Grab your partner! The 2024 Zurich Classic takes its annual place on the calendar welcoming Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup stars for a team-style event at TPC Louisiana. Hosting 80 teams of two players, the seventh edition of the team version of the Zurich Classic will see competitors play four-ball in Rounds 1 and 3 and foursomes in Rounds 2 and 4.
Few duos have been more effective together than Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Winners of this event in 2022, Cantlay and Schauffele used their triumph at the Zurich Classic as a springboard for a very successful summer. With Scottie Scheffler running the golf world (and not in the field this week), the two will hope for more of the same following a strong spell of form from both.
The Americans are undoubtedly the favorites to win the Zurich Classic for the second time in three years, but there are newcomers lurking. Most notable is the European team of Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy -- who dished Cantlay and Schauffele their first loss ever together in foursomes this past fall at the Ryder Cup. They'll now lean on Lowry for both of their first appearances in this tournament.
McIlroy hasn't been his usual self so far in 2024, but this was around the time he started to kick things into high gear a season ago. Meanwhile, Lowry continues to strike his irons beautifully and still searches for his first PGA Tour victory in nearly a decade.
Others in the field include Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala, who will be playing alongside each other for the first time. Las Vegas residents Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama will team up, as will Canadian pairs in Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor in addition to Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith.
2024 Zurich Classic schedule
Dates: April 25-28 | Location: TPC Louisiana — Avondale, Louisiana
Par: 72 | Yardage: 7,425 | Purse: $8,900,000
Format
The Zurich Classic will employ an alternating round of four-ball and foursomes. Teams will begin in the four-ball format in Round 1 and utilize it again in Round 3 while foursomes — commonly referred to as alternate shot — will be used in Rounds 2 and 4.
- Four-ball: Players from each team will play their own ball throughout the round with the best score between the two being used for each hole. If Schauffele makes par on No. 1 and Cantlay makes birdie, the team will record a birdie.
- Foursome: Before the round begins, teams will determine which member will tee off on which holes. One player will be designated to strike the first tee shot on odd holes while the other will begin the even holes. If Cantlay strikes the tee shot on No. 1, Schauffele will take on the approach with Cantlay then hitting the third. This alternating will continue until the ball is holed. Even if Schauffele is the last to strike a shot on No. 1, he will hit the tee shot on the second hole in this instance.
2024 Zurich Classic field, odds
- Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (5-1)
- Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry (7-1): This week will mark McIlroy's fourth straight tournament and his 11th of the year. The world No. 2 continues to stay active and will need to figure something out in his game alongside Lowry. McIlroy has been just average -- by his standards -- on the PGA Tour with his best result coming in the form of a distant third at the Texas Open. His iron play hasn't been great, but luckily that has been the area where Lowry has thrived. With McIlroy's potent driver and Lowry's sharp approach play, the two have a path to victory. But issues arrive when the two make their way to the green as neither have been consistent on or around the putting surface.
- Will Zalatoris/Sahith Theegala (10-1): Zalatoris notched a top five in this event alongside Davis Riley in 2022 while Sahith Theegala claimed a top 25 a year ago with Justin Suh. The two will now team up, and they may be the perfect pair. Theegala has turned into one of the best players in the game as he rolls the rock with the best of them and has transformed a weakness with the driver into a significant strength. Meanwhile, Zalatoris continues to be rock steady in the ball-striking department and is moving in the right direction with the putter.
- Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama (16-1)
- Rasmus Hojgaard/Nicolai Hojgaard (22-1)
- Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy (25-1)
- Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick (25-1): The brother duo is back again after finishing T23 in their debut appearance in 2023. Alex has quietly been playing some really solid golf of late with a top 25 in the Dominican Republic last week and a number of other quality results on the DP World Tour. The older Fitzpatrick has looked great, too, ever since finishing solo fifth at the Players Championship. They should improve on their result from a year ago.
- Taylor Pendrith/Corey Conners (28-1)
- Taylor Montgomery/Ben Griffin (40-1)
- Sepp Straka/Brice Garnett (40-1): This squad could win this event or they could finish dead last. Garnett is fresh off a win at the Puerto Rico Open and a top-20 finish at last week's RBC Heritage. In that same event, Straka was featured alongside Scheffler in the final round and ultimately settled for a T5 finish. It marked Straka's third quality outing in his last four as his iron play is starting to peak and his putter is following suit. The bad news is neither have seen the weekend at this team event.
- Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin (40-1)
- Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen (40-1)
2024 Zurich Classic expert picks
| Winner (5-1): This is one of those instances where form, format and golf course all align. Schauffele has been the second-best player in the world in 2024 while Cantlay has found his footing the last two weeks with strong showings at the Masters and RBC Heritage. The two won in their debut together in 2022 and would have won in 2023 had they performed adequately in four-ball; the good friends fired rounds of 63-66 in foursomes and rounds of 67-66 and four-ball. They won't make that mistake again as they claim the title for the second time in three years. | |
| Contender (16-1): This week marks Morikawa's third tournament appearance with his third different partner. Prior partnerships with Viktor Hovland and Max Homa proved fruitless, and now he calls upon the services of a good friend in Kitayama. Morikawa has found his stride recently with quality results at the Masters and RBC Heritage, but the iron play still needs to take a step. If it does, it could open the floodgates as his putter is red hot and Kitayama is as solid as they come from tee to green. | |
| Sleeper (70-1): Moore and Matthew NeSmith run it back for the third straight year, and all they have done is contend. The two have notched back-to-back T4 finishes in this tournament and have eyes on more of the same. Moore has been fantastic over the last month with top 20s at the Valspar Championship and the Masters to go along with a runner-up result at the Houston Open. NeSmith has struggled, but he made a weekend appearance in the Dominican Republic last week and has been known to play the same golf courses well year over year. | |
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