5 Things To Know About The 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The PGA Tour's only team competition format returns to The Big Easy this week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.  Dating back 81 years to 1938, the tournament has been an annual event since 1958.  The 2019 edition however, will be only the third time a two-man team event on Tour has been used since 1981. 

 

Contested on the Pete Dye designed TPC Louisiana, this par-72, 7,425 yard course boasts a series of short but compelling par-4 holes to balance the longer ones.  The signature hole is the risk-reward par-5, 585-yard No.18, where water runs along the entire right side of the hole and spectacular bunkering around the green complex provides all kinds of compelling shots. 

Here are five things you need to know about the 71st playing of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. 

Number 5 

Fantasy Insider 
New teams are forming and old teams are breaking up this year for the third consecutive year of team play in the Big Easy.  And five teams feature major champions   Henrik Stenson partnered with Justin Rose the previous two years as Olympic Golf and Silver champions, but this year Rose joins forces with US Open champion Graeme McDowell.  While Adam Scott and Jason Day team up to form an Australian major champion super duo. 

 

One of the most intriguing teams pairs up ball striking masters and Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood.  While Kevin Kisner and Scott Browns pair up for the third consecutive year after losing in a playoff in 2017, and entering the final round last year as 54-hole leaders. 

Number 4 

How It Works 
This year's 72-hole stroke team play format will feature Four-Ball (Best Ball) during the first and third rounds, and Foursomes (Alternate Shot) during the second and fourth rounds.  In Four-Ball, the 2-person teams will play one ball with teammates alternating hitting the shots.  In Foursomes, the 2-person teams will each play their own ball throughout the entirety of the round with the team marking down the lower of their two scores on each hole. 

 

The starting field will consist of 80 teams, which will be cut to the low 35 teams and ties following the conclusion of the second round.  In case of a tie after 72 holes, there will be a sudden-death playoff using Foursomes for the first extra hole, Four-Ball for the second extra hole, and then alternate each hole thereafter. 

Number 3 

Creative Genius or Demonic Torture? 
No golf course design element separates a great player from a less-than-great one quite like a bunker, and Pete Dye spread 103 of them throughout TPC Louisiana.  Some bunkers are longer than football fields, while others are so small players cannot get into the sand to play their shots. 

 

Characteristic of a Pete Dye course, you’ll see long fairway bunkers between hazards and fairways (like the par-4, 438-yard 5th hole), greenside bunkers with giant lips (like the par-3, 216 yard 14th hole), and plenty of bedeviling pot bunkers (62 to be exact).  Lakes and lagoons come into play prominently on the par-3s and a few other holes, however players will have to earn their money this week from the sand. 

Number 2 

Walk Up Music 
The Zurich Classic will once again allow players to pick walk-up music as each team is announced on the first hole over the weekend. Below is a sampling of the songs that will echo through the fairways on the weekend for a select teams. 

 

Brooks Koepka/Chase Koepka: "Bad Boy For Life" (P Diddy); Tommy Fleetwood/Sergio Garcia: ""Radio Gaga" (Queen); Alex Prugh/Alex Cejka "Fat Bottomed Girls" (Queen); Jason Kokrak/Chris Stroud: "Bawitdaba" (Kid Rock); and Bubba Watson/JB Holmes: "When The Saints Go Marching In" (Louis Armstrong). 

Number 1 

TPC Louisiana Giveth, and TPC Louisiana Taketh Away 
TPC Louisiana is a course waiting to be eaten up.  Historically it ranks inside the top-third easiest courses on the PGA Circuit, and yields birdies in bunches.  Modest, escapable rough and easy to hit greens require you to go low and give yourself as many scoring opportunities as possible. 

 

The flip side of TPC Louisiana is that you can lose strokes to the field just as quickly if you're aggressive and miss.  Bogeys and double-bogeys pile up in a hurry if you find the penalizing bunkers.  TPC Louisiana forces you to shape shots and think about landing areas and how your ball will react after making contact.  Bermuda fairways are firm with significant roll-out, so you can’t just blast it off the tee and expect perfect results. Limiting mistakes and precision from tee to green is the key to success this week.