Zurich Classic of New Orleans Tournament Analysis & Predictions

Event: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Where: TPC Louisiana

Watch: Golf Channel, CBS

When: April 20-23

On the heels of big events each of the last two weeks the PGA Tour hits the Big Easy this week for the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana. This event is different from any other on the Tour in that teams of two players play two rounds of alternate shot and two rounds of best ball to decide a winner.

The timing and the format keep many big names away but 80 teams will still play for shares of $8.6 million in prize money this week, plus FedEx points.

Last week Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick birdied the third hole of a playoff with Jordan Spieth to win the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head. With the victory Fitz-patrick pocketed $3.6 mill and 500 FedEx points while providing his financial backers with a payout of +2500.

Patrick Cantlay showed third last week, one shot out of the playoff; Xander Schauffele finished fourth; Sahith Theegala and Hayden Buckley tied for fifth; and Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Emiliano Grillo and Cam Davis tied for sev-enth.

We just missed with one of our secondary picks on last week’s tournament, which required Fitzpatrick, Cantlay and Justin Thomas to all finish in the top 10 at a payout price of +2000. Fitzpatrick and Cantlay came through but Thomas finished T-25.

As for this week the TPC Louisiana course, home to this event since 2004, plays to a par-72 at around 7,425 yards. It ranks as one of the easiest courses on the Tour each year.

This tournament adapted the team format in 2017. Billy Horschel teamed with Scott Piercy to win in 2018, then finished second with Sam Burns last year. Horschel also won the Zurich Classic when it was still a stroke-play event back in 2013.

Last year Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele combined to shoot an open-ing-round 59 on their way toward winning the Zurich Classic by two shots over Horschel and Burns. Sam Ryder and Doc Redman took third.

Each week we take a look at the online betting sites and highlight what we be-lieve to be some of the best golf betting values on the board, with a few free picks to click. Odds to win and pairings for this week can be found at Bovada. Here’s our take on some of the field in this week’s Zurich Classic.

That team of Cantlay and Schauffele top Bovada’s Zurich Classic betting board at +350. Former Cal Bears Collin Morikowa and Max Homa are lined as the second choice at +800, while Sung-Jae Im and Keith Mitchell sit as the third choice at +1200.

Our main pick to click is the seventh choice on the board.

Sahith Theegala/Justin Suh (+2000 to win)

Theegala owns seven top-five finishes this season, including a ninth at the Masters two weeks ago and a T-5 at the Heritage last week. Suh owns two top-six finishes over his last five events, including a T-6 at the Players last month. Last year Theegala and teammate Beau Hossler opened the Zurich Classic with a 65, only to shoot 74 Friday and miss the cut. One of these days he’s going to win a tournament and we’re going to be there to cash in.

Cantlay/Schauffele (+900 first-round leader)

These guys are not only the defending champs, they’re the two best players in the tournament. They also just finished third and fourth last week at Hilton Head. They shot 59 on Thursday last year and while they probably won’t pull a trick like that this Thursday they won’t need to against a field like this.

Zach Johnson/Steve Stricker (+1600 to finish top-five)

You don’t have to bomb it off the tee at TPC Louisiana; placement is im-portant, and good putting. And these two veterans have been two of the best in those departments over the years. Plus, Johnson is playing some decent golf, making the cut seven of his last eight times out, shooting 66 on Thursday last week, while Stricker own five top-eight finishes in five tournaments on the Champions Tour this season. We’ll take a flyer bet on the old farts this week.

The first groups for this Zurich Classic go off Thursday at 8 am local time. Bet your golf picks for FREE by scoring a 100% real cash bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 when you use bonus promo code PREDICTEM at Betnow Sportsbook!