Zurich Classic: Team Blixt-Smith Victorious

There were so many smiles, high-fives, low-fives, fist-bumps and pats on the back you'd have thought we were watching the Kumbaya Classic, not the Zurich Classic.

Most everybody had a great time amid the loose-goosey atmosphere of the new-fangled New Orleans tournament. And by most accounts, it was a success. The first team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years injected life, not to mention some top-ranked players, into what normally is one of the more vapid parts of the golf season.

That said, what does it all mean for fantasy purposes? The simple answer: not much. Guys can play better in a team, guys can play worse in a team. We've seen guys elevate their games in Ryder Cup. Ian Poulter of course comes to mind. And we may also be seeing the same from Patrick Reed. Anyone gonna downgrade Rickie Fowler for the Players because he missed the cut with partner Jason Day? Does Cameron Smith, who sank the winning putt to end a four-hole playoff on Monday morning, get a bump? Maybe a little, but the Aussie was a young player on the rise coming in.

If you need more evidence, Angel Cabrera and Argentine countryman Julian Etulain tied for fifth. Cabrera was 637th in the world and Etulain is 420th.

The tournament in retrospect seemed like an exhibition once the playoff between Smith-Jonas Blixt and Scott Brown-Kevin Kisner started. Guys who were throwing darts for four days – Brown-Kisner shot 12-under on Sunday – now realized they were playing to win an actual PGA Tour event: money, two-year-exemption, entry into some big tournaments. All of sudden, nobody in the playoff could drain a putt. (The four golfers missed so many makeable putts I thought I was watching my Sunday foursome.)

(And speaking of teams, where was Jim Nantz for a second straight week? Nick Faldo was back after a week off, but still no Nantz. Who passes up a free week in New Orleans?)

The big loser in the Zurich Classic could be the Wells Fargo Classic. They always say in show business that you don't want to follow kids or animals on stage. While far from an exact parallel, the Wells Fargo surely will seem kinda boring and mundane come Thursday morning. Plus, everyone will be looking forward to The Players Championship the next week. Yes, there will be DraftKings and FanDuel play for the Wells Fargo, and that will make the #DFS world very happy – not to mention the owners of DraftKings and FanDuel.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Cameron Smith

Smith and Blixt were the top team all week and were forced into a playoff only by the remarkable play of Brown-Kisner on Sunday, culminating with Kisner's stirring hole-out for eagle on the 72nd hole. Smith has really found his form this season, and more precisely very recently. He was T6 just last week in San Antonio. Perhaps more importantly, he's significantly cut down on his missed cuts (only three this season). Smith was 112th in the world coming in, and he'll stay that way, since no OWGR points were awarded for the Zurich. Otherwise, he'd be knocking on the top-60. Smith is only 23, and has played in only 53 Tour events. So there's plenty of upside. Right now he's in the field for this week's Wells Fargo. But given that the man could barely speak in the moments after his maiden Tour win, we're gonna figure he will have a hard time coming back to Earth by Thursday.

Jonas Blixt

By contrast, Blixt is 10 years older than Smith and this was his third Tour win. He's also 252nd in the world, so no rankings points really hurts him. The veteran Swede had had a rough season, with only one top-20 while missing the cut in half of his 14 starts. While this title will be a boost to his career, it's hard to envision it being a boost to his fantasy value.

Kevin Kisner

One of these days, Kisner will figure out how to win a playoff. He's now 0-for-4. Of course, that means he's been good enough to be in four playoffs. Kisner is 40th in the world, 20th in the FedEx Cup point standings, an accomplished golfer. He's also in the field for the Wells Fargo and, though this result will sting a bit, we're sure he'll be ready to go come Thursday morning and could even contend at a course that suits his game.

Scott Brown

Brown has one Tour win, at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open. While that's nothing to poo-poo about, winning a full-field event would've been a bigger deal. This was Brown's second runner-up of the season, after Riviera, but his promising season really nose-dived afterward. Until this week, he had missed three cuts in his six subsequent events, with only a T17 – again, in Puerto Rico – a decent cash. To think that the Zurich tournament will increase Brown's fantasy value going forward is, at the minimum, premature.

Kevin Tway

The past two weeks have been the best of Tway's professional life. After a career-high T3 last week at the Texas Open, Tway and partner Kelly Kraft were solo third in New Orleans. It pretty much locks up Tway's Tour card for next season. And it will be interesting to see how he does going forward, beginning this week in Wilmington, N.C., at the Wells Fargo. In the short-term, anticipate a few steps backward.

Kelly Kraft

First off, Kraft withdrew from the Wells Fargo on Monday morning. There was no immediate reason given, so we don't know whether an injury is involved. This was his second top three of the season, after a solo second at Pebble Beach. While Kraft had been playing well leading up to Pebble, his game had been a disaster afterward, with five MCs and a WD in seven starts. So it's hard to think the Zurich result will lead to anything big for Kraft. That said, if you own Kraft in a league, you've already got your money's worth with his two high finishes.

Ryan Palmer

Palmer had the good fortune of being paired with Jordan Spieth – kinda like Ringo ending up in the Beatles – thanks to a bet his caddie made with Spieth back in November. Fast forward to New Orleans, where Palmer-Spieth were solo fourth. We all know what Spieth is capable of. Palmer is a pretty fair golfer himself and is on a great run: T11 at RBC Heritage and T6 at Texas Open before last week. But there are too many inconsistencies in Palmer's game to think this is a long-term change of fortune for the 40-year-old.

Ian Poulter

A week ago, it appeared Poulter had come up just short in his bid to keep his Tour card via a major medical extension. But a recalculation of points put him over the top, so the Englishman will be able to play the rest of the season. It's unlikely he'll have a big fantasy value, though. Poulter is 41, hovering around No. 200 in the world. He's bound to get some looks because of his name and he might throw in a high finish here and there, like his recent T11 at Hilton Head. But he might not.

Alexander Levy

The California-born Frenchman came from seven strokes back to win his fourth career European Tour title, the Volvo China Open. It won't mean a move to the PGA Tour – Levy has hopes of making Europe's Ryder Cup team for next year's matches in France – but we may see more of him in the bigger tournaments. Levy is now up to 74th in the world.

RotoWire Value Picks

There was no DraftKings play for the Zurich Classic. We took the week off.