Last year was the first year the Zurich Classic was held at the TPC Louisiana. Not long after Tim Petrovic won in an exciting playoff over James Driscoll did Hurricane Katrina come through the Gulf Coast region to cause extensive damage to the TPC. The PGA Tour has been in New Orleans since 1938 and is committed to New Orleans and the tournament so they weren't about to let Katrina stop a tournament, so this year the Zurich Classic will be returning to the English Turn Golf and Country Club once again. Since the event was held there from 1989 to 2004 it will almost feel like a welcome home to the staff of English Turn and to many of the PGA Tour players.

It seems like Tim Petrovic will be the one guy who may really miss the TPC and will attempt to defend his title at another course. Last year he didn't play well leading up to the Zurich, missing cuts at the BellSouth Classic and Verizon Heritage. Then he played the TPC like it was his backyard. With rounds of 72, 69, 66, and 68 he earned a spot in the playoff with James Driscoll. Tim ended up winning on the first extra hole.

The last champion at English Turn was Vijay Singh back in 2004. Singh is still looking to get his first win in 2006. His chance of a triple defense at the Shell Houston Open went down the drain with a third-round 75 to finish in a tie for 36th, his worst finish this year. For a man with an almost robot-like consistency, he is in quite the slump this year. But as we saw with Tim last year who was in a slump he just needed one course that suited his eye and game to help rejuvenate his game.

International players have won five of the past seven winners at English Turn and Retief Goosen is looking to cash in on that good fortune. In his last three starts on the TOUR he has done pretty well with a runner up at the Players Championship, T-4 at the BellSouth and tied for third at this year's Masters. Playing in his first Zurich Classic he is also looking for his first win of the season and with at least one win in the past five years on tour he is a safe bet to get at least one this year but will it be the Zurich?

Fans will be excited to see Phil Mickelson return to competition after winning his second Masters and third major championship. However, the sentimental favorite has got to be Louisiana native David Toms who won here in 2001 but has also missed the cut here five times and has also withdrawn once. He has missed the cut in his last few tournaments but started the season well with his win at the Sony Open and four top-10s. David has always been know as a big supporter or the community with his charitable foundation and I am sure he would love to win in his home town and give the fans a much desired celebration.

The event has only been held at three other courses in its 58 year history starting at the City Park Golf Course, Lakewood Country Club and TPC Louisiana. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the English Turn is a par 72 championship course and sets up to 7,078 yards. Large sand and waste bunkers guard many holes along with huge tiered greens to challenge the sharpest of putters but the real challenge is the water that comes into play on every hole!

Generating approximately $25 million for the local economy and up to $16 million in annual television exposure, it's a boost that New Orleans could really use. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans has a purse of $6,000,000 with $1,080,000 to the winner. It will be held at the English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans, LA from April 24 - 30, 2006 and can be heard on XM Radio and seen on USA and CBS at the following times:

Thu, 4/27    12pm-8pm ET  XM 146
Fri, 4/28    12pm-8pm ET  XM 146
Sat, 4/29    12pm-8pm ET  XM 146
Sun, 4/30    12pm-8pm ET  XM 146

Thu, 4/27    4pm-6pm ET   USA
Fri, 4/28    4pm-6pm ET   USA
Sat, 4/29    3pm-6pm ET   CBS
Sun, 4/30    3pm-6pm ET   CBS

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Vijay Singh is definitely getting comfortable with this defending champion stuff. Singh successfully defended his Houston Open title this past Sunday by edging out John Daly on the first playoff hole, and he will be looking to do the same this weekend in New Orleans. Last year at this venue, Vijay shot an awesome 63 in the final round to win by one stroke over Phil Mickelson and Joe Ogilvie. He will be looking to do the same this week because he is once again closing in on the world number one ranking. Vijay used a mistake-free (and nearly birdie-free) round of 70 to hold off Daly in Houston this past weekend, but he will need many more birdies than that this week to come out on top.

The field is much the same as it was last week at the Shell Houston Open. David Toms, the winner of this event back in 2001, will once again be teeing it up on Thursday. He had it going last week until a so-so final round. Padraig Harrington, who picked up his first career PGA Tour victory earlier this year at the Honda Classic, will be looking to pick up his second one this week. Also, can John Daly come back strong after working so hard to force a playoff in Houston, only to put one in the water on the first playoff hole and eventually lose to Singh? Anything and everything is possible when he tees it up week in and week out.

Chris DiMarco, playing for the first time since moving into the world top ten, will be looking to follow up on his gritty duel with Tiger Woods at The Masters. He came so close to putting the green jacket on, but he was once again on the outside looking in after a major championship. DiMarco, already being called "America's New Underdog" by some, will be looking to prove to everyone he can not only compete against the best, but also gain victory against the best.

Another notable in the field this week worth mentioning is Davis Love III. He has played very inconsistent this year, but he is coming off his best 2005 finish, a tie for second two weeks ago at Harbour Town. This course should fit his game pretty well, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep the momentum going this week in New Orleans. Charles Howell III, Mark O'Meara, and 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton finish up the list of notables for this week's tournament. Some players that had strong finishes here last year that will also be playing this week include Joe Ogilvie (T2), Hidemichi Tanaka (4), Justin Rose (T5), and 1997 Amateur champ Matt Kuchar (T10).

The course this week won't be nearly as tough as some of the courses in recent weeks. The TPC of Louisiana is fairly long but yielded very low scores last year in this tournament. It measures 7,520 yards and par is 72. If there is any kind of rainfall this week, the greens will be very soft and low scores will once again be inevitable. If there is a tough part of the course, it's the two finishing holes. The 17th hole is a 215-yard par 3 with trouble on the left in the form of a water hazard. The green has a large hump in the middle, which makes it tough to know how good of a shot is played until the players get to the green. It favors a draw off the tee with a long-iron, and it will definitely test the golfers all week long. Par is definitely a good score on this hole.

The finishing hole at the TPC of Louisiana is a 604-yard par 5 reachable only by the big boys on tour. They can have a go at it in two if they cut their teeshot over a fairway bunker on the right side. The players who decide to lay up will have to be careful to lay up wisely. The 100-yard area is surrounded by pot bunkers, so the second shot will be key to the shorter hitters. The approach shot will also be tough due to a lake on the right side of the green and pot bunkers everywhere else. The 18th hole will require precise decision making when Sunday rolls around, and it could be the difference in the tournament.

Like last week, I could take Vijay Singh to win it, but I am not going to be that easy. I am picking Davis Love III this week to win down in the bayou. He has had a tough year for his standards, but he finished in a tie for second in his last start at the MCI Heritage as I mentioned earlier. I think this is the week he has his breakout and really goes on a run leading into the summer. For my "sleeper" pick, I'm going with Joe Ogilvie. He has been near the top of every leaderboard as of late it seems, and he finished second here last year. He is really rising up the world rankings, and I think that could continue this week. He will be around on Sunday afternoon and may not be a sleeper anymore after this week.

The weather for this weekend looks a little shaky right now. It should be fine for Thursday and Friday, but there is a chance of rain for both Saturday and Sunday. The highs are supposed to be in the low-to-mid 80's. The total purse is $5.5 million, with $990,000 going to the winner. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans can be seen on USA and CBS at the following times:

Thu    4-6pm ET    USA
Fri    4-6pm ET    USA
Sat    3-6pm ET    CBS
Sun    3-6pm ET    CBS

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