Zurich Classic: why Burns and Horschel are worth keeping an eye on

The PGA Tour moves on to TPC Louisianna for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and their unique format of two-player team golf.

Team format in operation

160 players in 80 two-player teams will take part in the event that mixes the fourballs and foursomes format you’ll be familiar with from the Ryder Cup. In the fifth year of the event being a team format - fourballs will be played in round one and three with the trickier alternate shot foursomes being used in the second and crucial final round of the tournament.

The top 33 teams will make the cut after the first two rounds, with the teams made up of the top players in the priority rankings being able to pick their partner. The winners will pocket almost $1.2million each and get an official PGA Tour win on their records along with Fed Ex Cup points, but there are no official world ranking points on offer.

Australian duo Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman took home the trophy last year and are back to defend their title, while Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is back in action and teams up with Ryan Palmer.

Top teams to watch

Scheffler won the WGC Matchplay as part of his remarkable four-win season already, so we know he can thrive in different formats, and in fellow Texan Palmer he’s chosen a tournament specialist as a partner as he’s already won here with Jon Rahm in 2019.

The world number one and Palmer are 11 for victory here behind two teams of high-ranking duos, led by world number two Collin Morikawa and fifth in the rankings Viktor Hovland who understandably head the betting as 7 favourites.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are 9.2 second favourites as another high-profile pairing who finished T11 as they made their debut as a team last year. The pair rank 16th and 18th respectively in total strokes gained this season showing they should be a strong combo this week.

Cameron Smith is a two-time winner here having won with Jonas Blixt in 2017 and last year with Leishman, who is his partner again and 10 shots for a successful defence. Smith could still be struggling to recover from his Masters experience though.

World number 11 Sam Burns and 14 Billy Horschel are another power couple who are 12.5 for victory – which would be a third here for Horschel, once during the strokeplay days and once in team play in 2018.

Burns has won twice this year and both are inside the top 20 in birdie average on Tour this season so in fourballs especially could do plenty of damage. The pair also finished T4 here last year.

80 pairs will compete for the Zurich Classic

Some Ryder Cup pairings eyeing the title

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson had been a dominant European Ryder Cup pairing at one stage, but they’re 60 outsiders here with a few more all-Europe teams much more fancied. Danny Willett and Tyrrell Hatton (34) came T8 last year and have the short games that can make a difference, while Shane Lowry has been in fine form of late and has Ian Poulter as his partner as 22 shots.

Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia are the shortest priced of these European challengers though at 17 after they finished second here in 2019 while Fleetwood also has a T4 here in 2018 before teaming up with the experienced Spaniard.

Away from Europe, the South Korean pair of Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An make some appeal at 36 despite missing the cut last year. Im has just moved back into the top 20 in the world and although An lost his PGA Tour card last seaso he’s currently second on the Korn Ferry Tour points list so getting back to his best.

Other teams to watch include good friends Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele (38) who finished T4 last year and matchplay specialist Kevin Kisner and his regular partner Scott Brown (85) who know each other inside out by now and have recorded finishes of second, T15 and T5 here.

Recent history though does suggest that the odds of the winners here are getting shorter, and there are plenty of star name teams looking to triumph in New Orleans.

Recommended bets

Sam Burns & Billy Horschel @ 12.5

Sungjae Im & Byeong Hun An @ 36

Kevin Kisner & Scott Brown @ 85