The PGA Tour will travel to Louisiana this week for the Zurich Classic. If you thought the field must be complete crap following The Masters and an elevated event at the RBC Heritage, you would be right? The Zurich Classic will feature only 2 of the top-30 golfers in the World Golf Rankings (Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ben Griffin). The golfers will not be playing stroke-play against each other. The golfers will be paired together and compete in four-ball, best ball and alternate shot competitions. There will be 80 teams (2 golfers of each team) and the top 33 teams will make the cut after Friday’s round (40%). I am not a big fan of this tournament and it is not great for DFS contests, but I will throw some money at it and hope to win some cash this week.
DRAFTKINGS SCORING FOR THE ZURICH CLASSIC
– All 160 golfers will be listed in the player pool on DraftKings but you will not be allowed to select two golfers from the same team. So Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry are paired together so you can only use Koepka or Lowry in your lineup.
– Each golfer will receive the same points as his teammate. So if Brooks Koepka scores 70 DK points, Shane Lowry will also receive 70 DK points.
– If a golfer does not compete in an event, he will not receive any points.
So does this sound confusing. Well, it is and that is why I am not a big fan of throwing too much money at this tournament this week.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
The course this week is TPC Louisiana. It is part of the TPC Network of courses so it is similar to TPC Sawgrass where THE PLAYERS is played, TPC River Highlands that hosts the Travelers Championship and TPC Boston which hosts the Northern Trust at the end of the season. I used the golfer’s course history at those courses for my picks this week.
This Pete Dye style course tests each aspect of a golfer’s game. The course plays 7,400 yards in length. There are over 100 bunkers strategically placed to ensure the golfers will have to use the right strategy to get their shots on the greens.
This is the week to stick with golfers who are accurate off the tee and accurate with their approach shots. It will also be very important to be strategic with your shots because ball placement is everything at TPC Louisiana. The scores will likely be really low, but some golfers who are too aggressive could post high scores.
Click here to see the course: TPC Louisiana
KEY STATS FOR THE ZURICH CLASSIC
– Accuracy Off-the-Tee
– Ball Striking
– Strokes Gained Putting
– Strokes Gained Par 5s
– Birdie or Better %
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History & Form
TOP 15 GOLF TEAMS
CORE GOLFERS FOR ZURICH CLASSIC
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
FITZPATRICK BROTHERS ($10,500): This will be the fourth time the Fitzpatrick Brothers have teamed up in the Zurich Classic. Their best finish is 11th, but they have never entered the tour in as good of form as they are now. Matthew is now ranked No. 3 in the world. Aaron won on the DP World Tour three weeks ago. I will go ahead and pay up for the top team in my Cash Contest lineup.
SAHITH THEEGALA/AARON RAI ($9,200): I really like the chances of Theegala and Rai to win Sunday. They both played this tournament multiple times and they both have good course history. Theegala has the length off-the-tee and Rai has the accuracy. Both players are good around the green. Theegala and Rai make a nice combo at the Zurich Classic.
KEITH MITCHELL/BRANDT SCHNEDEKER ($8,100): Mitchell and Schnedeker are not that good individually, but they make a great combo this week. Mitchell is elite off-the-tee and with his irons. Schnedeker is a wizard around the green and with his putter. Put them together and you have one of the best teams from tee-to-green.
DAVID LIPSKY/RICKY HOEY ($7,600): Lipsky has played the Zurich Classic four times. He finished 4th, 23rd, 13th and 4th. Now he teams up with Ricky Hoey. The weakness of Lipsky is his length off-the-tee. That is not a problem because Hoey is one of the longest hitters in the field. They just need Hoey to bomb it off-the-tee and then let Lipsky do his thing and this team should score well.
ANDREW PUTNAM/AUSTIN SMOTHERMAN ($7,500): I am going to rely on the recent form with Putnam and Smotherman over their course history this week. Both players have not been great in this tournament, but they are playing well now. Putnam and Smotherman also complement each other’s weakness with strength.
BILLY HORSCHEL/TOM HOGE ($7,100): Oh God, what am I doing playing Horschel and Hoge in my Cash Contest lineup? I wish I had all of the money that I have lost in DFS playing these two golfers individually. They popped when I ran the model; to I will trust the numbers. Horschel knows this course better than anyone in the field. They hoth have had some success this year and some poor finishes. I needed a cheap pick at the bottom of my lineup and I trust these two veterans more than young golfers without experience at the Zurich Classic.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST
BEN GRIFFIN/ANDREW NOVAK ($9,700): The defending champions of this tournament may get over looked this week. I expect most people will simply pay the extra $300 for Brooks Koepka/Shane Lowry or the extra $800 for the Fitzpatrick Brothers. Griffin and Novak are not having great seasons, but they know how to play together well. I will take a chance with the team that won last year and hope they can do it again.
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN/KARL VILLIPS ($9,400): This team lit it up last year in their first trip to the Zurich Classic. They shot -25 and finished 4th. Both enter the tournament in good form. Thorbjornsen and Villips should be even better this year with some course history to fall back on.
SAHITH THEEGALA/AARON RAI ($9,200): I have Theegala and Rai in my Cash Contest lineup and I will play them in the Tournament Contest lineup too. They are my favorite play for the price on the slate. They should finish in the top-10, with the upside to win Sunday.
SAM STEVENS/ZACHERY BAUCHOU ($8,300): Stevens and Bauchou may be the lowest owned team on the slate. Both are in good form and this team can rely on Steven’s course history. Stevens finished 4th in 2024 and 24th last year. I will take a chance with these two young golfers at a low ownership this week.
CHAD RAMEY/JUSTIN LOWER ($7,000): Ramey and Lower are my favorite play at the bottom of the $7K price range. Ramey finished 8th, 2nd and 9th in his last three trips to the Zurich Classic. Lower finished 8th last year and 10th in 2022. They have outstanding course history and both are in decent form. I would not be surprised if they finished in the top-10 again.
HENRIK NORLANDER/LUKE LIST ($6,200): My “punt play” in my Tournament Contest lineup will be Norlander and List. I am relying on course history with this team because they have not played a lot of golf on the PGA Tour this year. They teamed up to finish 4th in this tournament last year, 19th in 2024 and 23rd in 2023. Their form sucked coming into those tournaments too. I think Norlander and List have one more good Zurich Classic in them before they completely fall apart.
Here is my Multi-Entry Tournament Contests Lineups: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST
* FanDuel is not offering a contest this week. If they add one, I will add some picks.
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* No Tournament this Week
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: * No Event This Week
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Matthew Fitzpatrick (WIN), Jon Rahm (38th), Keith Mitchell (M/C), Brooks Koepka (M/C), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Tommy Fleetwood (7th), Russell Henley (12th), Si Woo Kim (3rd), Jason Day (38th), Ben Griffin (24TH), Hideki Matsuyama (13th)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: SAHITH THEEGALA (ZURICH CLASSIC)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Patrick Cantlay (8TH), Bryson DeChambeau (M/C), Jordan Spieth (63RD), Min Woo Lee (3RD), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa(W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Hideki Matsuyama (28th), Justin Rose (37th), Cameron Young (41st), Maverick McNealy (10th), Si Woo Kim (6TH), Russell Henley (19th), Michael Thorbjornsen (7th), Nico Echavarria (46TH), Garrett Higgo (15th), Alex Noren (23rd), Davis Thompson (21st)
BEST BETS FOR THE ZURICH CLASSIC
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN/KARL VILLIPS 20-1
AARON RAI/SAHITH THEEGALA 22-1
KEITH MITCHELL/BRANDT SCHNEDEKER 35-1
DAVID LIPSKY/RICO HOEY 40-1
WILLIAM MOUW/TAKUMI KANAYA 65-1
CHAD RAMEY/JUSTIN LOWER 72-1
HENRIK NORLANDER/LUKE LIST 190-1
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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