- Jason Day, Australia — The No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings has had a week off after he said he was tired during a tie for 23rd in the RBC Heritage. That came after he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play before tying for 10th in the Masters. Other than a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open, he hasn’t been outside the top 25 in seven of his eight events this year. Day is playing in New Orleans for the fourth time, and last year he posted four scores in the 60s at TPC Louisiana to wind up in a tie for fourth, three strokes behind champion Justin Rose, after holding the lead through 36 holes thanks to a 7-under-par 65 in round two.
- Rickie Fowler, United States — Coming off a missed cut in the Masters, which he entered as one of the favorites, Rickie tries to bounce back in his sixth appearance in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Based on his history in the Big Easy, that might be a big task after he missed the cut at TPC Louisiana the last two years, although he did tie for 10th there in 2012 — when he shot 7-under-par 65 in the second round. Fowler, who has won four times around the world the last 12 months, including the 2015 Players Championship, hasn’t won this season on the PGA Tour despite five results in the top 10. He came close while losing to Hideki Matsuyama of Japan in a playoff at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
- Justin Rose, England — Even though the defending champion hasn’t won since hoisting the trophy at TPC Louisiana last year, Rose’s game seems to be in fine shape with the Players and three summer major championships looming. He is coming off a tie for 10th in the Masters, one of his four top-10 finishes this season, and he has finished in the top 25 in six of his last eight tournaments. Last year in the Zurich Classic, Rose sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and a 14-footer on the last to finish off a 6-under-par 66 and beat Cameron Tringale by one stroke. That gave him victories on the PGA Tour in each of the last six seasons, one behind Dustin Johnson on the active list.
- Billy Horschel, United States — Starting to again play like the guy who captured the 2014 FedEx Cup, Horshcel returns this week to TPC Louisiana, where he claimed the first of his three PGA Tour titles in 2013. He stayed patient through two rain delays and holed a 27-foot birdie putt on the final hole to close out an 8-under-par 64 and beat D.A. Points by one stroke. That came after Horschel reeled off six straight birdies after the first rain delay to take the lead. He hasn’t been in the top 25 in any of his other four starts in New Orleans. Horschel tied for fourth last week in the Valero Texas Open and tied for 17th in the Masters among his six finishes in the top 25 this season.
- Daniel Berger, United States — The 2015 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year got off to a slow start this season, but has posted his first top-10 finishes in his last two starts, a tie for fifth in Shell Houston Open and a tie for 10th in his first Masters. That came after he missed the cut in his first two major appearances as a pro, the Open Championship at St. Andrews and the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits last year. After missing the cut in three of his previous four outings, he showed he was on the way back with a tie for 11th in the Valspar Championship on the Florida swing. Berger is making his second appearance at TPC Louisiana, where he tied for sixth a year ago, posting four scores in the 60s.
- Charley Hoffman, United States — After playing well for several weeks, other than his meltdowns in the final round, Hoffman broke through last week when he sank a nine-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Valero Texas Open. That gave him his fourth PGA Tour victory and first since the 2014 OHL Classic at Mayakoba. If he can make a quick turnaround, he could again be in the mix in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he is playing for the 10th time. He finally seemed to figure out TPC Louisiana last year, when he finished in a tie for fourth that was his first top-10 result in the event. His previous best was a tie for 19th in 2009, when he took himself out of the chase with a 77 in round three.
- Chris Kirk, United States — It seems that Kirk finally is regaining his form after struggling since he sustained a broken hand while playing with one of his children on the family farm when he was preparing to head to the Open Championship at St. Andrews last July. He tied for 12th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and tied for fifth in the WGC-Dell Match Play before missing the cut in the Masters. Then he tied for 23rd in the RBC Heritage by falling back with a closing 74 but tied for 13th in the Valero Texas Open. Kirk, who has four victories on the PGA Tour since 2011, is playing in the Zurich Classic for the third time and tied for 21st in 2013 after missing the cut a year earlier.
- Ricky Barnes, United States — Still winless on the PGA Tour in 122 starts after being unable to hold the 54-hole lead while closing with a 2-over-par 74 in the Valero Texas Open, Barnes at least seems to be headed in the right direction. He finished in a tie for fourth at TPC San Antonio after tying for ninth in the RBC Heritage a week earlier. The 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, who was likened to a young Arnold Palmer when he came out of the University of Arizona, obviously struggled with the expectations but might be able to carve out some success after age 35 the way Jimmy Walker has. Barnes is playing in the Zurich Classic for the seventh time but has yet to finish in the top 40.
- Jamie Lovemark, United States — The great things that were predicted for Lovemark when he came out of USC in 2009 have not materialized, but at 28, he seems to be healthy and his name has popped up on leaderboards on the PGA Tour this season. After winning the 2007 NCAA championship and claiming the Nicklaus, Palmer, Mickelson and Haskins awards in college, he won the money title and the Player of the Year award on what is now the Web.com Tour in 2011. Then Lovemark was sidetracked by injuries, including a back ailment that required surgery. However, he has four top-10 results this season, including ties for sixth in the CareerBuilder Challenge and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Lovemark missed the cuts in his only two appearances at TPC Louisiana, in 2012 and 2014.
- Seung-yul Noh, South Korea — The 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans champion hoped to delay his two-year mandatory military service back home with a strong season on the PGA Tour to make the South Korean team for the Olympic Games, but it’s not happening. He doesn’t have a top-10 finish and the best of his three in the top 25 was a tie for 17th in the CareerBuilder Classic. Noh, who has four victories as a pro, badly needs another performance like the one he had two years ago at TPC Louisiana, where he opened with 65-68-65 and held on with a 71 for a two-stroke victory over Andrew Svoboda and Robert Streb. After opening with a 73, he withdrew from his title defense because of a back injury.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
