2012 Zurich Classic Preview

The PGA Tour is moving to the Big Easy in Louisiana for the 2012 Zurich Classic.  Bubba Watson won the event in a playoff over Webb Simpson a year ago, and is looking to defend his title this week.

Why you should watch it

The 2012 Zurich Classic features a great field that includes four of the top ten players in the World Golf Rankings, nine winners on the PGA Tour this year, and 12 major winners as well.  Not only, but one can expect a great finish at the event as well, as Bubba Watson defeated Webb Simpson in an exciting playoff last year.

The Favorites

Bubba Watson

Everyone knows what Watson did a couple of weeks ago at the Masters, and I believe the confidence that Bubba gained from winning his first major of his career should help immensely for the rest of the year.  He not only hit the ball a mile long, but he is surprisingly accurate with his irons as well, ranking second on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation this year at nearly 75%.  Besides his putting, the only real area that he needs to work on is scrambling, where he ranks 112^th on Tour.  I don’t think that will be much of an issue for him at this event due to his history here, but it is something to look out for early on to see how he performs.

Keegan Bradley

The guy has just been on fire all year long on the PGA Tour, making every cut in 10 starts with his worst finish being a T27 at the Masters.  It is hard to find anything wrong with his game, as he ranks 12^th in total driving, 13^th in scrambling, 23^rd in greens in regulation, and 25^th in strokes gained from putting.  He is solid from tee to green, and that makes him a favorite to finally break through and win this week’s event.

The Sleepers

Graeme McDowell

In six events played on the PGA Tour this year Graeme has four top 25 finishes and a second place finish at the Shell Houston Open.  What I like about his golf game is his accuracy from tee to green, ranking second on tour in driving accuracy and 21^st in greens hit in regulation.  His main weakness is from the sand, so if he can stay out of it for much of the Zurich Classic, he should be in contention heading into the weekend.

John Huh

Watch out for John Huh this week.  He had a remarkable comeback last week at the Valero Texas Open where he started out +8 over his first nine holes and ended up finishing in second place at -7.  He already has a win on the year at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, and has putted the ball beautifully over the past few weeks.  Par 4 performance will be key for Huh, as he currently ranks 100^th on Tour in the category.  If he can take advantage of some of the easy par 4s that this week’s golf course has to offer, I wouldn’t be surprised if he won it.