This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Winners' Share: $1.286M to each winner
FedEx Cup Points: 400 to each winner
Location: Avondale, La.
Course: TPC Louisiana
Yardage: 7,425
Par: 72
2023 champions: Nick Hardy-Davis Riley
Tournament Preview
In a PGA Tour season filled with so many big-time events demanding the attention of all the top players -- including a major and a Signature Event the past two weeks -- this seemed a like a good week for sport's stars to put their feet up, exhale and simply relax.
So it speaks to the fun and different vibe of the only team event on Tour that so many big names have come to New Orleans this, as they do annually.
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala will be among the 160 golfers -- 80 two-man teams -- descending upon TPC Louisiana for the seventh edition of the revamped Zurich Classic.
It's also a fun diversion for fans to see a different type of golf and all the different kinds of pairings -- some star-laden, some countrymen, some familial, some connected through college and some "How did these two guys get together?"
Let's review:
The top tier: McIlroy will team Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry; Cantlay and Schauffele renew their annual partnership that saw them win two years ago; Zalatoris and Theegala align two of the brightest young stars on Tour; and Morikawa will play with Kurt Kitayama for an all-California tandem. They also play "Call of Duty" together, according to the Tour's website, so there is that.
O, Canada: There are the all-Canadian teams of Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, plus Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, last year's runners-up. (Maybe if they win this year, they can recreate Hadwin getting steamrolled by a security guard on the green after Taylor won last year's Canadian Open.)
Oh, brother: There will be three brother combos. There's Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick, then two sets of twins in Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody.
Bombers: Cameron Champ and another Canadian, MJ Daffue, two of the longest hitters around.
Whatever the opposite of bombers is: Peter Malnati and Russell Knox, two of the shorter hitters around.
Awkward? Some of these teams are thrown together at the last minute, like two high school kids desperately trying to avoid going to the prom alone. Maybe that's a bad example. Let's say, like two singles waiting for a tee time? Better. For example, we have no idea of the connection between Daniel Berger and France's Victor Perez, but here they are.
Centurions: 45-year-old Matt Kuchar is joining forces with 57-year-old Steve Stricker. Their combined age is 102, edging out 35-year-old Eric Cole and his partner. Cole is teaming with his caddie's father, who just so happens to be 65-year-old five-time PGA Tour Champions winner Russ Cochran. Cochran won one PGA Tour event back in the day, the 1991 Western Open over runner-up Greg Norman.
This might be a good time to put a stop to any comparisons between this tournament and LIV Golf events. There is only one title up for grabs in the Zurich, unlike LIV events that all have individual and team champions. And there is a cut, one that is very difficult to make.
Since this is a once-a-year event on the DFS landscape -- this will be just the fourth year that DraftKings is offering games -- let's detail the format and scoring.
The 80 two-man teams will play best-ball (fourball) in the first and third rounds and alternate shot (foursomes) in the second and fourth rounds. The Friday cut will be the top-33 teams and ties. You still pick six guys with a $50,000 salary cap. Each golfer on a team will cost the same DraftKings price and get the same DK points. You may pick only one of the two -- and it makes absolutely no difference which one. Other than that, the scoring is pretty standard.
Here's a good time to point out that getting six guys through to the weekend will be VERY hard. Normally you need six of the 65 plus ties. This week it's half of that with 33 plus ties. Five of six making it through to the weekend can probably win you some cash in some games.
Needless to say, as is the case most of the time in team formats, you have to go super low to win. Cantlay-Schauffele set the tournament record of 29-under 259 two years ago, but they were overtaken by last year's 30-under from Nick Hardy and Davis Riley, who are back to defend their title. The winning score has been at least 25-under in four of the six Zurichs.
The best-ball record of 60 was held by five tandems until it was broken by Cantlay-Schauffele, who shot 59 on Thursday, then 60 on Saturday. Jon Rahm-Ryan Palmer set the alternate-shot record at 65, and it's been matched by a few teams, including Hardy-Riley. It's safe to say that strong iron play and quality putting will be imperative this week, so a good team should have at least one of each. Two of each, of course, is better.
The New Orleans Tour stop is one of the oldest on Tour, having been around since 1938, when it was named the Crescent City Open. Many of the biggest names in golf have won there. But in a bid to raise sagging interest, the team format was instituted in 2017. So there are six editions we can use as a guide; the tournament was pandemic-canceled in 2020.
TPC Louisiana is a 2004 Pete Dye design, and the tournament was first played there in 2005. It was a big-time birdie-fest even before they instituted the team format. Justin Rose set the "solo" tournament-record at 22-under 266 in 2015. The stock par-72 is not especially long -- except with the par-3s, all of which are over 200 yards. There are four par-4s of 400ish or less. The par-5s tap out at the 585-yard 18th, and all are gettable in two by a long hitter. Last year, only two holes played over par, the 221-yard par-3 third and 476-yard par-4 sixth. The greens are bermudagrass overseeded with poa trivialis, average a medium-size 5,225 square feet and run 12 on the Stimpmeter. There's water on eight holes and 106 bunkers.
In August 2021, the course and all of New Orleans was blasted by Hurricane Ida. Nine acres of wooded areas had to be removed along with an additional 700 trees on the property. More than 600 trees have been planted since the hurricane, according to the official Golf Course Superintendents fact sheet, which also noted that "recent renovations have been geared to ensuring the course drains more efficiently since most of it lies below sea level."
There hasn't been a hurricane of note since last year. In fact, the area has received only 24 inches of rain in the past year, half the normal average.
As for the this week's weather, highs will be in the 80s all four days and will be quite windy after Thursday, blowing close to 20 mph. There is little rain in the forecast, with the biggest chance on Sunday.
FedEx Cup factoid: Not that we concern ourselves too much with FedExCup points, but if you're wondering why it says up top that the winners get 400 points apiece, that's because the winner of a regular tournament normally gets 500 and the runner-up gets 300. Also, there will be no Official World Golf Ranking points doled out this week.
Key Stats to Winning at TPC Louisiana
The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.
• Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Birdie or Better Percentage
• Team chemistry
Past Champions
2023 - Nick Hardy-Davis Riley
2022 - Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele
2021 - Marc Leishman-Cameron Smith
2020 - None
2019 - Jon Rahm-Ryan Palmer
2018 - Billy Horschel-Scott Piercy
2017 - Jonas Blixt-Cameron Smith
2016 - Brian Stuard
2015 - Justin Rose
2014 - S.Y. Noh
Champion's Profile
We mentioned above how low the scores go, so it's an absolute necessity to get on the green in regulation and make putts. But it's more than just the golf. As we see in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, team chemistry is also imperative. Many of the guys on Tour are friends off the course, so it's natural for them to connect this week. But there are some curious pairings of seemingly different guys. Horschel has won this tournament as both a single (2013) and double (2018), so if there's a horse for this course, he would seem to be the guy. Besides, he's very genial. He's playing this week with Tyson Alexander, another Florida alum and the son of Horschel's old Gators coach. Golfodds.com puts the over/under on the winning score at 260.5 -- a whopping 27.5 under par.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS
Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap
$10,000+
Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele - $11,200 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +450)
These guys are the gold standard, best pals who finished fourth last year, won the year before and were 11th in 2021 in their first go-round together. That's why they have Scottie Scheffler-like odds. We realize Cantlay is not for everyone, that it could be hard to root for him, but the beauty of this format is you could pivot to picking the much more affable Schauffele.
Sahith Theegala-Will Zalatoris - $10,300 (+750)
On paper, this is formidable pairing that checks off all the boxes: Zalatoris is a great ball-striker (ranked ninth on Tour in SG: Approach, Theegala is elite around and on the greens (ninth in SG: Putting, 21st in BoB Percentage). Zalatoris is coming off a T9 at the Masters while Theegala was runner-up last week to Scheffler at Harbour Town. Zalatoris tied for fourth two years ago alongside one of last year's winners, Riley.
$9,000-$9,900
Corey Conners-Taylor Pendrith - $9,500 (+2500)
Welcome to the all-Canadian $9,000s. Conners is the well-known elite ball striker, Pendrith the great putter, ranked 22nd on Tour in SG: Putting. They haven't paired together before. In fact, Conners hasn't played here in five years. But Pendrith tied for 13th here last year with Michael Gligic. (Good move by Pendrith -- Conners is an upgrade over Gligic.) Pendrith had top-10s in two of his first three starts this year before falling into a deep slump. He tied for 11th in Puntacana.
Adam Hadwin-Nick Taylor - $9,100 (+2200)
The two pals teamed up for the first time last year and displayed instant chemistry as they finished second. Neither is long off the tee, but otherwise they both do just about everything else good or better. Individually, Taylor is having his best year on Tour, ranked top-25 in both SG: Approach and Putting, and Hadwin has had three top-6s and is ranked 15th on Tour in BoB Percentage.
$8,000-$8,900
Tyson Alexander-Billy Horschel - $8,900 (+4000)
As mentioned above, Horschel has won here as a single and on a team. He's had multiple partners and continues to do well. The past three years, he paired with Sam Burns and they were 11th, second and fourth -- and no, Burns wasn't always the player he is now. Horschel also won with Piercy in 2018. He is also coming off a reinvigorating victory at Puntacana. Alexander debuted last year with Carl Yuan and missed the cut. Apologies to the Yuan family, but Alexander has upgraded this year.
Beau Hossler-Sam Ryder - $8,600 (+5000)
Hossler finished third last year with Wyndham Clark. Ryder was third two years ago with Doc Redman. Ryder is the better iron player of the two, while Hossler is a very good putter. This twosome definitely checks off a lot of boxes.
$7,000-$7,900
Taylor Moore-Matt NeSmith - $7,700 (+4000)
These guys were together the past two years and tied for fourth both times. So they had to be looking ahead to the Zurich for weeks (or 52 weeks). As a bonus, Moore arrives in great form, tying Scheffler for runner-up in Houston before a top-20 at the Masters. NeSmith has had a rough go of it in 2024, though he just missed a top-25 at THE PLAYERS (T26).
Ben Martin-Carson Young - $7,400 (+9000)
Young missed the cut last year, Martin missed it the past three years. So they both decided new partnerships were in order (either that, or nobody else wanted to play with them). They are both Clemson alums, though Martin is seven years older than Young. Martin is an outstanding iron player, ranked 20th on Tour in SG: Approach, and also a better-than-average putter, ranked 65th. Young is ranked 65th in Approach.
$6,000-$6,900
Rico Hoey-Justin Suh - $6,900 (+9000)
The two former Southern California Trojan teammates -- Hoey is 28, Suh is 26 -- are partnering for the first time. This will be Hoey's Zurich debut, but Suh tied for 23rd last year and for 11th three years ago -- with Theegala and Doug Ghim, respectively. Hoey is a recent Korn Ferry grad who got off to a slow start on the PGA tour but has now made five of his past six cuts. He's the big bomber of the duo, ranked ninth in driving distance, while Suh is ranked eighth in SG: Putting.
Charley Hoffman-Nick Watney - $6,200 (+30000)
Hoffman and Watney are the only tandem to have played together all six editions of the Zurich team tournament. And they've been outstanding, even well into their 40s. Both guys were struggling last year yet tied for 19th, their fourth top-20 together. They've also finished fifth, ninth and 11th through years. Hoffman has had a bit of a turnaround this season at age 47, with a runner-up at Phoenix before a top-5 last week at Puntacana. He's also ranked 36th in birdie or better. Watney is the junior member of the team at age 42. He's made only three starts all year, and missed every cut, one of them last week.
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