Jason Bohn faces tough defence

JASON Bohn opened his Zurich Classic of New Orleans title defence last night, hoping to regain some magic from a year ago.

He set a scoring record last year at TPC of Louisiana with an 18-under 270 in a two-shot win over Jeff Overton. Yet Bohn's game has waned after donning Mardi Gras beads and participating in the second-line parade - traditions reserved for the Zurich winner.

In the second half of last year, he entered 17 tournaments but missed the cut in six. His best finish was a tie for 13th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

This year, Bohn has made six of eight cuts and has a single top 25 finish - a tie for ninth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. "When you go back to a place you've had good success, all those positive vibes come back," he said. "I'm excited. And I'm ready to eat some good food. I wish I was the defending champion every week."

Yet his defence of his title may be more difficult than he originally envisaged. Three of the world's top 10-ranked players are participating, thanks to the tour moving back the tournament to three weeks after The Masters.

Headlining the field is Luke Donald, who missed an opportunity to snag the world's top ranking last week at the Heritage when he lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.

Snedeker, ranked 38th in the World Golf Ratings, also is in the field. Reigning US Open champion Graeme McDowell and ninth-ranked Steve Stricker, also are expected to participate.