2012 Zurich Classic Predictions
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
In last week’s Valero Texas Open, Ben Curtis captured his fourth career win with a 9-under 279. He finished two shots ahead of Matt Every and John Huh. It wasn’t exactly the strongest field of the season last week, as most of the premiere golfers weren’t in action. That won’t be the case this week when the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans, Louisiana for the 2012 Zurich Classic. The field this week includes four players currently sit inside the top 10 of the official world golf rankings.
The list of players expected to tee it up this week is headlined by Masters champion Bubba Watson, who just so happens to be the defending champion at the Zurich Classic. Watson defeated Webb Simpson in a sudden death playoff for his third career win. While Watson is one of the favorites to win this week, history is not on his side. Since the tournament has relocated to TPC Louisiana in 2005, no one has been able to defend their title let alone win the tournament on multiple occasions.
Watson and Simpson finished their four rounds at 15-under last year, just slightly better than the average winning score of 14.7. TPC Louisiana has seen some low scores posted, but as a whole it ranks as one of the tougher par 72s on tour. Last year’s field had an average finish of 72.11, which was the seventh lowest average of the 21 par 72s on the schedule. The course could play even tougher this year, as rain is expected to be a factor at some point over the weekend and steady winds are expected throughout.
For those of you looking to place a wager on who will take home the trophy at the Zurich Classic, here is a quick look at the three golfers I feel have the best shot at winning this event.
Steve Stricker
After back-to-back top 10 finishes at the Accenture Match Play Championship and the Cadillac Championship, Stricker has finished outside the top 35 in each of his last two starts. He has had a couple weeks off since a poor showing at the Masters, and I look for him to come out with a strong performance at the Zurich Classic. In his last four starts at TPC Louisiana he has finished inside the top 15 three times.
Jason Dufner
Dufner has got off to a pretty solid start to the 2012 season. He has finished inside the top 30 in each of his five starts, including a 10th place finish at the Travelers Championship. The big reason Dufner has landed in my three this week, is his strong play at TPC Louisiana. Dufner has finished inside the top 10 in each of his last three starts at this event. Last year he posted his best finish with a tie for 3rd, just two shots back of Watson and Simpson.
Cameron Tringale
If you are looking for a sleeper pick, Tringale is definitely worth a look. Tringale has tied for 8th in each of his last two starts, including last week at the Valero Texas Open. In 2012, Tringale is 16th in total driving and 35th in green in regulation. While a lot of people haven’t heard of Tringale, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if his strong play of late led him to win at the Zurich Classic.
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