The PGA Tour takes a break from standard stroke play in favor of the unique duo format of the Zurich Classic.
The world’s best golfers will team up in groups of two to take to TPC Louisiana.
This is a polarizing event that is either loved by golf fans or hated. It seems that there is no in-between.
Scoring is the most important thing to understand this week as every day calls for a different format.
The event begins on Thursday with the duos taking part in a best ball format. This means that each golfer will play their own ball throughout the entirety of the round, with the best score on each hole being recorded. Saturday is also best ball.
Friday and Sunday are played in a foursomes format. This means that players will rotate tee shots. One player will hit the tee shot on the odd-numbered holes as the other tees off on the even numbered holes.. Golfers then alternate shots from there.
Most of the scoring will be done through the best ball format as the likes of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay opened with a 59 in 2022. They would win the event at -29, with -25 coming from the two best ball rounds.
As for DFS scoring, only one golfer per team can be played, but the cumulative score of the duo will count towards scoring. For example, if you play Schauffele in one lineup, you too cannot play Cantlay. However, if you played Cantlay in a separate lineup, they would each record the same DFS score.
Easy enough to understand, right?
The Field
Although the 2022 champions in Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele open as the odds-on-favorites to win this event, all eyes will be on the new pairing of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Another fan favorite pairing this week will be Will Zalatoirs and Sahith Theegala who each, on their own, have amassed a large fandom. Now together, they’ll likely be the talk of the town this week in Louisiana.
Collin Morikawa is teaming up with Kurt Kitayama this week as well. It is noted that the pair are good friends and spend their free time playing Call of Duty together.
Some of the fun that this event draws are the family ties.
Last year we were introduced to Alex Fitzpatrick as he teamed up with brother Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex was a bit of an unknown heading into last year’s event but later would go on to put together an impressive DP World Tour season and placed T17th at The Open Championship.
We will also get to see two different sets of twins team up this week in Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard as well as Pierceson and Parker Coody.
Last year’s champions, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy, are back to defend their title after they held off the Canadian duo of Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor by two strokes.
Other notable pairings in this week’s field include Tom Hoge and Maverick McNealy, Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners, Keith Mitchell and Joel Dahmen and Taylor Montgomery and Ben Griffin.
Ryan Palmer, Billy Horschel, Nick Watney and Scott Piercy - although not together - are former team winners of this event.
Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney as well as Kevin Tway and Kelly Kraft will be competing in their seventh consecutive Zurich Classic together, playing every edition of this tournament as duos.
The cut line this week will fall at the top 33-teams plus ties.
The Course
TPC Louisiana plays as a par-72 at 7,400 yards and sits just 15 minutes from downtown New Orleans.
It too is a Pete Dye design which resides in Avondale, Louisiana. It was constructed on 250 acres of former wetlands and features 100 bunkers.
The course is littered with water hazards which are a prominent feature of TPC Louisiana. However, the course is still one of the most scorable tracks on the PGA Tour.
Such as the case with most Pete Dye designed courses, along with the familiarity of TPC courses, they play towards a tendency of positional angels off-the-tee with around-the-green emphases.
Bunkers, along with the water hazards, play as the main line of defense at TPC Louisiana. There too are random hazards such as trees in the center of the fairway.
Despite the lists of hazards and previously mentioned, there are plenty of scoring opportunities to be had.
Play off-the-tee will not be of the utmost importance this week as proven in year’s past. We’ve seen the success of both teams and individuals find success without being strong off the tee.
In all, TPC Louisiana is a glorified second-shot course which emphasizes on strong approach play to avoid the aforementioned greenside water hazards and bunkers.
The signature hole here at TPC Louisiana is the par-five 18th, where there’s water all the way down the right hand side.
The Weather
As of the time of writing this, the weather looks to be clear this week. Sunday currently holds the highest percentage chance of precipitation at just 20-percent chance as the rest of the days hold just a ten-percent chance. Temperatures will range from 82-to-83 degrees across all four days as well. Winds will be a factor this week however. Thursday currently calls for the lightest winds at 12 miles-per-hour and Saturday the highest at 19 miles-per-hour. Friday is currently calling for 17 miles-per-hour winds and Sunday 16 miles-per-hour.
Key Statistics
Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)
Birdie or Better Percentage
Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)
Sand Saves Percentage
Strokes Gained: Putting
Par-Five Average Scoring
Scrambling
Bogey Avoidance
Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)
Strokes Gained: Total
DFS Suggestions
$10,000+
With a limited field as golfers are playing in pairings, I will be suggesting just one duo per price range. My first suggestion is Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama ($10,000.) To begin with, they’re the fourth most expensive pairing and will likely hold the lowest ownership of the offerings in this price range. You have the 2022 champions and odds-on-favorites to win with Schauffele/Cantlay ahead of them and the fan-favorite duos of McIlroy/Lowry and Theegala/Zalatoris. What you’re getting out of this pairing is elite iron play. Yes, neither will bring a great putter but when you have two chances to put it close with the combination of Morikawa and Kitayma, I’ll take those chances. Plus the connection is there as they spend a lot of time playing video games together. Say what you want about that but the chemistry to successfully perform in Call of Duty is unmatched. They’re also on my betting card at +1600 for two units.
$9,000-$9,900
My play in this price range is my favorite play of the week in Tom Hoge and Maverick McNealy ($9,400.) What I love about this pairing is how they complement each other. Hoge is an elite approach player who is lacking around the green. McNealy is an elite around-the-green player who is lacking on approach. Historically speaking as well, McNealy is an elite putter on Tour and even in what is a down season to his standard this year, he ranks 32nd in SG: PUTT.. Heck, even Hoge ranks 30th in SG: PUTT. On top of that, they offer great lineup flexibility being in the lower portion of this price range. I’m also playing a unit on them at +2800.
$8,000-$8,900
If Hoge and McNealy are my favorite plays of the week, Davis Thompson and Andrew Novak ($8,100) are a very close second. Again, it goes back to picking your teammate up where they’re lacking a vice-a-versa. Novak is elite on the approach and is below average in terms of putting. Thompson is above average with the flat stick but isn’t as good on the approach as Novak. They’re both quality around-the-green players as well. Both are also on the younger side and will be coming out to not only have some fun, but notch their first PGA Tour victories. I’m also playing a unit on them at +5500.
$7,000-$7,900
It's really tough in this field to find some value in these later price ranges but Chandler Phillips and Jacob Bridgeman ($7,400) do just that. Like the aforementioned duo of Thompson and Novak, Phillips and Bridgeman are on the younger side and will be coming out swinging. They do play a similar game however with quality approach play and solid putting. Both lack real quality around the greens but Bridgeman is elite from the sand if the duo ever find themselves in one of the course’s many bunkers this week.
$6,900-
My final play is Hayden Springer and Tom Whitney ($6,700.) As previously mentioned, finding value in this field is rather tough but what I do like about this pairing is now they compliment each other. It seems that across ten statistical categories, where one of these guys is lacking, the other is not. Whitney is above average on approach as Springer is not. Springer is above average around-the-green as Whitney is not. Springer is also a much better putter than Whitney as well. It’s all about finding that balance this week and I think this value play offers that.
Betting Card
Collin Morikawa & Kurt Kitayama (+1600) - 2u
Tom Hoge & Maverick McNealey (+2800) - 1u
Davis Thompson & Andrew Novak (+5500) - 1u