Zurich Classic Preview: Rose is Back for More

To be a fly on the wall inside Charley Hoffman's mind while he walked to the 18th tee on Sunday afternoon. The thoughts he must have been battling; thoughts of Sundays past, when nothing seemed to work. Thoughts of a duffed drive just 24 hours earlier. All the things that could go wrong, would it happen again?

Not this time. Although Hoffman wasn't exactly a pillar of strength on the final hole at the Texas Open on Sunday, he pulled off two excellent shots -- shots that surrounded two poor shots -- but in the end, four strokes is all he needed on the par-5 18th, and you need only win by one stroke on the PGA Tour.

For Hoffman, though, that margin of at least one stroke has been difficult to come by the last 18 months. Getting into contention? That hasn't been a problem, but closing has proven difficult. With this win, though, the pressure should be greatly reduced. Whether that has a positive effect on his game is yet to be determined, but considering how others have responded after getting the monkey of their backs, Hoffman's in for a big season.

To be a fly on the wall of Hoffman's mind after he sunk that final putt.

This week: Zurich Classic of New Orleans - TPC of Louisiana, Avondale, La.

Last Year: Justin Rose shot a final-round 66 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Cameron Tringale.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Justin Rose

An upper-tier golfer with a strong track record at this event, against a less than stellar field -- what's not to like? Some might want to stash Rose for one of the four majors, but there are plenty of top-tier golfers to take at the majors. Might as well pull the trigger on Rose this week.

Cameron Tringale

Yes, I realize these two were one and two last year, but at these lower-tier events, it's often the players with solid track records that show up year in and year out. Tringale was runner-up last year, but that wasn't the first time he'd had success here. Tringale entered last year's with top-20s in three of his previous four starts.

Jason Day

Unlike Rose, I wouldn't pull the trigger on Day this week for two reasons. One, he's worth too much later in the season and, two, his track record here is limited. That said, he might be the best player in the world now and, take him or not, will play well this week.

Boo Weekley

If you are looking for someone off the radar this week, Weekley could be your guy. He's not having a great season but has made the cut three consecutive weeks and has a top-5 on his resume. His history here is pretty solid, so perhaps a trip down south will give his the boost he needs.

Billy Horschel

Horschel runs really hot and mildly cold. He's not running really hot, but he could be on the verge. He's played well in two of his last three starts and is a former champion here. His hot/cold style holds true at this event as well, as he's either on or off.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Rickie Fowler

As good as Fowler is, more often than not, he plays to his track record. If he has a good track record somewhere, he plays well, if not, he usually plays poorly. In other words, he's not nearly as scary a fade as, say, Jason Day or Jordan Spieth. In case you didn't put it together yet, his track record here is not good.

Jerry Kelly

Kelly won this event in 2009 and finished in the top-25 last year, but his results between those finishes were awful. Add to that, his game is slowly fading with age, and Kelly looks like someone to fade this week.

Charley Hoffman

Hoffman is obviously playing well entering the week, but his results here have been all over the place. This pick is really more about Hoffman's state of mind, though. He picked up a huge win last week, and while he could build on that this week, it would seem more natural to let up a bit this week.

Seung-Yul Noh

Noh won this event in 2014, but his game is nowhere near where it was in 2014. Noh is just outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup list, but he really hasn't played well since late February.

Hunter Mahan

Mahan is so desperate for a good result that he's coming back to this event after nearly a decade off. Mahan hasn't played here since 2006 and has only played this course once in competitive play. His first trip around this course resulted in a T68 in 2005.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Daniel Summerhays (MC) - $103,075; Season - $6,147,702

This week: Justin Rose - I thought long and hard about using Horschel in this spot, but with the limited number of high-end players in the field this week, it's too risky to use anyone but Rose in this spot.

YAHOO PICKS

Points: 2,259
Rank: 26,807

This Week:

Group A: Jason Day, Keegan Bradley

Group B: Justin Rose, Cameron Tringale, Danny Lee, David Hearn

Group C: Billy Horschel, Steve Stricker

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: Charley Hoffman (1); Streak - 15

This week: Justin Rose - Rose is the best one-and-done pick this week, and he's also the best survivor pick this week. While I don't mind burning him this early in the one-and-done, I am a little more hesitant to burn him in a survivor pool because he has a lot of value during the majors in that format.