Bubba Watson: Favourite for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Golf Feature
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is just two days away, and the buzz surrounding it is becoming intense by the day.
In the last few years, the tournament has received a massive response from players all over the world by showing their interest in participating in the event.
This year, it is expected to be one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour because of its elite field. Luke Donald, Steve Stricker, Justin Rose and KJ Choi will be there.
The best golfers from all over the world will compete for the $6.4 million purse, with a winning share of $1,152,000.
The reigning Masters winner and defending champion Bubba Watson is in the field too. Moreover, the reigning PGA Champion, Keegan Bradley will also be in the field.
In addition, the 2012 PGA Tour winners, Brandt Snedeker, John Huh, George McNeill, Carl Pettersson, Ben Curtis, are all there, getting ready to make their mark in the tournament.
Moreover, there are a total of 12 major winners scheduled to tee off at the prestigious TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana.
Therefore, it is really difficult to name one player, who can be called as the ‘favourite’ or the most likely to win the tournament.
Yet, there is always a player who is a threat to his opponents even before the tournament starts. This time, it is Watson.
He recently announced his participation in the event following a two-week break, which he took after registering a win at the Augusta National Golf Club.
“It’s always a pleasure to come here, especially with a sponsor like Zurich,” Watson said. “When Zurich gets behind it and starts driving it, the tournament gets better and better. The field last year was one of the best ever. The fields are getting better
and better here”.
Since the victory in the Masters Tournament, Watson has been all over the media, creating hype prior to the start of the Zurich Classic.
His first major victory of the career has raised the expectations from him, especially in a setting like this, where he is set to play his first event following the Masters.
Moreover, he is the defending champion, which makes him more confident, and a strong contender for the tournament.
He has the ability to go low at the venue, as he did last year. He took a three-stroke victory over Matt Jones after carding a 15-under par 273 tournament score.
Watson is, no doubt, one of the dangerous players all over the world, because of his consistency throughout the four rounds in each of the event that he plays.
In the last eight appearances on the PGA Tour, he went over par only twice, once in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (R1: 74) and the other time in the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship (R4: 74).
Since March, he has not been listed outside the top four positions in each of the tournaments that he played.
He took the second place in the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, followed by a shared second position in Tavistock Cup, an unofficial PGA Tour event.
Thereafter, he continued his great form and tied for the fourth position in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, presented by MasterCard, prior to his maiden major victory in the Masters.
Therefore, he is somewhat unstoppable and aims to keep his momentum going in the Zurich Classic.
A fine show there can further take his confidence to the peak before the Players Championship, scheduled to begin next month.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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