Zurich Classic of New Orleans Betting Tips
After the intensity of the Masters and Justin Thomas’s playoff win at last week’s RBC Heritage, there will be a change of pace on the PGA Tour when the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a pairs event, starts on Thursday.
The Zurich Classic has matched 80 couples over the four rounds since 2017 and the tournament is boosted by the fact new Green Jacket winner Rory McIlroy will be there alongside Shane Lowry as they attempt to retain their title.
TPC Louisiana should represent a straightforward task and low scoring is expected as players will be aided by pre-tournament rain that will have softened the greens.
They will play fourball, betterball on Thursday and Saturday while on Friday and Sunday the players will play alternate shots. The top 33 teams and ties at the half-way stage will qualify for the final two rounds.
Not surprisingly, McIlroy and Lowry are considered hot favourites for another triumph at 7/2, but there looks to be some decent value to be had a little further down the list.
Tip 1 – Billy Horschel & Tom Hoge to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans @ 18/1
One player who loves TPC Louisiana is Billy Horschel. He is the only player to have tasted success there in the individual tournament and the team event, winning on his own in 2013 and then alongside Scott Piercy in 2018.
Horschel was also fourth, second and 11th alongside Sam Burns and will this year team up with Tom Hoge, who heads to the Big Easy in excellent form.
Hoge posted top-five finishes in the Players Championship and Texas Open and followed those showings with an impressive 14th at the Masters, while he didn’t take his foot off the gas as he posted 18th at the Heritage last week.
That combination of a player in excellent nick and one with extensive course experience could just be the cocktail that brings success on Sunday.
Tip 2 – Thomas Detry & Robert MacIntyre to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans @ 20/1
Lowry and McIlroy experienced joy at this tournament last year and there is scope for another European pair to take the honours this time. Thomas Detry and Robert MacIntyre can improve on the eighth spot they earned in last year’s renewal.
Detry and MacIntyre fired rounds of 62 and 64 in the betterball format and that performance came 12 months after the Belgian was 13th when playing alongside Victor Perez.
While neither player has been in great form over the last couple of weeks, it may not take much for them to rediscover their touch in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Detry stormed to a seven-shot victory at the Phoenix Open in early February, so he knows exactly what it takes to claim a big PGA Tour prize.
MacIntyre will have been disappointed to have missed the cut at the Masters and he struggled at Hilton Head last week, but he finished in the top 12 in four of his five efforts prior to Augusta, so this could be the time when he gets back into the groove.
Tip 3 – Patrick Fishburn & Zac Blair to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans @ 66/1
Patrick Fishburn and Zac Blair have been playing together since they were juniors and they have the potential to go well at a big price.
The pair finished fourth last year in an effort that included a fourball 60 on the third day and it looks as if both players have got their games into gear at just the right time for a strong Louisiana bid.
Blair had missed four of his last five cuts before he was 18th at the Corales Puntacana Championship last week, so that effort should have given his confidence a massive boost.
Fishburn, meanwhile, was fifth in his last outing at the Texas Open so it may not be a huge surprise if they get in the frame again.
View all our Golf betting markets here
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation