Preview
Event Info
Starts: 20th April 2023
Course: TPC Louisiana, Louisiana
Par: 72 (36-36)
Length: 7,425 yards
Defending Champions: Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Tips
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Course Info
Designer: Pete Dye
Used Since: 2005 (2017 for pairs)
Fairways: Generous.
Rough: Bermuda
Greens: TifEagle Bermuda (New greens since last event hosted here in 2019.
Water Hazards: 3,4,6,9,16,17,18.
Par 5's: 2nd, 7th, 11th and 18th
Premium on: Approach play and putting.
Significant Info
It's the 6th time the Zurich Classic has been a pairs event. The event wasn't played in 2020 due to the pandemic.
There are 80 teams of two. Top 35 and ties make the cut.
72-hole format featuring Four-Ball on Thursday and Saturday and Foursomes on Friday and Sunday.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Trends
We will analyse the winners of the previous five team events to find trends. Past winners include Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (2022), Cameron Smith/Marc Leishman (2021), Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer (2019), Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy (2018), and Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt (2017).
Winning Score
Last year's winning score was -29. The previous four team events had been won between -20 and -27. Birdies are the name of the game and expect another winning score in the high 20's.
Course Form
2022
Cantlay and Schauffele were 11th in the year prior to winning. Cantlay also had a 7th place in 2018.
2021
Cameron Smith won this event in 2017 but missed the cut in 2018 and 2019. Marc Leishman was playing the pairs event for the first time but did post a couple of top 30 finishes when the event was an individual strokeplay event.
2019
Rahm had missed the cut in his only previous attempt with Wesley Bryan. Palmer had a previous solo 4th here in 2012 and 4th here in 2017 with Jordan Spieth.
2018
Horschel had won at the course in 2013 but Piercy had missed both cuts here as an individual.
2017
Blixt or Smith had no form to speak of in the previous individual editions at the Zurich Classic.
Recent Form
2022
Cantlay had finished 2nd at the Heritage the week prior whilst Schauffele had missed the cut on his last start at the Masters.
2021
Smith finished 9th the week before at Heritage and Leishman was 5th at the Masters on his last start.
2019
Palmer finished 28th at the Heritage the week before and Rahm was 9th at the Masters in his previous start.
2018
Piercy had missed the cut in his last start in Texas but had finished 16th at the Heritage the week before that. Horschel had finished 11th in Texas and 5th at Heritage.
2017
Smith had finished 6th at Texas and 29th at Heritage. Blixt had finished 44th in his last start at the Heritage.
Solid recent form appears to be really important.
Winners Profile
Last year's winners, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, and 2021 winners, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman already had multiple wins on tour. Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer in 2019 were both past winners on tour (although Palmer hadn't won since 2010). Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy were already proven winners too, Horschel had even won the Zurich Classic before in 2013. In 2017, Jonas Blixt had won on tour before but it was Cameron Smith's first win on tour. Ideally though, we are looking for a team that have both won on tour.
Correlating Courses
There are trends with another Pete Dye designed courses, TPC Sawgrass. Home of The Players Championship, Sawgrass also demands accuracy off the tee and challenges players visually, as Dye likes to do. Harbour Town which was used last week is also a Dye design so recent form is an angle in at these courses.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Stats Analysis
No stats available due to team event.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans In Play Tips
Fast or Slow Start
Cantlay and Xander led from start to finish last year. The first and second pairs in 2021 were 3rd after the opening 18 holes. In 2019, Rahm/Palmer were 4 shots back after day one in 17th place but were leading from the halfway point onwards. Horschel/Piercy were 3 shots back after day one and 6 back at halfway before a 3rd round 61 put them 2 shots back heading into the final round. Smith and Blixt were 6 shots back after day one but led at halfway.
You don't need to be leading after day one here but you want to be up with the pace after the second round is completed.
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Tips
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In-play
Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2023 In-Play Blog
23rd April 2023, 12:35pm (UK time)
Player | Total |
Clark/Hossler |
-26 |
Im/Mitchell |
-25 |
Three Teams Tied |
-23 |
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 3 Summary
Wyndham Clark/Beau Hossler held their lead by one shot over Sungjae Im and Keith Mitchell. Pre-event favourites Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffelehave fallen behind again, only managing a 6 under par best ball yesterday and now trail by six.
Notable Round 3 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Quotes
"With a teammate, you you can kind of feed off each other and really not allow that momentum to get going in the wrong direction. So I hope tomorrow we're light and loose like we've been all three days." Wyndham Clark
" He was honestly incredible. The front nine was some of the best golf I've ever seen played ever, 6-under through eight holes." Keith Mitchell
"I think we both hit it really solid. We do a good job of driving the ball on the fairway and hit as many greens as possible." Taylor Moore
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 4 Weather
Partly sunny with a consistent wind of around 11-13mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
There isn't much to separate Im and Mitchell and Clark and Hossler in the betting now with the later 11/8 favourites and former 7/4. Both pairs shot 67 in the foursomes on Friday so both players appear to be contributing to the team score, even if Keith Mitchell will tell everyone Sungjae Im has been carrying him all week!
Hossler/Clark are both yet to win on tour despite a couple of close calls, whereas Sungjae Im have three wins between them on tour and that may prove to be the difference come Sunday evening. The 7/4 on Im/Mitchell is quite tempting and we wouldn't put anyone off that price if they want some interest from the front two.
Our hopes are with 50/1 Moore and Nesmith who are three shots behind the leaders. They are in confident mood and Moore has a recent winning experience which should help their cause today. Pre-event favourites Cantlay and Schauffele will need some of their Friday Foursomes magic to catch the leaders now but six shots is a big ask given the quality of the front two.
Where is the value?
We expect one of the pairs from the top five to win now so it may be worth focusing on the match bets today, where some pairs have been relying on fourballs to build their score.
Round 4 Bets
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22nd April 2023, 11:35am (UK time)
Player | Total |
Clark/Hossler |
-16 |
Ryder/Redman |
-15 |
Im/Mitchell |
-15 |
Five Teams Tied |
-14 |
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 2 Summary
Wyndham Clark/Beau Hossler maintained their lead but it was pre-event favourites Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele who stole the show, jumping from 56th place to 4th place with a 63 in alternate shots. They were in fact 8 under through 11 holes so it could have been even better.
Notable Round 2 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Quotes
"We'd like to get that 59 again in best ball. We're going to try." Patrick Cantlay
" I think if Sungjae plays like he's playing and I can continue to make a couple long putts and keep the one or two bad swings out for the weekend, I think we'll have a good chance." Keith Mitchell
"I think for me, just stay aggressive, keep doing what we're doing. I feel very confident in my teammate, and I'm just trying to do my part and stay out of the way as much as possible and just keep the vibes going." Sam Ryder
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 3 Weather
Partly sunny with a consistent wind of around 11-13mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Understandably, Cantlay and Schauffele are favourites again, best price 3/1 and it actually makes some appeal. They may have been poor in the fourballs on Thursday but last year they shot 59 and 60. It was a freak round which saw them make three bogeys on the same hole and we very much expect them to end the week on top now.
Im and Mitchell have now shortened to around 9/2 but it looks a less attractive price with Cantlay and Schauffele back in the mix. We expect another solid score today on best ball but couldn't back them confidently as a win only play which is needed at the odds.
Clark and Hossler have also shortened to 9/2 and it's the same story for them. They could well be leading again at the end of the day but we would ultimately expect Cantlay/Schauffele to take them on the final day foursomes.
Where is the value?
There have been comebacks from as much as six shots back at halfway here, but given the strength of the front three teams at the top of the market, we wouldn't want to go much lower than 14 under par when searching for victors.
Round 3 Bets
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21st April 2023, 10:35am (UK time)
Player | Total |
Clark/Hossler |
-11 |
O'Hair/Matthews |
-11 |
Im/Mitchell |
-10 |
Lipsky/Rai |
-10 |
Fitzpatrick/Fitzpatrick |
-10 |
List/Norlander |
-10 |
Noh/Kim M |
-10 |
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 1 Summary
10 under par led the way from the morning groups but two pairs were able to get to 11 under par - Wyndham Clark/Beau Hossler and Brandon Matthews/Sean O'Hair. Heavy pre-event favourites Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele could only manage a 5 under par best ball and have a lot of traffic to pass in 56th place.
Notable Round 1 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Quotes
"I'll be honest, it was all Aaron. The guy played great today. I think he had like seven birdies and an eagle. I had a lot of birdie looks, too. Mine didn't fall and his dad, and that's what this team format is all about is supporting each other and taking pressure off each other." David Lipsky
"Tomorrow we'll probably take a little bit more of a typical game day approach. Today we're trying to -- once the first player hits, the second player sometimes is a little more aggressive." Keith Mitchell
2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 2 Weather
Chance of Thunder with wind picking up to 11mph in the afternoon.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Im and Mitchell are now favourites at 6/1 and you would think they are an ideal pairing for foursomes today, both extremely steady off the tee helping to keep the ball in play. We expect them to be shorter in the betting tomorrow.
Clark and Hossler are the only other two trading in single figures, best price 15/2. Clark has been having a fantastic season but Hossler hasn't yet managed a top 10 so it will be interesting to see if they can fare as well in foursomes. We prefer the price of Mitchell/Im.
Where is the value?
Up with the pace tends to be the place to be and the '2nd round leader' market may be interesting due to the change to Foursomes today.
Round 2 Bets
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