Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Course: TPC of Louisiana
Par: 72
Length: 7,341 yards
Prize Pool: $6,600,000
Last Years Champion: Jason Dufner
The PGA Tour continues this week in full force with the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. With every passing week, I find that the competition and intensity level continues to increase. Many of the top players seem to have found their groove, and we've seen several tournaments already this season requiring extra holes to find a champion. It will be interesting to see what happens this week in New Orleans as the field is packed with talent, many of who are still fighting for their first win of the season. Here's some of the players I'll be keeping an eye on in the week ahead...
Rickie Fowler: I continue to enjoy watching Rickie play golf, and from the looks of it, he's been enjoying playing. With three top 10 finishes so far this start, I think he's due to step things up this week. He's familiar with this event and finished T10 here last year.
Justin Rose: Like Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose also finished in a T10 at this event last year. He's had a solid start to 2013. Rose continues to play consistently well, which is a key element in golf; he's finished in the top 25 in all of his last fourteen tournament.
Jason Dufner: As the defending champion, and a great history at TPC Louisiana, I'm expecting another great performance from Jason Dufner this week. Although he's struggled a little in 2013, yet to crack the top 10 in a tournament, I think this will a turning point for him.
Billy Horschel: Another who demonstrates a high level of consistency, Horschel has made 22 consecutive cuts on Tour. He's got other impressive stats which include ranking first in total birdies, T16 in total driving, 46th in greens hit, 26th in strokes gained-putting and 12th in the all-around.
Bubba Watson: After winning this event in 2011, Bubba finished T18 last year. He's accumulated 5 top 25 finishes so far this season which includes two top 10's. He remains one of the longest hitters on Tour and also leads the TOUR in birdies or better on par 4s (23.74%).
Here's a look at my completed fantasy golf picks...
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This article was written by Scott Stevens and is part of the Eat Sleep Golf - Fantasy Golf series which focuses on introducing upcoming PGA Tour events as well as evaluating the field of players. We encourage you to comment below and/or join in the conversation with us on Twitter using#FantasyGolf & #PGATour. Be sure to connect with us @EatSleepGolf