We head to TPC Louisiana (par 72, 7,425 yards, POA Trivialis greens) for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. This is the PGA TOUR’s only team based event of the season. There will be 74 two-man teams competing and there will be a the top-33 and ties cut after the first two rounds. The first and third rounds will be best ball format, and the second and fourth rounds will be alternate shot. TPC Louisiana has been the home of the Zurich Classic since 2005. Before 2017, this was a standard stroke play event. At last year’s Zurich Classic, Ben Griffin and Andrew Griffin (-28) won by one stroke.
Below, I have featured two of my favorite outright long shot bets to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Luke Clanton/Blades Brown (+7000)
Both Clanton and Brown have no previous experience at TPC Louisiana, but this is a compelling pair of young, talented players who could surprise. Clanton has made three of his last five cuts, including a T5 at the Puerto Rico Open last month, which is his fifth top-five finish in 34 starts on the PGA TOUR.
Brown finished even higher at the Puerto Rico Open with a solo third place finish. Albeit on the Korn Ferry Tour, Brown also just finished runner-up at the Tulum Championship last week and solo third at the Club Car Championship three weeks ago. In the new year, Brown has moved himself up 348 spots in the world golf rankings to a career-best No.133.
Brown ranks top-30 in GIR and driving distance on the Korn Ferry Tour, and winning this week would be huge for both he and Clanton, as it would earn the pairing two-year exemptions on the PGA TOUR. On most sportsbooks, Clanton and Brown are hovering +5000 to win, so they are an outstanding value at this +7000 price on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Luke List/Henrik Norlander (+18500)
Norlander has made four of his last five cuts between the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour with one top-25 finish and List has made back-to-back cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour. While this is nothing to write home about, backing List and Norlander isn’t about their form, its about their history at the Zurich Classic.
These two have competed as a team at the last three Zurich Classics and they have improved each year, finishing T23rd, T19th and T4th, in that order. Last season, List and Norlander only finished three shots back of Griffin and Novak.
When it comes to success as a team, no squad in this field has been better at TPC Louisiana than List and Norlander. This +18500 price is far too long for these TPC Louisiana experts and List and Norlander are worth a flier at these odds.
