The 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Six Pack

It's that time of year again. The PGA Tour is off to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.

This tourney has produced no repeat winners in the past ten years and it typically is a crown that goes earned by a player that at the time may not be considered a "upper echelon" player.

Last years winner Andres Romero (pictured) won here last year, putting him on the map as a winner on the PGA Tour, and showing the world what he is capable of.

This years field is a very interesting one.

I had a tough time weeding out my six pack this week. It's so hard for me to pick against Kenny Perry this week, but since he is at 12:1 I cannot pick him. And since he pretty much had one of the biggest meltdowns in Masters history, costing me a large chunk of change, as I had him at 60:1 to win it all, I am still pissed off at him, and feel satisfied, that I can't put him in my sixer anyway!

My pick of Brian Gay at 60/1 greatly helped me pad my offshore account last week, and also catapulted me even higher in the Yahoo fantasy pool.

I am now in 798th place overall. That may not sound so great, but considering there are well over 50,000 people, That's very good. Also in my group, The Fans of Hunter Mahan, I am ranked 6th out of 637 people!

I feel great about this weekend. Not only because we will be in the high 70's here in New England, and I will be practicing for MY first major of my golf club's year, but I really like my six pack, and my Yahoo selections.

If you ever want to check out how I am as a golfer in real life, you can view all of my rounds and stats for the past few years under the individual stats section of my clubs website nshgc.com

This week for my Yahoo picks I am going with the following:

GROUP A
Kenny Perry (st) Justin Rose

GROUP B
Nick Watney (st) Steve Stricker (st) David Toms Lucas Glover

GROUP C
Charles Howell III (st) Ian Poulter

I know, I know CH3 is on my Yahoo team. You can rest assured that almost guarantees he misses the cut, withdraws, or gets disqualified. I am not ruling out a lightning strike either. Not only does it look like he went a little crazy with the 'ol Crest Whitestrips, but that guy for some reason is always the kiss of death to anything fantasy for me.

Well, if you are ready, then so am I. Let's lay down the six pack for this week, and try to keep the gravy train flowing!

#1 David Toms

I had to pick a hometown hero.

David Toms is just that. His Foundation has helped thousands of Shreveport youths and provided them with much needed guidance and support through various activities.

Toms is also playing some great golf in his '09 campaign.

He has made six of eight cuts so far and has four T25 finishes. Three of those happen to be T10's. He has climbed up to 68th in the world after his injury marred 2008.

Toms has won this event before, so he knows what it takes to get it done. Toms also has some outstanding stats to back up his game. Check this out:

-David is ranked 6th on the PGA tour for his all around ability
-He is 3rd on tour for accuracy
-Mr. Toms is ranked 4th in scoring average on tour so far this year

I could not pass up David Toms this week, he is at 30:1 to win it all in the Big Easy.

#2 Justin Rose

Let's face it, Justin is not exactly tearing it up this year.

He has made five out of six cuts though. Two of those finishes happen to be T25's. I guess when you think about it, it's really not that bad...for the average tour player.

Rose is not your average tour player.

His expectations are much higher than his results thus far have shown. Don't forget Rose is still ranked 25th in the entire world.

This stellar worldwide ranking can definitely be attributed to two aspects of his game.

First, he is probably one of the finest sand players to ever play the game.

Second, he is a terrific putter.

Justin is also a very good fourth round player. That is important, because if he does have two or three very good rounds, you know the chances of him choking on Sunday are relatively slim.

Rose is also due to shine this year and his play has been trending upward (except for his T52 at The Shell Houston Open)

At 30:1 odds, I think Justin Rose is well worth a look.

#3 Lucas Glover

Lucas Glover is having a pretty darn good bounce back year.

Expectations for him were very high last year, and he did not deliver what he is capable of delivering.

He is far ahead of where he was last year, and has only missed two cuts out of nine events this year. The two cuts he missed were right on the cut line.

Glover has a T3 this year and three events where he placed T25 or better.

The thing I love about Glover is that he can smash the ball of the tee, yet he has the finesse to be one of the tours top putters. He is 42nd on tour for putts per round, and ranks fifth in total driving, which combines distance and accuracy.

If Glover makes the cut (which he probably will) then chances are he will finish in the top ten. I say that because the three years he has made the cut here, he went on to finish 8th, 7th, and 3rd.

I'm going to give Mr. "fitzlikea" Glover a shot this week at 30:1 odds

#4 Tim Wilkinson

I'm sure there are many people right now thinking, "Who????"

Let me tell you, Wilkinson is definitely a solid player to watch this weekend.

Typically I do not pick guys that don't make many cuts. Wilkinson is the exception to that rule for me this week. He has made only five of nine so far this year.

I think that with certain guys, you have to strike while the iron is hot, and Wilkinson's iron is gleaming right now.

Tim finished T6 last week at The Verizon Heritage, and was T3 at the Zurich, last year. As my good friend Richard Garner once said, "Two plus two equals four."

Here are a few stats that I found to be surprising for such a low ranked player:
-Tim is ranked 10th in the PGA for driving accuracy
-Tim ranks 40th in sand saves on tour
-Wilkinson can putt. He ranks 23rd on tour for putts per round

I may not pick this guy in my six pack ever again, but this week at 50:1 odds, he is a pick packed with value.

#5 Todd Hamilton

Ironically, another guy that may not ring a bell with the average Joe.

Todd (Mr. Who part two) has a problem making the cut. He has only succeeded four times in eleven attempts so far this year.

However, Mr. Hamilton marks someone who is absolutely on fire right now, and is one of those "no-name" kind of guys that could have some terrific success here in New Orleans this weekend.

Hamilton's play has been trending up in an impressive fashion over the past five weeks. Did I mention he placed T4 last week?

Hopefully he can continue his upward streak, and win this thing. If he does, he could turn a ten dollar bill into $500.00, as he is 50:1 to win it all.

#6 Rod Pampling

Pampling ain't easy.

However, he IS in my six pack this week.

Rod has made five out of seven cuts which is not too shabby. He crumbled last week at The Verizon Heritage, by shooting 74 in the third round and 78 in the fourth round to plummet down to 65th.

This guy is still a pretty solid pick this week, in my opinion. He has shot many rounds in the sixties this year, and I have a good feeling that in this field, he has a great shot of coming out on top.

Pampling is my long shot special this week at 80:1 odds