Ending the fierce battle at Harbour City Golf Links, this week's PGA Tour will feature a team event, the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.
The Zurich Classic in New Orleans began in 1938 and is one of the oldest tournaments on the Tour. In 2017, the tournament underwent a transition from individual to team matchmaking, becoming the only official double match on the PGA Tour schedule today, and this year's tournament will usher in the fifth edition after the transition (the 2020 tournament will be cancelled due to the epidemic).
How to play the Zurich Classic in New Orleans?
This week's lineup is 160 players, and they will be paired in pairs to form 80 teams to compete. The first and third rounds of the tournament are played in four-a-side four-ball (the best number of strokes), while the second and final rounds are four-a-side two-ball matches (taking turns to bat). After two rounds, the top 33 teams (including tied) can qualify for the weekend.
In the event of a draw in four rounds, a sudden death match will be used to decide the winner, the first hole is a rotational batting match, the second hole is the best number of strokes, each hole is changed once, and rotated on a specific hole.
A combination of highlights that can't be missed this year
This year's New Orleans Zurich Classic lineup is full of familiar pairs and fresh combinations, and what kind of chemistry will they produce?
"Texas Combo", Scotty Schaeffler & Ryan Palmer
This week, Scottie Schaeffler will make his comeback debut as a Grand Slam champion at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, paired with former champion Ryan Palmer, also from Texas.
This year, Scotty Schaeffler has won four gold-laden titles, from the first win on the PGA Tour to the world number one, to wearing a green jacket, he conquered the world with a strong performance. In addition to the fiery state, Scotty Schaeffler's outstanding talent in the team competition can not be ignored.
Last year, Schaeffler's Partner Baba Watson scored T8 in the Zurich Classic in New Orleans; at the end of the year, he played for the United States, with a record of 2 wins and 1 draw, remaining unbeaten.
If he wins the championship again this week, Schaeffler can be said to have won all kinds of competitions in various formats, and in addition to the king of the ball, I am afraid that he will add a title of "all-around king".
The world's number one partner is 45-year-old PGA Tour veteran Ryan Palmer. Ryan Palmer has not been absent since the New Orleans Zurich Classic became a team event, and he has the most luxurious partner lineup.
In 2017-2018, Ryan Palmer played with Jordan Spieth, and the two were ranked 4th once and eliminated once; in 2019 and 2021, Ryan Palmer's teammate became Spanish star Joan Ram, and the two successfully won the championship for the first time in 2019, and ranked 7th last year.
After welcoming his new partner, now world number one Scotty Schaeffler, Ryan Palmer's average world ranking for his teammates over the years has fallen to 4.6.
This all-star partner lineup is hard not to envy
In team competitions, in addition to the technology, the atmosphere of the team is also crucial. Ryan Palmer, the "PGA Tour's strongest headhunter," is a seasoned player who is adept at creating team chemistry, traits that play a key role in team fits, perhaps a big part of why young players love pairing up with Ryan Palmer.
This time, will the battleships of Scotty Schaeffler and Ryan Palmer reap the miraculous results?
"Defending Champion", Cameron Smith & Mark Leishman
In this week's game, we can see a lot of familiar good partners, among which the most talked about are the defending champions, the Australian duo Of Cameron Smith and Mark Leishman.
Cameron Smith won his first PGA Tour in his inaugural tournament after the Zurich Classic in New Orleans five years ago, and a year ago, he and compatriot Mark Leishman won the championship in TPC Louisiana for the first time, when Cameron Smith was still in the top twenty in the world rankings.
With his victory at the 2021 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Smith was shortlisted for this year's Sentinel Championship, which he managed to win and set a new PGA Tour 72-hole low-bar record; he went on to win the Players Championship and finish T3th at the Masters... Back in TPC Louisiana, Smith is now a top 10 player in the world and at the pinnacle of his career.
His teammate Mark Leishman has played in the Presidents Cup four times for International and has a lot of experience in team competitions.
Coming back to The Blessed Lands and battling a familiar partner to defend their titles, can Cameron Smith and Mark Leishman be the first pair in the history of the tournament to successfully defend their titles?
"97 Gemini", Colin Morikawa & Victor Hoveland
In addition to the familiar old partners, at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, we can also see some "novel combinations" that we can't see in the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. This week, two of the new generation leaders of the high world, Colin Morikawa and Victor Hoveland, will team up.
Colin Morikawa and Victor Hoveland, both born in 1997, are ranked No. 2 in the world and No. 5 in the world, and are currently the youngest two in the world's top 10, and their relationship is also very good, and they usually share a room together during the game trip.
Colin Morikawa and Victor Hoveland, who played in the Ryder Cup for the first time, were rivals in different camps last year; this week, they will be team-mates who will play side by side, a combination that may only be seen at the Zurich Classic.
Can the powerful combination of these two new stars inspire the strongest combat power?
In addition to the above three groups, Ryder Cup U.S. team mates Patrick Cantley & Zander Sheophile, European team-up Shaun Laurie & Ian Poulter, Tommy Fleetwood & Sergio Garcia, Chilean duo Joaquim Neman & Mito Pereira and others are also worth looking forward to.
Which partner are you most interested in? During the live broadcast of the Zurich Classic in New Orleans this week, the Golf Channel APP will continue to hold the "Why Catch a Bird, Guess the Champion to Win" campaign, remember to come to the Golf Channel APP to use your unique vision to select the strongest combination in your mind!