New course greets Zurich Classic field
IN: News | US PGA | Zurich Classic of New Orleans (2005) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 26 Apr 2005
A new course greets the field for this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans with the TPC of Louisiana replacing the English Turn Golf & Country Club which played host to the event for the last sixteen years.
The new layout was designed by Pete Dye in collaboration with both Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson. Dye, whose courses have now played host to three of the last six PGA Tour events this season, including this week and last week's Nationwide Tour event in Virginia Beach. Dye was sought out by Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem to create his third TPC course here. The other two are the TPC at Sawgrass and the TPC at Virginia Beach. He was also the designer of the recent MCI Heritage Classic's venue, Harbour Town Links.
Smallish greens, large waste bunker areas and numerous water hazards feature in the 7500 plus yard layout built out of a flat piece of low lying swamp ground in Avondale, Louisiana, just across the river from New Orleans. The promotional material for the course suggests that Dye has included several short par fours but to my mind the shortest at 372 yards is hardly that. When is someone going to create another great risk/reward reachable par four at around 310 yards or so? The greens are Miniverde Bermuda with the fairways in TifSport Bermuda.
The defending champion is, guess who, Vijay Singh. Last year on the English Turn course Singh blew the field away with a last round 63, which included a last nine of 29, to overtake Joe Ogilvie and Phil Mickelson and win his third event of a nine win season. This is a new venue this week but somehow there seems every reason to believe that Singh will once again go close to defending a title for the second week in a row, having done so last week in Houston.
Perhaps surprisingly given his good week in this event last year Mickelson is not playing.
Given the absence of leading players, there is only five from the top twenty in world ranking here, Singh will dominate favouritism for this event but that fact allows for many tour graduates to get a start before the rest of the leading players return for more sought after events over the next few weeks. Not that the US$5.5 million on offer here can be sneezed at mind you.
Last year's runner up, Joe Ogilvie, challenged strongly last week and is due to win his first PGA Tour event. Given his current form he must surely figure in this event again.
Chris DiMarco is back after a two week break following his brilliant runner up placing at Augusta. His form has been rather strange this year with his two runner-up placings at Augusta and La Costa surrounded by several less impressive performances. He is a bit hard to like on that basis but his brilliance at Augusta is hard to dismiss and must surely have given him a great boost.
David Toms is playing at home so to speak, even though he lives some 300 miles away in Shreveport, and will be the focus of local fans' attention. The last few weeks have not been kind to Toms but his form earlier in the season was first class.
Davis Love III was runner-up at the MCI Heritage after never looking a chance until late in the piece. His form this season has been both good and bad, but if he gets it together this week, he can win without question. It has been nearly twenty months since his last USPGA Tour win, although he did win the Tiger Challenge late in 2003. He might be due to notch up his 19th victory.
John Daly's second placing last week came out of the blue somewhat. His form until then had been rather ordinary in 2005. He is a bit too inconsistent for me to be backing but it is hard to forget the quality of shots he was hitting over the closing nine holes last Sunday.
Tim Herron is also due for a big week. It has been one bad round that has cost him a high finish in each of the last three starts and he plays well on Bermuda greens with all three of his USPGA Tour wins coming on them. I expect him to do well this week.
Charles Howell III had a reasonable week last week after missing his two previous cuts. He played very well earlier in the season and although at another venue, was 5th here last year.
Englishman Greg Owen's performance in Houston last week could, on the surface, be seen as a week out of the ordinary but a closer look at this form in his rookie season suggests someone who has quickly taken to golf in the US. His fourth last week comes after a third placing at Pebble Beach earlier in the season. He lost his way early on the back nine last week but came back strongly and will be better for the experience.
Bob Tway and Bo Van Pelt may be two for longer odds. Tway was 22nd last week and 15th at Hilton Head suggesting that something even better may not be far away. Van Pelt finally found some form last week in Houston when 7th. After a brilliant season in 2004 he has struggle a little early this year but last week's effort suggests that he is back on track. His putting is holding him back but if he can manage to put it together on the greens this week then he can figure.
The Australasians here are Robert Allenby, who at his best is capable of winning here but his form has slipped in recent weeks, Steve Allan, last week's surprise Gavin Coles, Steve Elkington who appears to be on the improve and will play a course in which he had design input, Paul Gow, Scott Hend, Bradley Hughes, Brendan Jones, Michael Long, Craig Perks and Euan Walters.
The event is worth US$5.5 million.
