• FIELD: Click here and see who's set to tee it up at TPC Louisiana.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• COURSE: TPC Louisiana, 7,425 yards, par 72. Winding
through some 250 acres of Louisiana wetlands just west of New Orleans,
the 2004 Pete Dye design (with Steve Elkington consulting) often ranks
among the PGA TOUR's 10 easiest among those used all four days. The
layout incorporates stately stands of cypress and oak trees, with Dye
adding more than 100 bunkers and five ponds to boost the challenge. The
course also utilizes several large waste bunkers along the first six
holes of the back nine. The Zurich Classic relocated there in 2005,
though flooding a year later forced a one-time return to English Turn
G&CC.
• FIELD WATCH: Reigning FedExCup champion Billy
Horschel, whose first PGA TOUR victory came two years ago at Zurich, is
slated to be joined by four others among the top 20 in the current world
rankings. No. 5 Jason Day and No. 6 Dustin Johnson are highest on the
list. Steve Stricker will make just his second start of 2015, coming
off a tie for 28th at the Masters on the rebound from back surgery.
Louisiana native David Toms, whose 2001 win over Phil Mickelson
foreshadowed a PGA Championship reprise, is set to tee it up for the
22nd time in the event.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Chip Beck (1988 at Lakewood CC). TPC Louisiana record: 268, Billy Horschel (2013).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Paul Stankowski (1st round, 2001 at English Turn G&CC). TPC Louisiana record: 62, Ben Martin (1st round, 2014).
• LAST YEAR: Seung-Yul Noh went wire-to-wire for his
first PGA TOUR win, enduring gusty winds and some early pressure from
Keegan Bradley for a 1-under-par 71 that closed out a two-shot triumph.
Noh went bogey-free until the final round, when an opening bogey helped
Bradley to briefly pull even. Bradley, though, soon fell off the pace
with a bogey at No.5 and a triple-bogey one hole later. Andy Svoboda
(69) and Robert Streb (70) tied for second, while Bradley fell back into
a tie for eighth. Noh's victory was welcomed back home in South Korea,
where the nation had been mourning some 300 passengers missing or dead
in a horrific ferry accident two weeks earlier.
• STORYLINES: First-time winners have ruled the event
for the past decade, with seven of the past 10 making it their
breakthrough victory. That list includes Horschel (2013), Jason Dufner
(2012) and Nick Watney (2007). Noh attempts to become the sixth
back-to-back winner in New Orleans, a feat last accomplished by Carlos
Franco in 1999 and 2000. Matt Every was the last to claim his first two
PGA TOUR wins in the same event, repeating as Arnold Palmer Invitational
champion last month. Former LSU golfer Curtis Thompson, now on the
Web.com Tour, finds his first PGA TOUR start to be part of a brotherly
act. Older sibling Nicholas, a six-year TOUR veteran, also will tee it
up at TPC Louisiana.
• SHORT CHIPS: New Orleans stands as the last chance for
players to earn a berth in THE PLAYERS Championship by moving into the
top 10 in the FedExCup points chase or top 50 of the world rankings. A
spot also is open to the winner of next week's WGC Cadillac Match Play
Championship, if not already in. Noh's victory was just the third time
in the past dozen Classics that the winning margin was more than one
stroke. Four of those went to playoffs, including back-to-back editions
in 2011 (won by Bubba Watson) and 2012 (Dufner).
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
Updated Standings
1. dfs - 7890
2. Sea - 7847
3. Ed - 7371
4. Bobcat - 7269
5. 2952 - 6449
6. NMT - 6114
7. Liz - 5844
8. 67810 - 5246
9. NiA - 4903
10. Ocala - 4857
11. Bill - 4811
12. DL - 4173
13. ktnole - 3536
14. Baldy - 1906
Good Luck!
Field
