Fantasy Golf: Buy, Sell or Hold for Zurich Classic

 

The Zurich Classic is much like the city that hosts this annual event, hot, unpredictable, and you feel like you need a shower immediately when you get home.

It's the 11th oldest event on the PGA Tour and past winners include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Vijay Singh and Davis Love III.

Jason Bohn is the defending champ of this event that takes place at the TPC of Louisiana.

Here is this week's buy, sell and hold.

Buy:

Luke Donald (A) - He just missed out on becoming the #1 player in the World Golf Rankings.  Will that motivate him this week in New Orleans.  I think so.  I don't see that he has ever played in this event, but go with him this week.

Nick Watney (A) - Four top-10's in six starts for 2011.  He missed the cut here back in 2009, but that was a long time ago.  He's usually money in the bank.

David Toms (B) - Toms loves this event.  He's a Louisiana boy, so this is a big week for him and his game is coming around as well.  Has made four straight cuts including a T-3 at Bay Hill.

Matt Jones (B) - Even though Jones has missed tow cuts in a row, he likes this event.  He posted a top-10 last year and I like his game.

Justin Rose (B) - Justin is playing some solid golf.  He's coming off a T-5, a T-3 and a T-11.  He's going to win one of these weeks.  A good B pick this week.

Tommy Gainey (C) - How about old "Two Gloves?"  He's coming off a third place finish at The Heritage and nobody goes at it harder than Tommy.  New Orleans would be a great spot for him to win.

Jason Dufner (C) - Dufner is quietly having a good season.  He also finished in a T-7 at the Zurich last year.  A must pick this week.

Sell:

Sean O'Hair (B) - Boy is his game in shambles.  Missed the cut again last week to make it six missed cuts so far on the season.

Sean Micheel (B) - He's playing average golf at best.  No reason to pick him this week.

Brad Faxon (C) - Six starts and six missed cuts in 2011.  'Nuf said.

Hold:

Jason Bohn (B) - Bohn is the defending champ, so if you like defending champs take him this week.  He's not playing great in 2011, but he can turn it on at anytime and go low.  Streaky to say the least.

Good luck this week, and don't forget to listen to the AudioBoo for our "flyer" of the week.



Has Tourism Come Back to New Orleans?

New Orleans was one of my favorite places to visit.  I haven't been since Hurricane Katrina hit.  Thankfully many other are returning to this great city and area.

On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, tourism in New Orleans is growing at one of the fastest paces in the U.S., but it remains a fraction of its pre-hurricane levels.

In 2004, New Orleans saw a record 10.1 million visitors; in 2006, post-Katrina, the number had dropped to 3.7 million. But 7.9 million tourists visited New Orleans in 2009, and of the 25 top U.S. destinations, New Orleans had the second-highest growth of revenue per available room in the first half of 2010, according to a report from hotel-industry research and consulting firm Smith Travel Research Inc.

Last week, the Hyatt Regency New Orleans broke ground on a $275 million project to restore the hotel, which was heavily damaged by the storm and has been closed since 2005. The hotel, owned by Hyatt Hotels Corp., is expected to reopen in 2011.

Kelly Schulz, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, a nonprofit that promotes tourism in the region, says next to rebuilding infrastructure, the biggest challenge the tourism industry faced post-Katrina was "convincing people that it was safe to come back."

In the hurricane's aftermath, some of the first visitors to return to New Orleans came to help with the cleanup. Ms. Schulz says that so-called "voluntourism" has become popular with corporations and other organizations. Their employees or members help to rebuild homes and playgrounds when they hold conferences in New Orleans.