This article is part of our Golf Picks series.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Betting Preview
It's been an exciting two weeks in the golf world, with Rory McIlroy capturing the career Grand Slam and Justin Thomas ending his nearly three-year winless drought in a playoff at Harbour Town.
Now we get a break from the standard stroke-play format with the lone team event on the schedule -- the Zurich Classic of New Orleans -- at TPC Louisiana. Predictably, most of the big names are taking the week off, but Irishmen McIlroy and Shane Lowry headline the field and are the betting favorites at +360 -- the only duo with a single digit on the left side of the odds column.
Last year, the first-time pairing of McIlroy and Lowry -- at 8-1 -- defeated Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole for a dramatic victory.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 9:45 AM ET Wednesday.
Needling in on New Orleans
If you're unfamiliar with the format, 80 two-man teams will tee it up in New Orleans with the top 33 teams plus ties making it through to the weekend. Teams will play four-ball (commonly referred to as best ball with each golfer playing the hole and the best score is used only) in the first and third rounds, and foursomes (commonly referred to as alternate shot) in the second and fourth rounds. There's certainly some element of luck to the format as in four-ball you need to make a lot of birdies and part of doing that is by having the teammates make them on holes their partner doesn't which is a difficult thing to predict. Expect to see low scores in four-ball and the potential of a 59 watch, with scoring much closer to par in foursomes. Taking a look at TPC Louisiana, it's a par 72 that plays at 7,425 yards, making it a moderately lengthed golf course. Off the tee, players are faced with generous fairways averaging 35 yards wide and are surrounded by short rough, which puts more of an emphasis on distance over accuracy, although there are a handful of holes with water in play off the tee. With four par-5s and long par-3s, long iron play will be key as we will see a lot of approach shots from over 200 yards. Golfers with an extreme deficiency such as a poor around the green play or putting can be masked in this format as their partner can hide those deficiencies to an extent.
Normally, I dive into which golfers have played well at the course and those that have excelled recently in a particular metric, but those things are kind of thrown out the window this week, and I'll make it a shorter preview. A lot of the teams will be paired together for the first or second time, so there isn't enough reliable data to draw from. I'm mainly looking to target teams that have at least one longer hitter, ones that rank well in birdie or better percentage, and players with a notable recent result. Onto the picks...
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Zurich Classic of New Orleans Bets: Outright Picks
Andrew Novak / Ben Griffin (22-1)
Coming off a win with Thomas, I'll look to make it two in a row by starting off with Griffin and Novak. The latter nearly played spoiler last week to Thomas in Hilton Head. We know his form is great, and Griffin has a pair of top-5s this season. Both players lack a weakness in their game and should mesh well in alternate shot.
Ryan Gerard / Danny Walker (50-1)
Both players have shown good form recently, most notably Gerard who finished runner-up in San Antonio earlier this month as he continues to have a strong rookie campaign. Walker had a top-10 at THE PLAYERS, and his length combined with Gerard's iron play should make a good combination for this first-time pairing.
William Mouw / Ricky Castillo (90-1)
This is a tournament we shouldn't be afraid to dabble with some longshots as evidenced by Chad Ramey / Martin Trainer and Ryan Brehm / Mark Hubbard nearly winning last year at over 100-1. I'll take a chance on a pair of 24-year-old rookies that each have good length off the tee. Both have had good finishes this year with Castillo posting a T12 at the Valspar and Mouw a T6 in Puerto Rico.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Bets: Other Wagers
Kris Ventura / Antoine Rozner
Top-10 Finish: 13-2
It has been an uneventful year for Rozner outside of a top-5 in his lone start on the DP World Tour, but he has made seven PGA Tour cuts in a row. He's a good ball striker playing with a good driver and putter in Ventura, who finished T25 in his lone start here four years ago. This duo should make a lot of birdies in four-ball.
Joseph Bramlett / Alex Smalley
Top-5 Finish: 7-1
Bramlett fits TPC Louisiana well as a long-hitter and quality ball striker, and he's even better in this format as a birdie maker with a putting deficiency that will get covered up somewhat by Smalley. Speaking of which, Smalley is a strong all-around player that should complement Bramlett well. Smalley has five top-20s this year.
Quade Cummins / Chris Gotterup
Top-5 Finish: 10-1
Gotterup paired with Austin Eckroat last year to finish T11, so he has experience and a good result in the format. He's one of the longer drivers on Tour and that's a nice benefit to have in best ball and alternate shot as he can tee off on the even holes. Cummins had a T16 in Puerto Rico last month and his main weakness of around the green is play is negated here.
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