Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2025 First-Round Leader Tips: A trio of picks from 30/1 to 40/1

• 30/131.00 Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala have both started fast here before

• 40/141.00 Alejandro Tosti/Joe Highsmith make loads of birdies

• 35/136.00 Big hitters Jesper Svensson/Niklas Norgaard could light it up

Weather forecast for Thursday/Zurich Classic FRL history

The fourball (better ball) format for day one means we've seen some crazy Thursday scores.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele opened with a 59 in 2022 but even then that only gave them the edge by a single shot from Taylor Moore and Matthew NeSmith.

For the last two years, 61 has been the mark. Two pairings managed it in 2023 while four teams, including eventual winners Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, posted it last year.

Temperatures get into the high 80s in the afternoon while there's some wind at around 10mph and perhaps higher later in the day. 

Six of the last 10 teams to have had a piece of the 18-hole lead teed off in the afternoon.

Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala @ 30/131.00

Aaron Rai has a habit of making fast starts in this event although previously that was with David Lipsky.

This time the Englishman pairs up with Sahith Theegala.

Rai shared the 18-hole lead here last year via a 61 and was also in the top three after the opening fourballs in both 2022 and 2023.

Theegala, alongside Justin Suh, was eighth after day one in 2023 so he's made a strong start on Thursday too.

Rai should still be on a high following his Masters debut and that 27th was fuelled by a good opening round which put him seventh on the day one leaderboard.

Theegala's form hasn't been as reliable but 29th at Augusta was decent and their contrasting games make them a nice balance this week.

"He's methodical and he can handle the moon balls I hit," Theegala told pgatour.com.

The two, who rank 23rd (Rai) and 75th (Theegala) in Birdie or Better Percentage, head out early at 8.05am local. Back them at 30/131.00 (1/4 Odds, 5 Places).

Alejandro Tosti/Joe Highsmith @ 40/141.00

Alejandro Tosti and Joe Highsmith look an intriguing pairing and despite clear differences in their games, both are birdie machines - Tosti ranks 33rd in the Birdie or Better charts with Highsmith 39th.

Tosti smashes it a mile (5th Driving Distance) but has a sharp chipping game (18th SG: Around The Green) while Highsmith can be streaky and get hot with the putter.

Highsmith won the Cognizant Classic last month with a pair of 64s on the weekend while Argentine Tosti is in a great run of form after second place at last week's Corales Puntacana Championship added to 12th at the Texas Open and fifth in the Houston Open.

They missed the cut with different partners last year but both did pretty well in fourballs on day one - 65 Highsmith, 66 Tosti - and they're much improved performers since then.

The 40/141.00 shots have an afternoon tee-time at 1.23pm.

Jesper Svensson/Niklas Norgaard @ 35/136.00

I went for Jesper Svensson and Niklas Norgaard in my outright preview and the Scandinavian duo could be particularly devastating in fourballs.

The two bombers are both in the top 12 for Birdie or Better Performance and Swede Svensson is 12th for SG: Putting (Norgaard ranks above the Tour average too).

Svensson is even 8th for R1 scoring which adds another layer and if these two get on a roll, they could go really, really low.

It makes lots of sense to envisage them high on that first-round leaderboard although we'll have to wait a while as they tee off in the afternoon at 1.49pm.

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