The Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2016 Preview

The PGA Tour’s ‘Southern Swing’ moves from Texas to Louisiana for The Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week.

Expect birdies, and plenty of them, at the TPC Lousiana where the winning score usually hovers around the 20-under mark. Strokes gained putting and birdie conversions will be at a premium this week with players able to shoot the lights out likely to be in the firing line on Sunday afternoon.

World No. 1 Jason Day headlines the outright betting with 5/1 available on the Australian superstar. While Day’s long hitting isn’t as vital on the 7,399 yard par 72 layout, his ability with the short stick is sure to see him up near the top of the leaderboard.

He leads a star-studded field with defending champion Justin Rose (10/1) and Rickie Fowler (13/1) the next shortest prices in the field.

Justin Rose smashed all sorts of records last year closing with 66 bogey-free holes to win the 2015 edition. If the Englishman manages to roll in the birdies and keep bogeys off the card then he’s sure to feature again this week.

Rickie Fowler looks a risky option, as he tees it up for the first time since The Masters, having missed the cut at TPC Lousiana in his last two attempts.

Last Five Winners
2015: Justin Rose -22 | 2014: Seung-Yul Noh -19 | 2013: Billy Horschel -20 | 2012: Jason Dufner -19 (playoff) | 2011: Bubba Watson -15 (playoff)

To Win Outright
Jason Day 5/1 | Justin Rose 10/1 | Rickie Fowler 13/1 | Billy Horschel 22/1 | Charley Hoffman 25/1

Value Bets
Daniel Berger (25/1 Win & 11/2)
All the talk, though, going into the week is for the 2015 Rookie of the Year Daniel Berger.  Blowing hot on the back of his T10 at the Masters and T5 at the Shell Houston Open. Berger finished T-6 at the Zurich Classic last year, showing an affinity for the Pete Dye track. He’s definitely worth a punt at 25/1 for a win.

Steve Stricker (100/1 Win & 22/1)
The 49-year-old veteran might be slowing down as he approaches Champions Tour age, but with a premium this week on birdie or better conversion rates (Stricker ranks 5th on the PGA Tour this season) there’s ever reason to believe he could be in the shake-up this week. At 100/1 to win or 22/1 for the top 5 places, he could be the value proposition of the weekend.

Billy Horschel (22/1 Win)
Billy Horschel has battled to regain the form that saw him win the FedEx Cup in 2014, but with a T4 finish in Texas last week and a past champion at the TPC Lousiana (2013), he certainly has the aggressive game to shoot low and blast opponents out the water this week.

First Round Leader
Patton Kizzire (55/1) & Andrew Loupe (150/1)  
Two left-field selections to go low on day 1. Patton Kizzire is threatening to break into the winners circle while Loupe’s ranking of 8th in strokes gained putting makes him a real runner. Let’s hope one of them goes low on day 1 and lands us a first round leader bet at big odds!

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