Golf Betting Tips: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The PGA Tour has a rather unusual look this week, with 80 pairs competing for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana.

The better score between each pair per hole will count on Thursday and Saturday, while the couples will hit alternate shots on Friday and Sunday to decide the winner after the top 33 teams and ties qualify for the final two rounds.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are back to defend the trophy they won 12 months ago, but there could be value to be had a little further down the list as the new career Grand Slam winner could still be coming down from his memorable victory at the Masters two weeks ago.

By Luke Seychell

Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf betting tips

• Outright winners – Billy Horschel & Tom Hoge @ 22/1
• Outright winners – Thomas Detry & Robert MacIntyre @ 18/1
• Outright winners – Zac Blair & Patrick Fishburn @ 80/1

Horschel and Hoge form the perfect combination

Billy Horschel has the distinction of being the only player to have won this tournament as an individual, which he did in 2013, and alongside Scott Percy, which he achieved in 2018, the year after the team format was introduced.

The man from Florida is completely at home at TPC Louisiana, where he has also finished fourth, second and 11th alongside Sam Burns, and there looks a strong chance that he will flourish again with Tom Hoge by his side.

Horschel’s new partner heads to the Big Easy in excellent form after claiming top-five finishes at both the Players Championship and the Texas Open.

Hoge followed those efforts with a respectable 14th at the Masters and showed no signs of easing up when 16th at the RBC Heritage last week, so a strong performance from this well-matched pair is anticipated.

Zurich Classic Golf Betting Tip 1: Outright winners – Billy Horschel & Tom Hoge @ 22/1

Another European pairing could lead the charge

McIlroy and Lowry grabbed glory at TPC Louisiana 12 months ago but there is another European partnership that could have strong claims to succeed them as Zurich Classic of New Orleans champions this week.

Thomas Detry and Robert MacIntyre demonstrated their potential when they finished eighth in this tournament last year as the Belgian built upon the 13th place he earned alongside another continental challenger, Victor Perez, the year before.

Detry knows exactly what it is like to win a big PGA Tour event after he stormed to a seven-shot success at the Phoenix Open in February.

Meanwhile, MacIntyre will be determined to bounce back from missing the cut at the Masters and a disappointing show at the Heritage, and he can still look back upon four top-12 finishes in his final five events before the lead-up to Augusta and rediscover his touch in a more relaxed atmosphere. 

Zurich Classic Golf Betting Tip 2: Outright winners – Thomas Detry & Robert MacIntyre @ 18/1

Friends are capable of defying long odds

Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn may not be household names on the PGA Tour, but they have been playing together since they were juniors and finished fourth here last year.

They combined for a Saturday 60 in fourballs then and they could sneak under the radar again as both players could be coming into some strong form.

Blair has been going through a sticky patch, but his 18th at last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship will have boosted his confidence, while Fishburn should still be glowing after he was fifth last time out at the Texas Open.

These two have the potential to make a mockery of what appears to be a generous price.

Zurich Classic Golf Betting Tip 3: Outright winners – Zac Blair & Patrick Fishburn @ 80/1