ZURICH CLASSIC: New Orleans is a city known for its offbeat vibe, so it’s only fitting that the Big Easy plays host to the PGA Tour’s only regularly-scheduled team event, the Zurich Classic. This is only the second year of the two-man team format at the Zurich, and it’s fair to say that this new iteration of the tournament is still in its experimental phase, but there have been some clear positives thus far, most notably the strength of the field– in years past, the Zurich Classic was a lower-rung event that was habitually skipped by the bigger names on Tour, but this year players like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, and Justin Rose are in attendance, so clearly the unusual format isn’t scaring folks off.
About the format: it’s two-man teams, with the eligible player (based on PGA Tour priority standings) getting to choose his partner, so long as the partner has some form of PGA Tour status or is granted a sponsor’s exemption. This makes for some unusual pairings: last year, for instance, Brooks Koepka played with his brother Chase, and there are several guys this year playing with old college teammates, friends, countrymen, etc. This creates a huge opportunity some players, as those without regular status will now get a chance to earn official money and coveted FedEx Cup points. Take Australia’s Ryan Ruffels, for instance– the 19-year old “next big thing” has had a difficult go of it since turning pro and has been relegated to the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, which is a step below the Web.com Tour. But this week he teams up with none other than Jason Day, and a good showing from the Aussie duo could do much to advance Ruffels’ career.
And then there are partnerships that are just plain quirky– did anyone foresee Rory Sabbatini and John Daly teaming up in 2018? The most unlikable player on Tour and a beloved fan favorite on the wrong side of 50… one thing’s for sure: pace of play won’t be an issue for that group. (what’s next, Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter? Tiger Woods and Jason Dufner (hehe)? The possibilities are endless)
There will be 80 teams, with the field cut to 35 after 36 holes. On Thursday and Saturday it’ll be best ball (four-ball), and on Friday and Sunday it’ll be alternate shot (foursomes). This is the reverse of last year’s order, and it should make for a fun Sunday, as alternate shot is indisputably the most stressful and difficult team format.
TPC Louisiana will serve as the host venue once again; it’s a 7,425-yard Pete Dye design that is fairly friendly by Tour standards, so we can expect lots of birdies. Though the course is visually intimidating off the tee and oftentimes windy, all four par-5s are reachable in two for the majority of the field and the greens are spacious and rather straightforward. It took 19-under or better to win this event in 3 of the last 4 years that it was an individual stroke play tournament, and last year the team of Jonas Blix/Cameron Smith reached 27-under to take home the title.
Blixt and Smith are back to defend and can currently be had at 42.0 at BETDAQ, but Blixt has missed five cuts in his past seven starts and the field has gotten considerably stronger this year, so a repeat performance will be a tall order indeed. Handicapping a tournament like this is extraordinarily tricky and always will be until team golf becomes more of a regular thing, but there are a few things we can look at, including Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup record, past record in this event when it was individual stroke play, and past performance on other Pete Dye courses, as some players just seem to be more comfortable than others on Dye designs. But all that being said, I do feel that this week is more of a crapshoot than usual, so when in doubt, take the longer odds.
Here are a few suggestions:
WIN MARKET
Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)
Patrick Reed/Patrick Cantlay (14.0)– Among the favored teams, the Reed/Cantlay pairing stands out– Reed thrives in a team format, and he’ll surely be pressure-free and playing with “house money” in his first start since his Masters victory. Cantlay, meanwhile, is coming off a 7th-place showing at the RBC Heritage– his second top-10 in his past four starts– and has made 9 of 10 cuts on the PGA Tour this season. Plus, these guys are have been friends since junior golf and they have experience playing together after finishing 14th in this event last year. Even at a relatively short price like 14.0, I think this Reed/Cantlay team is worth a bet.
Jason Dufner/Pat Perez (48.0)– Some guys just like certain courses, and there’s obviously something about TPC Louisiana that suits Dufner’s eye: his long track record of success in this tournament includes a win in 2012, and last year he teamed with Patton Kizzire to finish 5th at 19-under. Perez seems like a nice complement in both personality and style, and he’s always been a streaky type who can really get hot and make some birdies when he gets it going, which is what you need in an event like this. This team could make some noise this week and should be given serious consideration at a price like 48.0.
Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft (94.0)- An interesting under-the-radar team is the Tway/Kraft pairing: these guys are friends who grew up playing junior golf together in the Texas/Oklahoma region, so they’re both very comfortable on windy, Bermuda-covered courses like TPC Louisiana. Tway has been solid if unspectacular, making the cut in five straight events but never finishing better than 28th, but Kraft is someone who might be playing better than people realize– he’s just two starts removed from a 3rd-place showing in Puntacana, and he had made five straight cuts before narrowly missing the weekend at the RBC Heritage after shooting 71-72. And these guys were brilliant in this event last year, shooting 23-under– including a best-ball 61 on Sunday– to finish solo third.
TOURNAMENT MATCH BETS
Jon Rahm/Wesley Bryan (2.08) vs. Sergio Garcia/Rafa Cabrera-Bello (1.79)
Do you trust Sergio right now? I’m not sure I do. Family priorities have kept him out of action for much of the season– he’s only teed it up twice in the past eight weeks, missing the cut at both the Masters and last week’s Valero Texas Open. Cabrera-Bello is solid, but he ain’t Jon freaking Rahm, who seems built for a birdie-fest like this. Recommendation: Rahm/Bryan at 2.08
Matt Kuchar/Bubba Watson (2.08) vs. Jordan Spieth/Ryan Palmer (1.79)
Watson won this tournament in 2011 and teamed with J.B. Holmes to finish 5th last year, so he’s certainly one to watch at TPC Louisiana. But his partner, Kuchar, has found the top-20 just once in his past eight starts thanks to a cold putter. Spieth and Palmer played here together last year and finished 4th, so chemistry obviously isn’t an issue, and Spieth comes in on the heels of back-to-back top-3 finishes. I’ll take the Texans. Recommendation: Spieth/Palmer at 1.79
