Zurich Classic welcomes big names

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Mar 23, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Fore!Kids Foundation President Tommy Fonseca was smiling Saturday.

While he was extremely busy completing final preparations for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which Monday begins a week-long run at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Fonseca was looking ahead to Thursday.

That’s when the $6.2 million Zurich Classic officially tees off with a 144-man field chasing a first-place prize of $1.16 million. And the field is what Fonseca was excited about Saturday.

Fonseca and the members of the Fore!Kids Foundation, which annually stages the PGA Tour stop in New Orleans, have recruited their best field in years to the tournament —which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Their efforts have produced:

• 17 golfers who have claimed at least one major title with 19 major wins in all;

• Five of the top 20 players and 14 of the top 47 players in the latest world rankings;

• Thirty-two players who have won on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2006 season.

“It’s been a good team effort,” Fonseca said. “A number of things are working in our favor this year. One is what the Foundation did collectively as a team with the city in producing a great event last year. We got a lot of positive comments from the players, so last year was a good foundation to build on.

“The other thing is the strong field,” he said. “Having the dates before the Masters has helped because this truly is an ‘A’ field, probably the strongest field we’ve had in years. So we’re going to smother them with hospitality.”

The field includes two champions from last year’s four majors — Zach Johnson, who won the Masters Tournament, and Padraig Harrington, who claimed the British Open title in a four-hole playoff with Sergio Garcia.

But that’s just the beginning.

There are seven former winners of the PGA Championship, including former LSU All-American David Toms; six British Open champs; three U.S. Open champions, including two-time winner Retief Goosen; and two Masters winners.

Among the other top majors winners are Jim Furyk, Michael Campbell, Rich Beem, Davis Love III and Mike Weir.

Steve Stricker, the world’s fourth-ranked player going into this week’s WGC CA Championship in Miami, leads a group of five players ranked in the top 20.