Weekly PGA Preview: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.

Zurich Classic of New Orleans

TPC Louisiana
Avondale, LA

The PGA Tour heads to the bayou for another edition of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Before we get to that, some thoughts on the RBC Heritage. Even though that is now a Signature Event, it's always a tough watch -- at least early in the early rounds -- and it's no fault of the tournament itself. The Masters hangover is real, and almost any tournament would have a tough time following up a week at Augusta -- especially the one we just saw. Things get better -- and got better -- over the weekend, but in my opinion the Tour should avoid following the year's first major with a Signature Event.

As for the golf that took place, we got lucky again. There was another playoff with another high-profile golfer securing a long-overdue victory. This time it was Justin Thomas, who had waited a long time to pick up this win. He'd been playing better over the past nine months, so it's not as if no one saw this coming, but a win is a win, and snapping the slump in a Signature Event is even sweeter.

As for the matter at hand, we have the annual team event in New Orleans. This one isn't for everyone, and I get that. The only thing I would say is that with all the events throughout the year, there are generally only two things that can set you apart from the crowd and that's the course or the field. This time around, it's the format that earns the distinction, and that's a good thing because there's nothing remarkable about this course and outside of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa the player list is not great.

I should take this moment to remind those playing in One and Done pools that most OAD formats give you credit for the team win, so if you're thinking about using McIlroy, go with Shane Lowry and so forth and so on.

The team format has been in play for a while now, the track has not changed and a lot of these golfers stick together, so we've got some useful course history to lean on.

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LAST YEAR

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry shot a final-round 68 and defeated Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey in a playoff. 

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 5:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Rory McIlroy / Shane Lowry (36-10) 

There is no question that this is a most talented team in the field. Up until this past year however, the super teams hadn't always shown up at this event, but perhaps the McIlroy/Lowry win will change things going forward. Actually, there is only one super team this year, so it's all on these two. This truly comes down to how invested this pair is into winning again. McIlroy is obviously on top of his game and Lowry has played well this year also, you'd think they could win this thing with ease, but as we all know, it's never that easy with golf.    

Collin Morikawa / Kurt Kitayama (12-1)

This team certainly looked more formidable when Kitayama was playing his best, but we haven't seen that form from him in a couple years. Morikawa is good enough to carry this team for a while, but eventually he's going to need some help from Kitayama. This will be the first time that Morikawa has kept his partner from the previous year, so perhaps they're onto something here, but the T23 from this past year would indicate otherwise. I'd pass on this pair this pair at this number.

Wyndham Clark / Taylor Moore (20-1)

There are three teams listed at these odds, but this one looks like the most promising. Clark has been playing well this season, although not quite at the level of previous years and Moore has been pretty consistent. Moore is coming off a rib injury that's kept him out of play for a few weeks, but he appears to be ready to go. These two have not played together here before, but each have pretty solid track records at this event. Clark finished third in 2023, and Moore finished T4 in 2022 and 2023. 

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THE NEXT TIER

Billy Horschel / Tom Hoge (25-1)

Both of these guys have had success here, but it's Horschel that's really shined at this event. Horschel won this event in 2018, finished T4 in 2021 and runner-up in 2022. He wasn't playing with Hoge for any of those results, but he obviously contributed quite a bit to how his team played. Hoge hasn't had as much success, but he did post a top-10 in 2018 and a T13 in 2023. Both guys are in decent form entering, so perhaps this pair can make some magic.

Rasmus Hojgaard / Nicolai Hojgaard (28-1)

This pair did not fare well this past week at this event, missing the cut, but perhaps a year later things will be different. The reason is experience, which they were short on this past year, but that won't be the case this year. Look, this event is a crap shoot, you never know who is going to come out of the weeds, so you try to find pairs with potential and this pair certainly has that. There are no worries about compatibility here… you would think. It's just a matter of getting their games in sync.    

Nico Echavarria / Max Greyserman (40-1)          

This is an interesting pair. Echavarria has played some of the best golf of his life over the past six months and Greyserman appears to have a lot of potential. These two paired up this past year and it resulted in a T4. It's safe to say that each of these golfers is better than they were 12 months ago, so I'm really liking this duo. Greyserman hasn't had many high-end finishes this season, but he has been holding his own against the big boys in the Signature Events. Echavarria hit a rough patch in February, but he seems to be working his way out.  

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LONG SHOTS

Garrick Higgo / Ryan Fox (50-1) 

This is the point where you find it difficult to get a recognizable pair. Most of the long shots consist of one golfer you've heard of and one you haven't, so to get these two at this price seems like a gift. I know, these aren't household names, but Higgo won this past week at the Corales Puntacana Championship and this pair finished T4 here this past year. Normally I'd be worried about Higgo on the heels of a win, but he's got a teammate to play for, so I'm assuming he'll get his mind straight before Thursday.

Davis Riley / Nick Hardy (80-1)  

Anyone interested in this rate on the former champs? Of all the events on the PGA Tour, this one has the roughest looking bunch of long shots, so when you see a pair like this, that won here just two years ago, you have to jump at the opportunity. Odds are this pair just happened to catch lightning in a bottle in 2023, like Ramey/Trainer did this past year, but you never know, maybe this team has something. This will be their third year together and they did post a T28 this past year while defending so if nothing else, there is some continuity there.   

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Shane Lowry – No one should be using McIlroy this week because of the reduced purse, but for those with Lowry, this looks like a good spot to use him. Lowry is a borderline Signature/major guy so it's not an easy decision to use him here, but it looks like some easy money if you do have him.   

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Kurt Kitayama – Now this one is an easy decision if you're at or near the top of your league right now. Kitayama is not a Signature/major guy right now and he's not even one that you would take at any other point, so this seems like an easy play. The only problem is how this team will perform. I'd still take the chance on this pair because you're essentially getting Morikawa for free.

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Nico Echavarria / Max Greyserman – I'm guessing most OAD players are going to take advantage of getting the big name for free, so this pair should be sliding under the radar. I expect this team to fair well this week, the only question is, which one do you take? Echavarria has shown a higher upside, already winning multiple times on the PGA Tour, but Greyserman was pretty good down the stretch this past year.       

Buyer Beware: Sahith Theegala / Aaron Rai – If both of these guys were at or near their peak this would be a formidable team, but Theegala is really struggling right now, which will likely bring this pair down. Rai has played pretty well this season, finishing in the top-15 at two Signature Events and posting a T4 at the Mexico Open, but he'll have a hard time carrying the load if Theegala can't turn things around this week.  

This Week: Max Greyserman – I like the pair of Greyserman and Echavarria, the only question is which one to use. I decided on Greyserman as I think Echavarria has moved slightly ahead of Greyserman overall and I'm expecting a little more from him the remainder the season. As for this week, the outlook is positive as they both come in with pretty good form and they paired up for a T4 here this past year.   

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

This Week: Kurt Kitayama – Of the Morikawa / Kitayama pair, Kitayama is the one who has yet to miss a cut here, which gives me even more confidence in this pick. This team will likely be a popular play in the OAD format, which would give me pause as it'll be tough to make up ground with this team, but in this format, it doesn't really matter that much who everyone else is taking, at least early in the year, so go with the safe play.