Category: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans — What does Switzerland have to do with New Orleans? Nothing
After an eventful week in golf both on and off the Tour, we’re back this week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Sure we might all be waiting for the schedule to pick up again so we’re not forced to watch a bunch of randos compete every week, but PGA Tour golf is PGA Tour golf.
And in honor of Charley Hoffman finally getting another W last week after seeming to always play like trash on Sunday, I’m going with this song from the musical Hamilton. I’m assuming Hoffman had this in his head the entire final round while trying to not throw away both his shot at winning, and whatever shot he was about to hit during the round.
The Course
What up Pete Dye! After a week off, the PGA Tour returns to a Pete Dye designed course, TPC Louisiana (pronounced Lou-siana). The course is a 7,425 yard par 72 that’s flat as the surrounding countryside, pretty unremarkable as far as PGA Tour courses go, and also plays as one of the easiest on Tour! That’s about all worth mentioning about the course this week.
Holy Pete Dye bunkering.
Sponsors that have no business sponsoring a golf tournament in this location
Valero sponsoring a tournament in Texas makes sense. Zurich, a company named after that city in Switzerland, sponsoring a tournament in Louisiana, does not make sense. This is actually probably a little worse than the Royal Bank of Canada sponsoring a tournament in South Carolina. I feel like this might require future post listing the most bizarre sponsorships on Tour. Zurich will definitely be up at the top.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans — A Little Piece of Switzerland in New Orleans
With the northern US still decently cold (sorry everyone in Indiana for the Senior PGA Championship), the PGA Tour stays south by moving to Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans! Get ready for gumbo and alligators, though not necessarily alligator gumbo, but who knows? That might taste pretty good.
About the Sponsor
When I hear the word Zurich, I think of umlauts (which is an odd word to not have an umlaut since it has three umlaut-able letters), and a city in Switzerland, not some insurance company that sponsors a golf tournament in New Orleans. Never fear though, because Zurich the insurance company is in fact based in Zürich the city!
Zurich insurance has three core business segments (thanks wikipedia). 1) General Insurance, 2) Global Life, and 3) Farmers. Now, I get the first two. But when I read about the third business, I was a little confused. I didn’t know that Switzerland was that full of farmers, and I didn’t know that farming required that much insurance. I mean, sure there are droughts (what up California), infestations, and maybe tractor issues, but didn’t know it was on the level of “Global Life”. Well it turns out that Farmers actually refers to the JK Simmons, bum-ba-dum-bum-bum-bum-bum insurance company that already sponsored a PGA Tour event back in February.
I had no idea that character’s name was Nathaniel Burke
Zurich Classic of New Orleans — DraftKings Picks
A weaker field than normal means that you’re going to have to find value in underrated players. Not a problem for us here at GOTM where finding value is what we do every week! Its time for Zurich, the Classic, not the city.
Check out the preview here.
Jack’s Picks
Back down to earth with a losing week last week. So I guess I’m 7/9 in the 50/50s. I’ve noticed that pretty much every other site out there just gives suggestions on who to play, but never a full lineup. I’m not like those cop out fakers, I’ll tell you who I’m playing even if I lose. Gotta be real with all 20 of the people who read this.
Same strategy as every week here. Get players to make the cut. No matter 50/50 or GPP, 6 out of 6 players make the cut means you’re making money.
Russell Knox ($7,700) — Came in clutch last week for me, though wasn’t enough to make me a winner. But still, playing solid for a while is just what I’m looking for at this price.
Martin Laird ($7,500) — Hasn’t missed a cut in 2015. Not the best course history, but I’m sticking with players who are playing well.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans — Preview
This week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans has a really weak field, no trying to beat around the bush with that one. Our man Justin Rose, 1 time Card of the Week winner, is the only player ranked in the top 20 in the world, currently sitting at number 11. This is good news for T-Dubs since he won’t be losing his number one ranking this week while sitting at home with L-Vonn, but bad of the viewers who want to see players they know (but that’s a whole different issue about how to get players to come to these “bad” events). But since we like positivity here at GOTM, we’re going to tag this event as a way to watch the stars of the future be born!
The Course
ZCoNO is held at yet another TPC (tournament players club) course, this one aptly named TPC Louisiana. TPC courses are an interesting development recently. Everyone knows the original TPC course, Sawgrass (site of the upcoming Players Championship) and probably TPC Scottsdale with the 16th hole colosseum, but in fact there are 12 TPC courses on the PGA Tour schedule. This week’s course come in at number 45 on the GD list of best courses on tour. Not as bad as Valero a few weeks ago, but pretty shitty nonetheless. About 7,400 yards according to the courses website, and undoubtedly in good shape, it should be a good course for a PGA Tour event. Just don’t expect any amazing views. Continue reading
Golf On The Mind 