Fantasy Insider: Analysis for Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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The Zurich Classic of New Orleans serves as a secondary start of sorts that fantasy gamers should heed. It is the third of 14 events on the PGA TOUR schedule with a season-high 156 golfers.

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ZURICH CLASSIC

Tee Times
TOUR Report
Inside the Course
Power Rankings
Choosing Sides

The first two of the series -- Farmers Insurance Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- are played over multiple courses, but the remaining 12 are hosted singularly. The deepest fields are possible what with daylight hours not the challenge that they were in the early months, so guys in Priority Ranking No. 27 (126th-150th in earnings the previous year, also known as conditional status) can set schedules more confidently than at any time all year.

Last year, in the 20 events from New Orleans through the Wyndham Championship, 10 of the 11 golfers in this category made at least 11 starts. (Matt Weibring logged eight before a hip injury ended his season.) This slice of the schedule represents just over 43 percent of all events, but for the 11 on conditional status, it was worth over 55 percent of the total number of starts they were able to secure all year.

There are 19 guys in the category this year. Johnson Wagner has already won, so he's been elevated to Priority Ranking No. 9 (winners' category), leaving us with 18 fresh fantasy faces. Therefore, if you're in a game that allows roster moves and you're in search of some depth through the end of the regular season, start monitoring the results of the guys in Priority Ranking No. 27, which you can view here.

Power Rankings Plus

11. Chris Couch ... Given that the road back from an injury is often longer than all other angles into our consciousness, he's been like finding lightning in a bottle. While he's healthy, the more important element of his renewed fantasy value is his approach at picking his spots, and not eyeing 30 starts like the old days. He's 7-for-7 this year, with four top 15s, including last week's T14 at Harbour Town. He's second in the all-around ranking and first in pre-cut scoring average, all-too-important for Yahoo! gamers. His lone TOUR victory occurred at this event in 2006, but that was in English Turn's final year as host.

12. Webb Simpson ... His T14 at The Heritage was his fifth top 20 in nine starts, and he's already eclipsed $1 million in earnings. Sits 29th on TOUR in greens hit, 13th in putting and seventh in the all-around.

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13. David Toms ... Of the entrants in this field, only Duffy Waldorf (18) has made more appearances at this event than the Louisiana native, Toms (17). Since the move to TPC Louisiana, Toms has cashed in his last three, including a T5 in 2009. He arrives on the strength of four straight paydays (including two top fives) and ranks fourth on TOUR in greens in regulation. He's also eighth in the all-around.

14. Charles Howell III ... Comes off a surprising missed cut at The Heritage, where he hit 21 greens and still needed 60 putts. However, he has six top 20s in 12 starts this year and ranks 15th on TOUR in greens hit. He's also 8-for-8 at this event with three paydays at TPC Louisiana, including a co-runner-up just two years ago.

15. K.J. Choi ... He's outside the top 115 on TOUR in total driving, greens hit and putting, but he continues to lurk on leaderboards. Enters riding consecutive top 10s at Bay Hill and Augusta National. Snatched his first of seven PGA TOUR victories at this event in 2002, but that was at English Turn.

Power Rankings Distribution for Yahoo! (rank)

Group A ... Nick Watney (2); Luke Donald (4); Charley Hoffman (5); K.J. Choi (15)
Group B ... Justin Rose (1); Steve Stricker (3); Spencer Levin (6); Ben Crane (7); Pat Perez (8); Bubba Watson (10); Webb Simpson (12); David Toms (13)
Group C ... Brandt Snedeker (9); Chris Couch (11); Charles Howell III (14)

Dark Horse (Yahoo! Group)

Robert Allenby (B) ... First appearance since a T47 in 2005, and cannot be ruled out anytime greens in regulation is a premium. Undulating greens at TPC Louisiana should help neutralize his recurring struggles with the flatstick (139th on TOUR in putting). Prior to missing the cut at the Masters, had finished T6 in Houston, where he swallowed just five holes over par all week.

Jeff Overton (B) ... Last year's runner-up also finished T13 in 2009, and seems to have a knack for TPC Louisiana. Both results chased lackluster one-month spans that preceded them. Over his last 144 holes here, he's circled 41 birdies and absorbed just 16 holes over par.

John Senden (B) ... Has cashed in all six of his starts since the Northern Trust Open, posting five top-25s during the stretch. He's survived all three of his cuts at TPC Louisiana, including a T12 in 2008. Sits ninth on TOUR in greens hit.

Tim Petrovic (B) ... Winner of the inaugural tournament at TPC Louisiana in 2005. Also owns three top-25s here since. We're never really sure when he's going to put four rounds together, but it's usually around this time of year. He showed some signs of explosion in Houston, where he finished T16 and had just four bogeys, and then again last week at Harbour Town, where he ranked third in putting.

Jason Dufner (C) ... Solid, quiet reliability here. Coming off a T14 at Harbour Town and has posted top-10s each of the last two years here, carding just 13 of 144 holes over par.

John Rollins (C) ... Has just one top-25 in 10 starts this year, but hasn't finished outside the top 25 here in three starts. Ranks a sturdy 15th on TOUR in total driving and 27th in greens hit.

Troy Matteson (C) ... Only sub-71 round in his last 11 loops of TPC Louisiana just happens to be the course record (64, second round, 2009), which he shares with Kyle Reifers. Since losing in the playoff in Puerto Rico, Matteson's best finish is a T30 in San Antonio, but he's cashed in all three of those starts and owns a 4-for-4 record here.

Chris DiMarco (C) ... It's been a long time relatively speaking since he shared third place here in 2005, but he's always supported this stop and arrives on the heels of a T14 in Hilton Head, where he ranked T6 in greens hit and went sub-70 over his last three rounds to notch his third top-25 in his last eight starts.

Danger (Yahoo! Group)

Jason Bohn (B) ... Enjoyed a wicked week tee to cup during last year's victory here, but hasn't posted a top 10 in 24 PGA TOUR events since. Has cashed in six of eight this year, but boasts just one top-25. Missed the cut here in 2009.

Graeme McDowell (A) ... Going through a mini-slump as his only payday in his last three starts is a T61 at The Heritage, where he closed 74-74. First-timer at TPC Louisiana.

Sean O'Hair (B) ... Owns a pair of top-15s in as many starts here, but hasn't teed it up since 2007. Meanwhile, lone top 30 in nine starts this year remains a T24 at The Honda Classic, which happens to be his last payday. He's riding an 0-for-4 slide.

Camilo Villegas (B) ... A dark horse here last week, he reached the midpoint of The Heritage in 8-under 134, but faded on the weekend to finish T36. Surely, it's a great sign of things to come, but wait for him to put four rounds together. He's also a first-timer here.

Boo Weekley (C) ... Did what you expected him to do at Harbour Town in leading the field in greens hit, but converted just 16 of 53 birdie opportunities on some of the smallest greens on TOUR. Moreover, he had 14 bogeys and finished T46 on the leaderboard. Finished T13 here in 2009, and then, during last year's T10, he was bogey-free 11-under on the first 11 holes for the week. Also ranked T4 overall in greens. Alas, he has just one top 25 this season as compared to multiple top 25s in advance of his last two appearances here.

Matt Jones (B) ... Recorded one of his five top 10s last year at this event, but he has just one top 25 so far this year and has finished outside the top 50 seven of nine times, including four missed cuts.

Medic! (Yahoo! Group)

Tiger Woods (A) ... His website reported on Tuesday that he "suffered a Grade 1 mild medial collateral ligament sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon" during his second shot at the 17th hole in his third round at the Masters. Woods was crouched underneath the Eisenhower tree and back-pedaled immediately after impact. The injury will bump him from next week's Wells Fargo Championship.

Tom Gillis (B) ... The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina reported that he has a fracture of the L4 vertebra. This explains why he's withdrawn from each of his last three commitments. No timetable for a return was released. Gillis told the newspaper that he won't have surgery and may need to procure a medical extension for 2012. Although it's early in the process of gathering information, Gillis wouldn't qualify for a Minor Medical until he sits out at least two months; the waiting period to qualify for a Major Medical is four months. His last event was the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 27; therefore, fantasy gamers may want to consider scrambling to spell the veteran during his downtime.

Notable WDs (Yahoo! Group)

Garrett Willis (C) ... Withdrew on Monday. Had just finished T9 at The Heritage, where he was the outright leader after 18 holes. He also withdrew after 27 holes of the Shell Houston Open four weeks ago, but didn't submit an explanation publicly.

Jimmy Walker (C) ... Per his wife, Erin, Jimmy has opted for one more week of rest before teeing it up in five straight and qualifiers for the U.S. and British Opens. Jimmy is not injured.

Jesper Parnevik (C) ... Withdrew on Monday. Also withdrew prior to his second round of The Heritage due to a neck injury. He had surgery in that area in February of last year.

Joe Affrunti (C) ... Suggested last Friday that he had regressed with his shoulder in this tweet: " So practice went super well this week with my coach! Little thing though, something popped in my shoulder, back to square one, uggh"

Rob Bolton is the freelance fantasy columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.