Almost half of the world’s top 20 players are in the field this week for the team event in Louisiana. The Zurich Classic of New Orleans features 80 teams of two players each competing in best ball and alternate shot formats starting on Thursday and concluding on Sunday. The defending champions are Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele and they are listed as the golf betting favorite at BetRivers. The second choice in the betting odds is the team of Max Homa and Collin Morikawa. We slowed down a bit last week after going 5-0 with the matchups at The Masters, as we went 2-3 with the matchups at the RBC Heritage. Let’s look at Zurich Classic of New Orleans matchup picks.
Defending Champions: Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele
Tournament Notes: TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The greens are Bermuda and the rough is only two inches. Scoring will once again be excellent, especially on Thursday.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Matchups
Cantlay/Schauffele -200 vs. Homa/Morikawa
Mitchell/ Im -125 vs. Kim/ Kim
Burns/Horschel -130 vs. Suh/Theegala
Clark/Hossler -114 vs. Kitayama/Montgomery
Burns/Horschel -130 vs. Montgomery/Kitayama
Detry/Perez -120 vs. Hojgaard/Olesen
Buckley/Spaun -114 vs. Hadwin/Taylor
An/Kim -125 vs. Hodges/Shelton
Hardy/Riley -114 vs. English/Hoge
Moore/NeSmith -125 vs. Lipsky/Rai
Fitzpatrick/Fitzpatrick -150 vs. Shinkwin/Wallace
Spaun/Buckley -122 vs. Perez/Detry
Taylor/Hadwin -112 vs. Fitzpatrick/Fitzpatrick
English/Hoge -120 vs. Olesen/Hojgaard
Perez/Detry -115 vs. Taylor/Hadwin
Spaun/Buckley -130 vs. Dahmen/McCarthy
Suh/Theegala -130 vs. Hossler/Clark
Golf Picks
Mitchell/ Im -125 vs. Kim/ Kim
I think the team of Mitchell and Im will be a really good one this week. Im is seemingly in contention each week and he thrives on courses where precision irons are needed. Mitchell is a good driver of the ball so he should be a good partner for Im. Mitchell has had success in this event in the past, as he tied for fourth with Brandt Snedeker in 2021. I know that some people like the team of Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim, but we’ll see. Si Woo Kim is capable of imploding at anytime and I don’t know if this partnership is going to work. I’ll take the team of Mitchell and Im in this matchup.
Burns/Horschel -130 vs. Montgomery/Kitayama
I am a little surprised that the number on this matchup isn’t higher. I said in the odds article that the team of Burns and Horschel is one of the top contenders. Horschel seems to always play well in this event and Burns is now considered one of the best players in the world. Kitayama and Montgomery have played well but I don’t think they are yet on the level of Burns and Horschel. I’ll take the team of Burns and Horschel in this matchup.
Taylor/Hadwin -112 vs. Fitzpatrick/Fitzpatrick
One of the things that I have done with pretty good success over the years is go against the winner of last week’s tournament. Matt Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage last week and now he teams up with his brother this week. That might sound great, but I still think Matt has a letdown this week. I’ll take the team of Taylor and Hadwin in this matchup.
English/Hoge -120 vs. Olesen/Hojgaard
You might not know that Hoge has been a regular at TPC Louisiana. English hasn’t played this course since 2019, but it is a course that suits his game. English tied for 2nd at Bay Hill and we know he can handle pressure situations. He did well with Sahith Theegala in the QBE Shootout in December. I’ll take the team of English and Hoge in this matchup.
Suh/Theegala -130 vs. Hossler/Clark
Another of the teams I took in the odds article was the team of Suh and Theegala. I wanted to get them into one of the matchups this week and this is the one that looked like the best choice. I am not sold on Hossler or Clark, as they will occasionally show up on leaderboards, but Suh and Theegala are two players who can win this event. I’ll take them in this matchup.
Check out the latest Zurich Classic of New Orleans matchups odds at BetRivers.
