Featured Group: Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker, Ben Crane

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At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

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Two have made videos that have gone viral while the third may still find himself looking for that spare roll of 35 mm film and flash bulbs.

But put such creative differences aside and Bubba Watson, Ben Crane and Steve Stricker form an interesting group to follow during the first two rounds of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It's safe to say Watson, who ranks second in driving distance, more than 28 yards longer than either of his playing partners, will be the last to hit from nearly every fairway. But all three are solid ball-strikers who should have lots of birdie chances.

After all, Watson also ranks second in greens in regulation at 73 percent while Crane is 11th and Stricker is 22nd in the same category. All three take advantage of their opportunities, too -- Stricker is third in birdies, Watson 13th and Crane 23rd.

Watson is the only one of the three who has a victory in 2011, though, after winning his second PGA TOUR title in San Diego in January. But Stricker has yet to miss a cut in seven starts this year, with five top-20 finishes, and Crane, who is coming off a tie for sixth last week, has only missed one cut and hasn't finished lower than 24th.

TPC Louisiana hasn't been particularly kind to any of the three, though.

Stricker does have two top-10s in 11 starts in New Orleans. But only one of those, a tie for seventh in 2009, has come on the challenging course designed by Pete Dye with an assist from Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson.

Watson has played in the Zurich Classic six times and only has one top-10, a tie for fifth in 2007. Crane, on the other hand, is making his sixth appearance and has yet to make a cut -- or break 70 -- at the TPC Louisiana.

That said, Crane's tie for sixth at the Heritage, another Dye design, coupled with his shares of sixth, fifth and fourth, respectively in the last three years at THE PLAYERS, should give him some added confidence. And where Watson owns the par 5s, ranking second on those holes in birdies, Crane currently occupies the same position on par 4s.

Stricker is similarly consistent overall. The veteran hasn't missed a cut since The Barclays in 2009, a streak of 30 consecutive events which is the longest active stretch on TOUR. As usual, his short game is key, particularly the putter where he's made a TOUR-leading 57 percent of his putts from 5 to 15 feet.

And when Stricker gets to the back nine -- watch out. He leads the TOUR in back-nine scoring average and Stricker would like nothing better than to have a title on the line when he gets there Sunday.

Statistical comparison

Key stats from Watson, Stricker and Crane from the 2011 season (TOUR rank in parentheses)

Category WATSON STRICKER CRANE   Driving distance 308.2 (2nd) 279.9 (T142nd) 281.5 (131st) Driving accuracy 62.22% (75th) 64.41% (59th) 70.51% (12th) Greens in regulation 73.18% (2nd) 68.98% (22nd) 70.45% (11th) Putting average 1.780 (T87th) 1.711 (T5th) 1.756 (T42nd) Scoring average 71.21 (94th) 69.93 (T6th) 70.78 (51st)

Career at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Bubba Watson Steve Stricker Ben Crane Appearance 7th 12th 6th Cuts Made/Missed 4/2 8/3 0/5 Wins 0 0 0 Top-10s 1 2 0 Top 25s 1 7 0 Best Finish T5 (2007) 4th (2000) N/A Last Appearance/Finish 2010/T43 2009/T7 2010/CUT Scoring Avg. 71.25 69.74 73.30

EXPERT PREDICTIONS: We asked some of our PGATOUR.COM experts to predict which player will fare best this week at Augusta National:

Stan Awtrey: Bubba Watson. The crowds love Bubba and Bubba loves playing to the crowds. TPC Louisiana is a bomber's course and Watson falls into that category.

Melanie Hauser: Interesting group. Going with Stricker on the strength of the spring and two top-11s in his last three visits here -- and four top-11s this year, period. Gotta be patient and precise and get hot on the greens.

FANTASY FORECAST: All three of these players made the top 10 in Rob Bolton's Power Rankings, with Steve Stricker getting the top nod at No. 3 thanks in large part to his 30 consecutive paydays. Bubba Watson squeezes in at No. 10, with Bolton noting that Bubba's last two final rounds have been 78s.