The PGA TOUR is coming off back-to-back tournaments stuffed with the top names in the sport. The first major of the year at the Masters was followed up by last week’s Signature Event at the RBC Heritage. This week’s event doesn’t draw quite the same level of elite field as those two events, but it does have several big names, plenty of storylines and a unique format. The Zurich Classic takes place this week at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Let’s take a quick look at the history of this event and the course that will welcome this week’s Signature Event.
The history of the event
The PGA TOUR has had this regular stop in the Big Easy since 1938, when it began as the Crescent City Open. Several different sponsors have added their names to the tournament through the years, with Zurich taking over in 2005.
The tournament used a typical format until 2017, when it changed to a unique opportunity for players to pair up in 80 teams. One member of each team is initially chosen via the PGA TOUR priority rankings, and his partner must either be a PGA TOUR member or earn entry through a sponsor exemption. The teams have a variety of connection points, with some players choosing to team up based on playing style, alma mater, friendship or random pairings.
It’s always fun to hear the stories of the different teams and see them interact with each other in a team-up edition of golf rather than the typical solitary pursuit in standard format.
Since 2017, no team has repeated, although LIV Golf star Cameron Smith won twice with two different partners. Last year, the formidable duo of Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy emerged with a win in a playoff over the team of Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey.
For the first year of the team format, the event employed alternate shot (foursome) in the first and third rounds with better ball (fourball) in the second and fourth rounds. In 2018, though, the fourball moved to the first and third rounds and alternate shot for the second and fourth rounds.
Due to the unique scoring and format, the winners each receive 400 FedExCup points and two-year PGA TOUR exemptions, but they do not get Masters invitations or world ranking points. DFS formats will also be slightly different this week, so be sure to stay tuned to DK Network for all the details leading up to Thursday’s tee times.
While the purse isn’t as big as we’ve seen the last two weeks, it’s still hefty at $9 million total, with the winning team each earning $1.33 million. There is a cut for this event with the top 33 teams and ties making the weekend.
A closer look at the course
TPC Louisiana has welcomed this event since 2007, including each of the seven team events. The team format has resulted in extremely low scores the last few years. In 2022, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele established the team scoring record at 29-under par, but in 2023, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy went even lower, finishing at 30-under. Last year, McIlroy and Lowry got into the playoff they won with a score of 25-under.
Normally, the first and third rounds are especially low-scoring, with each player playing the hole separately and counting the best score. The alternate shot makes the second and fourth rounds closer to “normal” scores. Last year, for example, McIlroy and Lowry were -19 in the two rounds of Four Ball and just -6 in Foursomes.
Despite the overall low scores, the course does have some difficult parts to it. The Pete Dye design is no pushover, with 106 bunkers and water in play on seven holes. The fairways and rough consist of bermudagrass, and the greens are TifEagle bermuda with Poa Trivialis.
It is a very scoreable layout, though, and taking advantage of birdie opportunities to go low in a hurry is critical to performing well at this track. Here’s an aerial overview to remind you of the course:
The risk/reward setup throughout makes the strategy in the team event unique and fascinating to watch all week. Typically, Strokes Gained: Approach, Par 5 scoring, Birdie or Better % and putting are the top metrics to focus on this week. It’s also important to try and see how the team dynamic between the players will play out, and as a general rule, I try to back players who have played this format and had success in the past.
