This week’s TOUR stop, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, is a unique team event that will provide partner cooperation and fireworks along the way. With 74 teams of two vying for the top prize, it will be critical to find the pairs best suited for this type of competition.

Over the first two days, each team will play one round of Four-ball and one round of Foursomes – better known as alternate shot. The Four-ball portion will feature all golfers playing their own ball, with the team’s best score counting. It will be filled with birdies, eagles and potentially some teams on 59 watch.

Alternate shot, on the other hand, will not be so glamorous. This is a grueling format that requires teams to have complementary skill sets and a level of trust that can only be formed on the golf course. Most teams would consider any score under par as a positive day of alternate shot.

Since the Zurich Classic switched to a team format in 2017, the average winning score has been just shy of 26 under, and only once has the event been won by more than two strokes. This should be action-packed and competitive down to the wire.

Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak are back to defend their title, which might provide the spark both players could use in 2026. Novak is coming off a T16 at the RBC Heritage, his third top-20 finish of the season. Griffin, however, has just one top-20 finish in 11 starts this year – a T19 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, his first event of the season.

Shane Lowry, the 2024 champion with Rory McIlroy, will run alongside Brooks Koepka this week. Koepka is making his fourth start at the Zurich Classic since it became a team event, but his first since 2019.

There are only two players in this field who won in their last start. They both happen to share the same last name, and they are partnered together for the fourth time. Of course, I’m referring to Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick. Matt defeated Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, his second win of the season. Alex enters fresh off his win at the Hero Indian Open on the DP World Tour. Alex has played seven DP World Tour events this year and has six top-25 finishes to show for it.

Both are riding high and are clearly the class of this field. While their best finish at this event is a T11 in 2024, they are the rightful favorites to win the Zurich Classic – currently priced at +1100 on DraftKings Sportsbook.

There is a level of chaos built into this event, so I want to embrace that pathway to the top of the board. The team of Austin Smotherman and Andrew Putnam fits together like a puzzle – thanks to their complementary skill sets. Smotherman is an accomplished ball-striker who struggles when he gets onto the putting surface. Putnam is an outstanding putter who hits more fairways than just about any of his peers.

We’ve seen both catch fire, and if they can stay “on script” during the alternate shot portion of the event, they could be one of the more dangerous teams in the field. They do come with a proper level of risk, which is why I prefer them in the top-five market, currently +650.

David Lipsky is the Zurich whisperer, never missing a cut here and putting together top finishes no matter who his partner is for that year. He has finished fourth in two of his four trips to the Bayou, with a T23 in 2024 marking his worst finish. Now he will be flanked by Rico Hoey, who was one of the better players on TOUR in the fall but has struggled to capture that success here in 2026. He could benefit from having a partner to share the workload, especially one with a great track record in Louisiana. I consider these two a viable top-10 option at +250.

The Fitzpatricks aren’t the only English duo in the field, as Marco Penge and Matt Wallace will team up for this week’s event. They couldn’t be more different in terms of playing style from one another, which might be a good thing. Penge is raw and powerful, with the ability to make birdies in bunches. Wallace is shorter but accurate and brings veteran experience, having played this event five times prior.

Since neither of them is a particularly strong putter, I do worry about their upside in this type of contest, so I’ve settled on the top-20 market for these two, where they are priced at -146 on DraftKings.

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