work out the kinks. Until he returns to top form, Bradley will get some matches like this where he is a tee to green favorite but a putting dog. I think this course will pay on the former.
Good luck and good golf. (See odds to win below)
2015 Zurich Classic Betting Odds (Courtesy of Bovada Sportsbook
Dustin Johnson — 8/1
Jason Day — 10/1
Justin Rose — 10/1
Rickie Fowler — 16/1
Keegan Bradley — 20/1
Harris English — 22/1
Billy Horschel — 28/1
Brendan Steele — 40/1
Justin Thomas — 40/1
Sean O’Hair — 40/1
Steve Stricker — 40/1
Jamie Donaldson — 45/1
Morgan Hoffman — 45/1
Branden Grace — 50/1
Brendon De Jonge — 50/1
Cameron Tringale — 50/1
John Peterson — 50/1
Nick Watney — 50/1
Russell Knox — 50/1
Scott Piercy — 50/1
Charles Howell III — 55/1
Bernd Wiesberger — 66/1
Daniel Berger — 66/1
Sangmoon Bae — 66/1
Seung-yul Noh — 66/1
John Senden — 75/1
Kevin Kisner — 75/1
Martin Laird — 75/1
Robert Streb — 75/1
Marc Leishman — 80/1
Marc Warren — 80/1
Troy Merritt — 80/1
Jason Bohn — 90/1
Jeff Overton — 90/1
Kevin Chappell — 90/1
Alex Cejka — 100/1
Bo Van Pelt — 100/1
Boo Weekley — 100/1
Camilo Villegas — 100/1
Chesson Hadley — 100/1
Jerry Kelly — 100/1
John Huh — 100/1
Jonas Blixt — 100/1
Kyle Reifers — 100/1
Lucas Glover — 100/1
Retief Goosen — 100/1
William Mcgirt — 100/1
Aaron Baddeley — 125/1
Carl Pettersson — 125/1
Carlos Ortiz — 125/1
Chris Stroud — 125/1
Fredrik Jacobson — 125/1
George Mcneill — 125/1
Hudson Swafford — 125/1
K.J. Choi — 125/1
Luke Guthrie — 125/1
Michael Putnam — 125/1
Scott Brown — 125/1
Tony Finau — 125/1
Vijay Singh — 125/1
Will Mackenzie — 125/1
Zac Blair — 125/1
Alex Prugh — 150/1
Andrew Svoboda — 150/1
Brian Stuard — 150/1
Brice Garnett — 150/1
Bryce Molder — 150/1
Danny Lee — 150/1
David Hearn — 150/1
David Lingmerth — 150/1
Erik Compton — 150/1
John Merrick — 150/1
Robert Garrigus — 150/1
Chad Campbell — 175/1
David Toms — 175/1
Martin Flores — 175/1
Michael Thompson — 175/1
Adam Hadwin — 200/1
Andrew Putnam — 200/1
Ben Crane — 200/1
Blayne Barber — 200/1
Brian Davis — 200/1
Chad Collins — 200/1
Charlie Beljan — 200/1
D.A. Points — 200/1
D.H. Lee — 200/1
Jhonattan Vegas — 200/1
Jon Curran — 200/1
Ken Duke — 200/1
Nicholas Thompson — 200/1
Ryo Ishikawa — 200/1
Sam Saunders — 200/1
Scott Pinckney — 200/1
Scott Stallings — 200/1
Tommy Gainey — 200/1
Whee Kim — 200/1
Andres Romero — 250/1
Blake Adams — 250/1
Greg Owen — 250/1
J.J. Henry — 250/1
Mark Wilson — 250/1
Nick Taylor — 250/1
Richard Sterne — 250/1
Ricky Barnes — 250/1
S.J. Park — 250/1
Scott Langley — 250/1
Spencer Levin — 250/1
Andres Gonzales — 300/1
Andrew Loupe — 300/1
Colt Knost — 300/1
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano — 300/1
Heath Slocum — 300/1
Jim Herman — 300/1
Max Homa — 300/1
Robert Allenby — 300/1
Steven Bowditch — 300/1
Cameron Percy — 350/1
Curtis Thompson — 350/1
Derek Ernst — 350/1
Derek Fathauer — 350/1
Fabian Gomez — 350/1
Tyrone Van-Aswegen — 350/1
Bill Lunde — 400/1
Byron Smith — 400/1
Chez Reavie — 400/1
Jason Gore — 400/1
Jonathan Randolph — 400/1
Justin Leonard — 400/1
Mark Anderson — 400/1
Mark Hubbard — 400/1
Steve Wheatcroft — 400/1
Zack Sucher — 400/1
Carlos Sainz Jr — 500/1
Eric Axley — 500/1
Jarrod Lyle — 500/1
Jim Renner — 500/1
Oscar Fraustro — 500/1
Roger Sloan — 500/1
Steven Alker — 500/1
Tim Wilkinson — 500/1
Tom Hoge — 500/1
Woody Austin — 500/1
Chris Dimarco — 750/1
Dudley Hart — 750/1
Mike Weir — 750/1
Jake Narro — 1000/1
Joe Affrunti — 1000/1
Neal Lancaster — 1000/1
