The 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans field is set with the passing of the typical Friday entry deadline. The field is almost set for this event, the only two-man team event on the PGA Tour schedule. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans field is headlined by Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. The 80 two-man teams in the field will compete in foursome and fourballs in alternating days over four rounds, including a 36-hole cut, to determine a champion. We do not have Monday qualifiers for this event, played at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La. 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans field Anders Albertson and Seth Reeves Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith Keegan Bradley and Jon Curran Roberto Castro and Cameron Tringale Alex Cejka and Alex Prugh Cameron Champ and Sam Burns K.J. Choi and David Lingmerth Wyndham Clark and Ben Crane Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes Austin Cook and Andrew Landry Joel Dahmen and Brandon Harkins Cameron Davis and Kyle Jones Jason Day and Adam Scott Jason Dufner and Pat Perez Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman Harris English and Johnson Wagner Julián Etulain and Andres Romero Tony Finau and Kyle Stanley Jim Furyk and David Duval Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood Brian Gay and Rory Sabbatini Branden Grace and Justin Harding Cody Gribble and Joey Garber Chesson Hadley and Brice Garnett Adam Hadwin and Aaron Baddeley Brian Harman and Patton Kizzire Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry Russell Henley and Ryan Blaum Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney Tom Hoge and J.J. Henry Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy Freddie Jacobson and Chad Campbell Whee Kim and Sungjae Im Si Woo Kim and Sangmoon Bae Michael Kim and C.T. Pan Chris Kirk and Sepp Straka Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown Russell Knox and Brian Stuard Brooks Koepka and Chase Koepka Martin Laird and Nick Taylor Scott Langley and Jonathan Byrd Danny Lee and Sung Kang Kyoung-Hoon Lee and Matt Every Davis Love III and Dru Love Peter Malnati and Billy Hurley III Denny McCarthy and Roberto Díaz Troy Merritt and Robert Streb Joaquin Niemann and Dylan Frittelli Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel Carlos Ortiz and Sebastián Muñoz Rod Pampling and John Senden Kenny Perry and Josh Teater J.T. Poston and Stephan Jaeger Ted Potter, Jr. and Nate Lashley Ian Poulter and Sam Horsfield Seamus Power and David Hearn Andrew Putnam and Max Homa Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay Ollie Schniederjans and Sam Ryder Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri J.J. Spaun and Matt Jones Scott Stallings and Trey Mullinax Brendan Steele and Luke Donald Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell Kevin Streelman and Vaughn Taylor Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly Chris Stroud and Jason Kokrak Hudson Swafford and Wes Roach Kevin Tway and Kelly Kraft Peter Uihlein and Dominic Bozzelli Harold Varner III and Tom Lovelady Jhonattan Vegas and Abraham Ancer Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes Boo Weekly and Colt Knost Richy Werenski and Nicholas Lindheim Chase Wright and Derek Fathauer Top 50 players in 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans field<doc-sep>The PGA Tour heads to Avondale, Louisiana this week for the Zurich Classic, held at TPC Louisiana. Since 2017, the event has employed a two-man team format, with players playing two rounds of fourballs and two rounds of alternate shot. The first and third round is fourballs, which means each player plays his own ball each hole and the best score counts for the team. The second and final rounds are alternate shot, meaning one teammate tees off, the other hits the next shot and they continue to alternate until hole-ing out.<doc-sep>A star-studded field of 160 golfers will compete for $7.3 million in prize money when the Zurich Classic of New Orleans tees off this week at the TPC of Louisiana in Avondale. The tournament, the 27th of 46 events on the 2018-02019 PGA Tour calendar, has been played annually at the TPC since 2005, with the exception of 2006 when it was moved to English Turn because of damage to the course from Hurricane Katrina. The field for this year’s tournament features eight of the world’s Top 20-ranked players, including: Brooks Koepka (No. 3); Jon Rahm (No. 11); Jason Day (No. 14): and Tony Finau (No. 15). Koepka, Rahm, Day, Finau and Patrick Cantlay all finished in the Top 10 at The Masters earlier this month. Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament: · Tournament dates: Thursday through Sunday. · Where: TPC Louisiana, 11001 Lapalco Blvd., Avondale, La. 70094 · Course: TPC Louisiana (Pete Dye/2004), 36-36—par 72, 7,425 yards · Tickets: $35 single-day ticket; $85 weekly badge. https://zurichgolfclassic.com/tickets-2/ · TV: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 2-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, Golf Channel, noon-1:30 p.m.; CBS, 2-5 p.m. · Radio: Thursday-Sunday, Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio. · Internet: Live streaming, Thursday-Sunday, PGATour.com. · Field size: 80 teams, 160 players · Cut: Low 35 teams and ties after second round · Purse: $7.3 million ($1.036 million to each winning team member in 2018) · FedExCup points: 400 points (to each team member) · Format: Four-ball (Thursday/Saturday) and Foursomes (Friday/Sunday) · Twitter: @zurich_classic #TeamGolf · Defending champions: Billy Horschel-Scott Piercy (-22) · 2018 recap: Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy shot a final-round 5-under 67 to win the the tournament by one stroke over the team of Jason Dufner and Pat Perez. After a second round that included two bogeys and two double bogeys on the first day of foursome play, Horschel and Piercy were bogey-free in the final round. Horschel won in his 191st PGA Tour start at the age of 31 years, 4 months, 22 days, while the victory for Piercy came in his 251st start at the age of 39 years, 5 months, 23 days. · Tuesday celebrity shootout: 3 p.m. The competition, over four holes (Nos. 1, 2, 8 and 9), using the same foursomes/four-ball format as the Zurich Classic, will determine the winner. Sean Payton, Wil Lutz, Ed Reed and Chris Berman, 3 p.m. · Wednesday Pro-Am: 7 a.m.-9 a.m., noon-2 p.m.<doc-sep>It’s time for the most difficult betting week on the PGA Tour. The Zurich Classic is the lone team event on the regular Tour schedule. It features 80 tandems playing two rounds of best ball and another two rounds of alternate shot. There’s really nothing that can prepare you for this event, as the only team competitions we see any of these guys play is the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, but that’s match play and this is stroke play, which calls for an entirely different strategy. One top of that, the majority of this field isn’t good enough to qualify for either the Ryder or Presidents Cup, so we’re basically flying blind with how they’ll perform in this format. The Course This is only the third year of the team-based format but TPC Louisiana has hosted this event 13 of the last 14 years. TPC Louisiana is a 7,445 yard par 72 where — at least when it played as a regular tournament — par-4 scoring and Greens in Regulation (GIR) counted among the most important stats. Over the years a variety of players won this event, from bombers like Bubba Watson to short-hitters like Jason Bohn and Jerry Kelly. The first tandem to win here was Cam Smith and Jonas Blixt. Those two players rely on their short games, but last year it was a ball-striking duo, Scott Piercy and Billy Horschel, that won. In other words, any type of style can succeed here and that adds to the difficulty of finding a winner. The Field A couple of international pairs headline this year’s field. Jason Day and Adam Scott opened as the favorites at +700 with Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood right behind at +800. I wouldn’t bet either of these teams, but Garcia/Fleetwood is the most interesting of the two. Fleetwood was fifth last year with Chris Paisley, so the upgrade in partners could make this duo a threat. The Patricks (Reed and Cantlay) are the top American partnership at +1200. Cantlay is in a lot better form right now, so it will come down to Reed keeping the ball in play. World No. 11 Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are fourth off the board at +1600. The defending champs, Piercy and Horschel are tied with Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes and Tony Finau and Kyle Stanley at +1800. The last notable star is Brooks Koepka, playing with his brother Chase, at +4000. The Favorites I can’t really imagine betting one of these top teams. Name-brand players have struggled in the first two years of this format. It’s a short sample size, but there’s a lot more on the line for the lower-level guys in terms of locking up a tour card and a spot in the PGA Championship. I don’t like guessing at motivation levels and, with the top guys, it’s tough to know if they’re fully invested. The Mid-Tier I started my card here with Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover at +4750. Both are excellent ball-strikers and should keep each other out of trouble during the alternate shot format. Glover’s improved putting this year is also a positive for this team that finished 22nd here a year ago. I also added Ian Poulter and Sam Horsfield at +4200. Poulter has shown his propensity to play well in this kind of format during match play. Meanwhile, Horsfield could get a tour card if this duo comes out on top. Playing with his fellow Englishman should give him plenty of motivation to win this thing. I’m also backing a team that has threatened here twice, Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, at +3300. Kisner and Brown lost in a playoff two years ago, then last year were in contention again down the stretch before collapsing in alternate shot in the final round. Kisner is in great form this year and while Scott Brown hasn’t popped up much, these two just seem to play well together. My last add in the Mid-Tier is Jhonattan Vegas and Abraham Ancer at +4000. This is another pretty solid pair of players we’ve backed multiple times to win throughout the last calendar year. They seem to be getting a good number here in a field that pretty wide open. Longshots With this tournament being so hard to predict, I’m going to go way off the board with a couple of duos at long odds. As I said before, par-4 scoring is important here and Roberto Castro and Cameron Tringale both rank inside the top 50 in that metric, so I’ll take a shot on this pair at 200-1. Closing out my card will be Ted Potter Jr. and Nate Lashley at 225-1. Lashley was 15th here last year with Rob Oppenheim and Potter has at least won on the Tour before, so he’s an upgrade. This pair is being priced below teams that don’t even have two full-time tour players, so I think this partnership has a chance to succeed. If you can find a top 10 or 20 bet, I think they’ll be of some real value. The Zurich Classic Card Kisner/Brown +3300 (1 unit) Vegas/Ancer +4000 (.825 units) Poulter/Horsfield +4200 (.785 units) Glover/Reavie +4750 (.7 units) Castro/Tringale +20000 (.165 units) Potter Jr./Lashley +22500 (.145 units) Total Stake: 3.62 units Season: -14.37 units<doc-sep>
The 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans format remains unchanged from 2018, the second year the tournament went from an individual event to a two-man team competition. The Zurich Classic field is 160 players as 80 teams of two. The top 80 players in the PGA Tour's priority ranking that committed to the field got to pick their partner, so long as they had some kind of PGA Tour status or garnered a sponsor exemption. The Zurich Classic format is still a 72-hole event. The first and third rounds will be played as best ball (fourballs) at TPC Louisiana. The second and final rounds will play under alternate shot (foursomes) rules. A 36-hole cut will be made down to the top 35 teams and ties. A sudden-death playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under rules with format alternating on each hole (fourball to start, foursomes next, and so forth). This format changed from 2017, where fourballs were played in the second and fourth rounds, while alternate shot was the game for the first and third rounds. The players on the winning team will each get a two-year PGA Tour exemption and spots in the PGA Championship, The Players, the Tournament of Champions and other invitational events. The team members will split the FedEx Cup points normally distributed for individual events, meaning the winning team will split the 500 points for first place and 300 points for second place -- or 400 points per player. In the case of Brooks Koepka and his brother Chase Koepka, who has no status on the PGA Tour, a win would mean Chase Koepka earns PGA Tour membership. The same is true for any partner who does not have PGA Tour status, since a win in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans goes in the record book as an official PGA Tour win.