The Zurich Classic is New Orleans’ premier golf tournament and the only PGA TOUR event in the region. The tournament will be held on April 21 – 24, 2022.
The Zurich Classic boasts a rich history, with play dating back to 1938 and past winners including golf greats like Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper, Davis Love III, David Toms and Vijay Singh.
TPC Louisiana has hosted the Zurich Classic since 2005. TPC Louisiana missed hosting the event in 2006 during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That year, many of the PGA TOUR professionals generously donated their earnings to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in the Louisiana area. The Zurich Classic was the first sporting event in the Louisiana region to be televised in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Zurich Insurance Group, an insurance-based financial service provider, became the title sponsor of the tournament in 2005. Zurich, together with the Fore!Kids Foundation – has raised over $18 million for over 40 charities that serve thousands of children in need in the southeastern Louisiana region. The Fore!Kids Foundation, the tournament’s host organization, is dedicated to improving the lives of children, educating their minds, and instilling in them the confidence to pursue their dreams.
During the 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Zurich Insurance Group furthered its commitment to New Orleans when it announced its extension as the PGA TOUR event’s title sponsor through 2026.
Past Champions – Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt, Brian Stuard, Justin Rose, Seung-Yul Noh, Billy Horschel, Jason Dufner, and Bubba Watson.
15:12, UK, Wednesday 20 April 2022
Masters champion and World No 1 Scottie Scheffler will look to continue his rich vein of form when he partners Ryan Palmer in this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, live on Sky Sports.
Scheffler's victory at Augusta National earlier this month, when he finished three strokes clear of Rory McIlroy, earned him his fourth title in six starts, with the 25-year-old also triumphing at the WM Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Scheffler will team with Palmer at the event in Louisiana, with Palmer looking to follow up his victory in this event with Jon Rahm back in 2019.
A look at how 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has risen through the ranks to become World No 1
The tournament, which will feature 80 teams, uses an alternating fourballs and foursomes format, with the fourballs played over rounds one and three (Thursday and Saturday) and the foursomes over rounds two and four (Friday and Sunday).
In the fourballs, each player will play their own ball with the best individual score on each hole counting as the team's score.
In the foursomes, players will take alternate shots until the ball is holed. One player will tee off on the even-numbered holes and the other on odd-numbered holes.
The cut will take place after the second round with 33 teams, or those tied in 33rd position, advancing through to the final two rounds.
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If two teams are tied at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the four rounds, a hole-by-hole, sudden-death play-off will be played with the first hole played as foursomes, the second hole fourballs and so on and so forth until a winner is decided.
Adding a sense of razzamatazz to proceedings, teams will head to the tee with walk-on songs.
Highlights of the final round of the RBC Heritage where Jordan Spieth beat Patrick Cantlay after a play-off
Some of the most intriguing pairings include defending champions Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman - Smith is actually a two-time winner having triumphed alongside Jonas Blixt in 2017 - and the alliance between World No 2 Collin Morikawa and World No 5 Viktor Hovland.
Elsewhere, Shane Lowry plays with Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia teams up with Tommy Fleetwood, and there is an all-English pairing as Danny Willett partners Tyrrell Hatton. Plus, Jay Haas will play with son Bill.
Watch the Zurich Classic of New Orleans live on Sky Sports Golf this week. Red button coverage starts at 1.30pm on Thursday, with the action then on the main channel from 6pm.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the PGA Tour’s lone team event of the season, which always leads to some interesting pairings.
Here’s a look at five teams to watch at TPC Louisiana.
Scottie Scheffler/Ryan Palmer
World No. 1 Scheffler is off to one of the best years in the Tour’s history. With four wins in his last six starts, including a World Golf Championship event and the Masters, the Dallas native will look to keep it rolling alongside his fellow Texan. Palmer, who won the Zurich Classic in 2019 alongside Jon Rahm, has once again found himself with a high-profile teammate in this event. Scheffler joins Rahm and last week’s winner, Jordan Spieth, as partners of Palmer in New Orleans (which caught the attention of Justin Thomas).
Collin Morikawa/Viktor Hovland
Morikawa (No. 2) and Hovland (No. 5) are going from foes to friends this week, as the pair went head-to-head in singles at the 2021 Ryder Cup, tying the match. They make up the highest-ranked pairing at TPC Louisiana, and are the only team with both players inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Morikawa finished T-26 at last week’s RBC Heritage, but had back-to-back top-10s leading into that event, with a T-9 finish in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and a fifth-place finish at the Masters. Hovland, who climbed as high as third in the world ranking, is coming off a T-27 at the Masters, but had a run of three consecutive top-10s earlier this season – T-4 at the Genesis Invitational, T-2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T-9 at The Players Championship. Both players are having great ball-striking seasons. Morikawa ranks seventh in strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: approach the green, while Hovland ranks 11th in strokes gained: off the tee and third in strokes gained: approach the green.
Full-field tee times from Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Cameron Smith/Marc Leishman
The Australian team is looking to go back-to-back at this event after an exciting playoff victory against the team of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel in 2021. It was the second time Smith had prevailed at TPC Louisiana, as he and Jonas Blixt were the victors in 2017 (also in a playoff), the first year this event changed to a team format. Smith would likely be the lead contender for PGA Tour Player of the Year if not for Scheffler’s red-hot two months. Smith already has two wins – the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The Players Championship – as well as a T-3 finish at the Masters. Leishman is looking to find some form this week, as his only top-10 finish in 2022 came in Maui, where he finished T-10.
BY Golf Channel Digital — April 18, 2022 at 12:19 PM
Here's a look at the field and the format for this week's PGA Tour team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele
The California kids will look to improve on last year’s T-11 finish at this event, which included a second-round 74 in the alternate-shot format. Cantlay is coming off a runner-up finish to Spieth at last week’s RBC Heritage, which saw the fourth-ranked player in the world bogey the first playoff hole. It was the second runner-up of the season for the reigning FedExCup champion, who lost to Scheffler in a playoff at the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year. Schauffele finished T-3 in Phoenix, which is his best result, and only top-10, of the season. He’s coming off his only missed cut at the Masters in five starts.
BY Brentley Romine — April 19, 2022 at 5:08 PM
Billy Horschel says he doesn't care if people don't like it; he's going to keep being himself, even though he knows he can run hot.
Billy Horschel/Sam Burns
The two SEC products make up another team consisting of two top-15 players in the world, with Burns at No. 11 and Horschel at No. 14. The pair shot a first-round 63 here last year, before ultimately finishing T-4, two shots out of the playoff. Burns missed the cut at the Masters, but won the Valspar Championship – for the second consecutive year – in his previous start. Horschel’s best finish on Tour this season is a T-2 at the Arnold Palmer invitational, but consistency has been the name of the game for the former Gator. He hasn’t missed a cut since the 2021 U.S. Open.