Another twist on the PGA Tour has the fellas playing in a team format at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The field is divided into 80 teams of two with a best ball format used in rounds one and three and alternate shot format for rounds two and four. The top 35 teams and ties will advance to the weekend, making this tournament one of the most difficult cuts to make all season. The event has been around since 1938, but this will be just the third playing in a team format. The duo of Jason Day and Adam Scott opened as the betting favorite with odds of +650 with defending champs Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy at +1800.
Odds to Win Zurich Classic of New Orleans at BookMaker.eu
Jason Day/Adam Scott +650
Sergio Garcia/Tommy Fleetwood +850
Patrick Reed/Patrick Cantlay +1200
Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer +1650
Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy +1800
Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes +1800
Henrik Stenson/Graeme Mc Dowell +2050
Tony Finau/Kyle Stanley +2050
Louis Oosthuizen/Carl Schwartzel +2550
Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown +3250
Jhonattan Vegas/Abramam Ancer +3250
Brooks Koepka/Chase Koepka +4200
Ian Poulter/Sam Horsfield +4200
Charlie Hoffman/Nick Watney +4250
Chris Stroud/Jason Kokrak +4250
Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover +4750
Branden Grace/Justin Harding +4750
Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith +4750
Russell Knox/Brian Stuard +5000
Adam Hadwin/Aaron Baddeley +5225
Padraig Harrington/Shane Lowry +5225
Jason Dufner/Pat Perez +5775
Scott Stallings/Trey Mullinax +5775
Corey Conners/MacKenzie Hughes +6250
Whee Kim/Sungjae Im +7550
Brian Harman/Patton Kizzire +7700
Cameron Champ/Sam Burns +7700
Brian Gay/Rory Sabbatini +8525
Michael Kim/C.T. Pan +8500
Brendan Steele/Luke Donald +8525
Kevin Streelman/Vaughn Taylor +8555
J.J. Spaun/Matt Jones +9500
Chesson Hadley/Brice Garnett +9500
Si Woo Kim/Sangmoon Bae +9500
Austin Cook/Andrew Landry +10000
Keegan Bradley/Jon Curran +10000
Russell Henley/Ryan Blaum +10000
Troy Merritt/Robert Streb +10000
Joel Dahmen/Brandon Harkins +11000
Chris Kirk/Sepp Straka +11500
Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft +11500
Shubhankar Sharma/Anirban Lahiri +11500
Cody Gribble/Joey Garber +12000
Ted Potter Jr./Nate Lashley +14000
Ernie Els/Trevor Immelman +14500
Tyler Duncan/Adam Schenk +14500
Andrew Putnam/Max Homa +14500
Peter Uihlein/Dominic Bozzelli +15000
Kenny Perry/Josh Teater +15000
Field - Any Other Player Not Listed Above +425
Odds Analysis
Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy +1800
The pair returns to defend their title and that’s saying something since this is the only team event on Tour. Each player has performed well on his own this season, though it has been at different times. Horschel appeared to have his game ironed out after the first two rounds last week, but a final round 75 dropped him down the leaderboard. He hasn’t had a top 25 since the Honda Classic. After a month off, Piercy looked in fine form last week with a T3 at Harbour Town. And you can’t discount the team aspect, which these two obviously have.
Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith +4750
What duo is going to show up this week? The two won the first ever team format event, going extra holes to claim victory in 2017. Defending their title last season, Blixt/Smith missed the cut after a second round 76 in the alternate ball format. As one of only two pairs to win the team format event, they have to be taken seriously. And given how each has performed individually recently, I’m going to bet they at least make the cut this week.
Jason Day/Adam Scott +650
The Aussies are getting back together to try and rekindle the magic they unleashed at the 2013 World Cup of Golf. The duo ran away with the team title by 10 swings at that event, yet they’ve been paired only once since then. They are also both ranked among the top 28 in the OWGR and this layout has yielded a pair of top 5s to Day. Scott makes his first start at TPC Louisiana, but his game fits the track quite nicely. I guess that’s why they are the betting favorites.
Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes +1800
The odds put them in contender status and the two find themselves together again after playing last year with different partners. Holmes and Watson sleuthed their way to a T5 two years ago before splitting up. Watson has a victory here in 2011 under the traditional individual player format and his powerful drives should allow for easy approach shots. Hitting those and navigating the short grass is what could keep them out of the winners circle, however.
Course: TPC Louisiana – 7,425 yards, Par 72
Just 15 minutes outside of downtown New Orleans, TPC has hosted the event since 2005. Tee to green the layout is relatively easy for the pros with over 60 percent of fairways and nearly 70 percent of greens hit in regulation. To make things more difficult for golfers, over 100 bunkers and several water hazards were installed when the course became the permanent home of the Zurich Classic in 2007. Given the conditions in the south and the vast amount of water, golfers who performed well during the Florida swing of the PGA Tour should feel comfortable here. Weather has been a factor in the past with plenty of delays and showers are expected for the early rounds. That will affect the course and could hinder some teams.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel, CBS
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