Zurich Classic Preview: Who's Up for Team Golf?

There comes a moment in every professional golfer's career when the pressure to win becomes a force unto itself. For most golfers, it doesn't appear during the first few years of their career — those years are spent simply trying to keep cards for the following season — but at some point, after a few years on the PGA Tour, the whispers start. Can this guy win? Does he have the mental capacity to hold onto a lead? Can he handle the pressure of the final round?

These questions that surround every guy in this particular spot don't just go away, either. They actually become more frequent the more success a golfer has. If he plays poorly, he becomes irrelevant and most people figure he's never going to win anyway. But if he plays well, people are left to wonder why he hasn't won.

After 180 starts on the PGA Tour, you can bet that Kevin Chappell has heard all the questions about his ability, or lack thereof, to win. Chappell's first full year on the PGA Tour was 2011, and after he posted a runner-up and two top-3s during that season, people were paying attention. The 2012 season was a disappointment, but 2013 was a different story as he earned another runner-up finish and three top-10s. The two years that followed were good, but not great, but 2016 was a year that changed everything.

While Chappell remained in relative obscurity throughout his first five years on the PGA Tour, he finished runner-up four times in 2016, which was both a blessing and a curse. The obvious blessing was the status and the money that came with those four runner-ups. The curse was the added pressure.

After sinking a birdie putt on the 72nd hole at the Texas Open last week, all of that pressure is gone. While questions about taking the next step in his career will surely come, there's no hurry. The pressure that was weighing on Chappell the last 12 months is now gone. Now it's time to relax and just golf.

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

Last Year: Brian Stuard shot a final-round 69 on his way to a playoff victory over Byeong Hun An and Jamie Lovemark.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Jason Day/Rickie Fowler

As you are surely aware by now, this week's event has a bit of a different format. Leagues have scrambled to figure out how to account for this new format, so instead of trying to figure out what most leagues are doing, I'll simply list the teams that I expect to play well this week. At the top is Day and Fowler, who bring more than their names to this event. Day has finished in the top-5 here the last two years, and Fowler finished in the top-20 last year.

Jason Dufner/Patton Kizzire

If looking at course history, this group needs to be in the conversation. Dufner won this event in 2012 and has three additional top-10s in only seven starts at this event. Kizzire has only played this event once, but he finished in the top-10. This is an under-the-radar pair that could do some damage this week.

David Hearn/Graham DeLaet

Team Canada certainly qualifies as a sleeper this week, but I like its chances. When we last saw Graham DeLaet, he was contending at the RBC Heritage on his way to a T6. Hearn has been up and down this season, but he brings the track record to this team. Hearn has never missed a cut at this event in seven starts and has four top-25s in those seven starts.

Daniel Berger/Thomas Pieters

Thomas Pieters is a first-timer here this week, but he'll be able to lean on Berger for some course knowledge this week. Pieters picked up some experience in the team format at the Ryder Cup last fall, and Berger has the solid course history. Berger has played this event twice and finished inside the top-20 both times.

Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes

Win, lose or draw, this will be an interesting group to watch, especially during the best ball rounds. While the focus will be on the tee shots of this group, don't overlook the rest of their respective games. Both Watson and Holmes have played well at this event in the past. Holmes has a pair of top-15s in three starts here and Watson won this event in 2011.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson

This team seems to be a popular pick this week, and while I can understand why people would be backing Rose, I don't understand how they could trust Stenson. Unless I'm missing something, Stenson has been horrible for a couple months now, and while he has every right to find his game, I certainly wouldn't take a chance on him until he shows some signs of his game returning.

Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney

Perhaps Hoffman's collapse at the Masters a few weeks ago is affecting him as he finished T40 at the Valero last week, which was an extreme disappointment. He does have a decent track record here, so he could bounce back, but he's paired with Watney, who just hasn't had his best game for nearly a decade now. If Hoffman were in top form, this team wouldn't be on this list, but he's obviously not at the top of his game.

Jhonattan Vegas/Fabian Gomez

Vegas has played well in spots the last couple months, but his partner has struggled for most of the season. Add to that, Gomez has a poor track record at this event. While he's never missed the cut here, he's also never cracked the top-30 at this event. Vegas earned a T5 here last year, but he can't carry the team by himself.

Billy Horschel/Matt Every

Horschel is off his game, and Every's track record at this event is awful. Horschel was expected to play well last week in San Antonio and he missed the cut by a country mile. Every has played this event five times and has made the cut just once. Between Horschel's form and Every's inability to get around this course, I'd be surprised to see this team on the weekend.

Martin Flores/Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano

The award for the worst combined track record at this event goes to this team. Between the two, they have six starts and only one cut made. Flores is responsible for the one cut made, but he's also responsible for five of the six starts. It's possible that the team format will bring the best out of this pair, but the likely outcome is a missed cut.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Charley Hoffman (T40) - $21,727; Season - $5,684,341

This week: Dufner/Kizzire - Depending on how your league is handling this week, you might want a different team, but my league is mandating that both players on the team you choose this week are burnt for the season. In that case, I'm OK with losing these two for the remainder of the season, and the benefit of course is that they have a great chance to win this week.

YAHOO PICKS

Points: 2,034
Rank: 24,227

This Week:

Group A: N/A

Group B: N/A

Group C: N/A

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: Charley Hoffman - (T40); Streak - 5

This week: Dufner/Kizzire - Again, depends on how your league is handling this, but I fully expect this group to make it to the weekend, and I'm OK going the rest of the season without either one of these two.