One of the more fun events of the season is on tap for this weekend in New Orleans, as the Zurich Classic will feature teams of two going at one another for a healthy purse and 400 FedEx Cup points, and a two-year exemption. The format is still a cut-line event, featuring a mix of stroke play and best ball, with around 30 teams expected to play the weekend.
While no Official World Golf Ranking points will be on the line, this is still an event the world’s best get up for each and every year. Let’s take a closer look at the 2022 Zurich Classic.
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Previous Winners of the Zurich Classic
- 2021: Marc Leishman / Cameron Smith
- 2020: N/A
- 2019: Ryan Palmer / Jon Rahm
- 2018: Billy Horschel / Scott Piercy
Course Preview: TPC Louisiana
TPC Louisiana in Avondale, LA, has played the host of this event since 2005, as the Pete Dye-designed course consistently provides plenty of challenges for the Tour’s best every year. Coming in as the 10th longest course of the season, the 7,245-yard Par 72 skews towards benefiting long hitters and those who can capitalize on Par 4s.
SG: Approach is another metric critical for success at TPC Louisiana, as short hitters still find themselves in contention most years. As far as the greens go, Bermuda is the surface of choice, so we’ll also be keying in on players who perform well on Bermuda greens.
Relevant Betting Stats
- SG: Approach
- Putting on Bermuda greens
- SG: Approach
Outright Betting Picks
Ryan Palmer / Scottie Scheffler – Top 10 (+100 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
While the familiarity and off-course chemistry of Cam Smith and Marc Leishman is tempting in this spot to repeat as champions, I can’t go against one of the hottest runs in the history of golf to at least finish near the top. Having won four of the last six events he entered, including the 2022 Masters, Scottie Scheffler comes into this event no doubt still riding the high of his first major win.
As for his teammate Ryan Palmer, he sure knows how to pick them. Playing this event in 2017 (with Jordan Spieth), 2019 (with Jon Rahm), and 2021 (Rahm), Palmer’s teams have finished top 10 in all three events entered. In the 2019 edition, Palmer won this event with Rahm, shooting -26 on the week. It’s also worth noting Palmer has a T4 here in a solo stroke play event in 2012.
I like this pair of Texan natives to go low come this weekend in New Orleans and find themselves in the mix come Sunday afternoon.
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