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'Better-Ball' & 'Alternate Shot' formats this week
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Expect Lowry/McIlroy 13/27.50 to fire on all cylinders
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Zalatoris/Theegala 15/28.50 can win in Deep South
Tournament and Course Notes
• This will be the 18th time the event has been staged at TPC Louisiana. Since 2017, it has been a two-player team contest combining 'Better-Ball' and 'Alternate Shot'.
• This week's gathering is the only PGA Tour event in the state of Louisiana and, once again, will feature 80 two-player teams. On days one and three, the teams will play better-ball*, with rounds two and four dedicated to the more difficult alternate shot** format;
• TPC Louisiana is located a handful of miles south-west of downtown New Orleans. Designed by Pete Dye, the course made its PGA Tour debut in 2005, replacing English Turn as tournament host;
• Laid out on low-lying delta wetlands, TPC Louisiana covers more than 250 acres and is dotted with more than 100 bunkers. Water comes into play on eight holes, including each of the last three. Although rough is not a major issue, when compared to many PGA Tour venues, the greens are heavily undulating. They are also slightly smaller than the Tour average;
• In recent years, Dye has returned to make a number of changes to the course. In 2019 the greens were returned to TifEagle Bermuda, having previously been MiniVerde. And, during the winter of 2020/21, a number of bunkers were restored to their original shape. Generally, they are now slightly smaller. The purpose of these changes was to improve drainage, because much of the course is laid out below sea level;
• The course has twice taken a battering due to high-profile hurricanes (Katrina/Ida) and, in August 2021, lost 700 trees of which more than 600 have now been replaced.
Betfair Sportsbook
Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry 13/27.50: Hopefully the slightly less intense atmosphere of a team event will lift any burden of expectation from Rory's shoulders. And, in partnership with his Irish Ryder Cup teammate, inspire a strong performance. The world No 2 is making his tournament debut.
Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele 4/15.00: The only team involving two world ranked top-10 players. They won here in 2022 and tied-fourth last year.
Collin Morikawa & Kurt Kitayama 16/117.00: A seemingly rejuvenated Morikawa goes for glory following a brace of T10s these past two weeks. These include a tie-for-third at Augusta.
Will Zalatoris & Sahith Theegala 15/28.50: This in-form pair have posted a string of top-10s between them this year - eight in all. Zalatoris tied-fourth here in his only previous trip to TPC Louisiana.
Billy Horschel & Tyson Alexander 50/151.00: Not only does Horschel possess a fantastic record at TPC Louisiana, he arrives in the Deep South on the back of Sunday's victory in the Dominican Republic. The experienced American has won this tournament twice: Once when it was an individual event, and again as a team competition.
Latest betting for next month's PGA Championship
This week's pairings (as of April 20):
Matt Fitzpatrick & Alex Fitzpatrick
Collin Morikawa & Kurt Kitayama
Gary Woodland & Lee Hodges
Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry
Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele
Will Zalatoris & Sahith Theegala
Pierceson Coody & Parker Coody
Rasmus Hojgaard & Nicolai Hojgaard
Davis Riley & Nick Hardy
Taylor Pendrith & Corey Conners
Nick Taylor & Adam Hadwin
Wyndham Clark & Beau Hossler
Billy Horschel & Tyson Alexander
Luke Donald & Francesco Molinari
Steve Stricker & Matt Kuchar
Charley Hoffman & Nick Watney
Thorbjorn Olesen & Matt Wallace
Justin Suh & Rico Hoey
Eric Cole & Russ Cochran
Taylor Moore & Matt Nesmith
Sepp Straka & Brice Garnett
Peter Malnati & Russell Knox
Ryan Fox & Garrick Higgo
Tom Hoge & Maverick McNealy
Austin Eckroat & Chris Gotterup
Daniel Berger & Victor Perez
Ryan Brehm & Mark Hubbard
Cameron Champ & MJ Daffue
Nico Echavarria & Max Greyserman
Brice Garnett & Sepp Straka
Kevin Kisner & Scott Brown
KH Lee & Michael Kim
Luke List & Henrik Norlander
Peter Malnati & Russell Knox
Taylor Moore & Matt NeSmith
Vincent Norrman & Jorge Campillo
Chad Ramey & Martin Trainer
Chez Reavie & Brandt Snedeker
JJ Spaun & Hayden Buckley
Zach Johnson & Ryan Palmer
Kelly Kraft & Kevin Tway
Kevin Chappell & Jason Dufner
Brandon Wu & James Nicholas
Thriston Lawrence & Aldrich Potgieter
Andrew Putnam & Joe Highsmith
Taylor Montgomery & Ben Griffin
Alex Smalley & Matti Schmid
Thomas Detry & Robert MacIntyre
Beau Hossler & Sam Ryder
Keith Mitchell & Joel Dahmen
Sam Stevens & Paul Barjon
Aaron Rai & David Lipsky
SH Kim & Sangmoon Bae
Davis Thompson & Andrew Novak
Ben Taylor & Sean O'Hair
Garrick Higgo & Ryan Fox
Robby Shelton & Wilson Furr
Callum Tarren & David Skinns
Dylan Wu & Justin Lower
Harry Hall & Justin Lower
Nate Lashley & Rafael Campos
Greyson Sigg & Chesson Hadley
Carson Young & Ben Martin
Kevin Streelman & Martin Laird
Zac Blair & Patrick Fishburn
Kevin Yu & CT Pan
Doug Ghim & Chan Kim
Troy Merritt & Robert Streb
Carl Yuan & Zecheng Dou
Jhonattan Vegas & Bronson Burgoon
Vince Whaley & Adam Long
Ben Kohles & Patton Kizzire
Chandler Phillips & Jacob Bridgeman
Erik Barnes & Harrison Endycott
Jimmy Stanger & Adrien Dumont de Chassart
Alejandro Tosti & Ted Potter
Ben Silverman & Kevin Dougherty
Hayden Springer & Tom Whitney
Mac Meissner & Austin Smotherman
Norman Xiong & Ryan McCormick
Trace Crowe & Harry Higgs
Roger Sloan & Josh Teater
Raul Pereda & Austin Cook
Scott Gutschewski & Jonathan Byrd
Blaine Hale & Paul Haley
Latest betting for this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Each-Way Exchange
* Better-ball (Both golfers play their own ball, with only the best score on each hole counting);
** Alternate-shot (Just one player drives off the tee, after which the two golfers take alternate shots until the ball is holed.)
Note: Became a two-man team event in 2017. Not staged in 2020 due to the pandemic.
MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves