The Fantasy Insider: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
By Scott Pianowski, The Fantasy Insider
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Being smack dab in the middle of March Madness, I'd like to stick with an underdog theme for this week's selections, but we'll see how the pools look before committing to anything concrete. I'd also like a quiet table at Emeril's place and a full night at the French Quarter without repercussions the next morning, but for now the miracles will be limited to six selections, plus some wild-card thoughts.
PGATOUR.com Pick 'em
You need one player in each of the six groups, a wild card selection, and this week, a little voodoo wouldn't hurt.
Group 1 Pick: Daniel Chopra
Other Options: Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Ryuji Imada, Steve Lowery
And here's our first upset special in this week's TFI, as we steer away from Stricker, who will surely be the most popular pick from this group. Stricker has one hit (11th) and one missed cut from the two times this event has been played at TPC Louisiana, while Chopra has been on the money in both stops (15th, 9th).
Cink's on my auction team with the homeboys, but I need to see a make-good showing from him before I buy in again - the giveaway three weeks ago could be a hard thing to recover from. He hasn't been to this event since 2003. Lowery has a host of top-10s at this tournament if you go back far enough, but when the event came to TPC Louisiana in 2005, he missed the cut.
Group 2 Pick: Jim Furyk
Other Options: Jeff Quinney, Troy Matteson, Steve Marino, Brian Gay
I've already picked Furyk elsewhere on PGATOUR.COM, so to be consistent I'm not jumping ship now. He's got the steady game needed to navigate this track for four days, and his ball striking was in fine form last week, finishing just one back of Geoff Ogilvy. His game could be peaking at a very ideal time, so let's look to get in on the fun.
Where's the angle if you want to go away from Furyk in this pool? I don't see it. Quinney, Matteson, Marino, and Gay all made the trek here last year, but none of them cracked the Top 70.
Group 3 Pick: Mark Calcavecchia
Other Options: Retief Goosen, John Senden, John Mallinger, Nathan Green
I'm expecting a lot of Goosen play after his fine showing last week, but it's about time I offered some Calcavecchia love in this column. It seems like every week I have some excuse for not picking him, but fantasy games are as much about fun as they are about playing the percentages, so I'm dialing up the veteran here. He's capable of rolling in the 60s all week (which may be needed), and he grabbed fifth place in this event last year.
Mallinger ran third in New Orleans last year but he's been a touch inconsistent in 2008, already missing three cuts. Senden hasn't played this course yet and Green was an ordinary 56th in 2007.
Group 4 Pick: Steve Elkington
Other Options: Kenny Perry, Cliff Kresge, George McNeill, Chad Campbell
Elkington should know his way around the grounds -- Pete Dye consulted with Elkington as the course was being built. Sign me up for that angle. Elkington ran 28th at this event last year and I'll wager a beignet he does even better this week.
Perry is normally a solid pick anywhere but he's only been over this track once (66th last year). Campbell hasn't been to the event since 2002, Kresge's struggled in five stops here, and McNeill's one start was an ordinary 44th last season.
Group 5 Pick: Padraig Harrington
Other Options: Kevin Sutherland, Kevin Na, Dustin Johnson, Matt Jones
Break out the chalk on this selection because there's no way I'm skipping over a chance to pick Harrington in the fifth pool. He's got two solid checks here, including a ninth in 2005, and he's got the game to take down any field when he's right. The British Open win might have been a push-off for Harrington; he's very capable of winning multiple majors before he's through.
Sutherland has cashed three straight checks here but none of them were in the top 30. Na hasn't done a thing in three stops at the event, while Johnson and Jones are making their debuts.
Group 6 Pick: Woody Austin
Other Options: Mike Weir, Charles Warren, Alex Cejka, Joe Durant
Austin's done quite well in two starts over TPC Louisiana (18th, 5th), and he's flat-out due for something notable in 2008. He's also capable of making four days of birdies here, which is needed if you want to contend.
Okay, I've played it safe again with the Austin pick, but I'm not sure what else to suggest. Weir hasn't started here since 2001, Warren has three missed cuts on his resume, Durant missed the 2007 cut and was 52nd in 2005, and Cejka had three spotty turns before a solid eighth last season (and he comes off a missed cut last week).
Rest of the Field: Zach Johnson hasn't played this event at TPC Louisiana yet, but perhaps he can carry over his fine play from Doral last week (ninth) ... Jeff Maggert doesn't play as often as some others, but when he does show up, he's ready to play four rounds. He's made 6-of-7 cuts this year and he ran 11th at New Orleans last year; get him on your sleeper list ... Time to buy-low on Anthony Kim if you can; he's got too much talent not to turn things around, and he's comfortable at this track (third in 2007) ... Picking Carl Pettersson always seems like a safe and reasonable thing to do -- like going to bed early or buying more insurance -- but his one stop at TPC Louisiana was uneventful (73-73, missed cut) ... Nick Watney has the game to overcome the defending-champion curse; he can string up birdies with anyone, and he's cashed two tidy top 25 checks in his last two events. I'll be surprised if we don't see a good week from him ... Duke didn't last long in the NCAA tournament, but I'm expecting four solid rounds from Ken Duke, who's playing well again after a brief slump. He finished second to Watney last year and he ran sixth at Arnie's place two weeks back.
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