Power Rankings: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
4 Min Read
Griffin, Novak’s winning highlights from Zurich Classic
When a golfer wins a PGA TOUR event, even though he was the only one in control of his ball, he often says that he couldn’t have done it without the help of his team. From his coaches to his trainers to his family and so on, it takes a village to capture victory. Well, this week, it literally will require a team to prevail, so you know what that means.
It’s time for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only team competition among 45 official stops along the 2026 PGA TOUR season. Seventy-four teams of two will be vying for the ninth title since the tournament transitioned to this format in 2017. Continue reading below the connections projected to contend for details of the format, how TPC Louisiana sets up, what’s up for grabs and more.
| Ranking | Team | Comment |
| 10 | Austin Smotherman and Andrew Putnam | Neither is a stranger to TPC Louisiana, but it’s the first time that they’ve joined forces. Both are enjoying strong seasons and sit inside the top 50 of the FedExCup. With strong tee-to-green games, they’ll have plenty of looks at par breakers, but Putnam might need to carry the load on the greens. |
| 9 | Marco Penge and Matt Wallace | The boys from Britain have a combined eight DP World Tour victories; Wallace has one on the PGA TOUR. Each also has a top-five finish in the last month, so they arrive with some mojo. Penge is a first-timer here as a rookie, so he’ll lean on Wallace’s experience of five starts (two top 25s). |
| 8 | Karl Vilips and Michael Thorbjornsen | Each is the only partner the other has ever known. As a debut duo last year, they placed T4 shortly after Vilips won the Puerto Rico Open. The Aussie has scuffled since, but Thorbjornsen’s seriously strong bag and overall relentlessness covers, forming a classic blend of skills. |
| 7 | Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore | They have a combined four top 10s in this format, albeit not yet one together after missing the cut in their first try last year. Clark has misfired in the long-term, but he rose for top 25s at the Masters and the RBC Heritage. Moore made noise on the Florida Swing. Both can be white-hot putters. |
| 6 | Casey Jarvis and A.J. Ewart | First-timer firepower. Jarvis is just 22 years old, but he recently went Win-Win-T2 on the DP World Tour in February and sits fourth in the Race to Dubai. Ewart, 26, is managing his first season on TOUR with moxie after medaling at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. |
| 5 | Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala | These two are running it back after debuting as a partnership with a T18 last year. It was a uncharacteristically isolated bright spot for Theegala, but he’s since returned to his familiar consistently strong self. Rai, who has three top 20s in four appearances, recently battled a sore neck. |
| 4 | Ryan Gerard and Sudarshan Yellamaraju | After bridging the holidays with three straight runner-up finishes worldwide, Gerard has retreated into inconsistency, so this midseason wrinkle presents an opportunity to reset. Yellamaraju debuts as the replacement for another lefty, David Ford, who withdrew. The rookie is the star of his class. |
| 3 | Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak | When Novak went off for an eagle and seven birdies en route to a third-round 65 at Harbour Town last week, it was understandable if Griffin told him to save some of that scoring for their title defense this week. Griffin has yet to connect for a top 15 in 2026, so this reunion arrives as a terrific time. |
| 2 | Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry | Premium blend. With his teammate from their victory in 2024, Rory McIlroy, sitting this one out, Lowry “settles” for another multiple major champion to chase another. Koepka has three appearances on his résumé, and he logged a T9 and another three top 20s in his last five starts despite shaky putting. |
| 1 | Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick | The British brothers are back for a fourth installment of their natural partnership (T19-T11-MC), only this time each arrives having lifted a trophy on his home circuit in his last start. Matt is fresh off a playoff win at the RBC Heritage, while Alex took the title at the Hero Indian Open three weeks ago. |
The Zurich Classic originally was scheduled to be pared from 80 to 72 teams at TPC Louisiana, but because Brooks Koepka committed, an additional two teams have been added to level the groupings across the first two rounds. Once they’re complete, the typical cut of low 33 and ties will survive and go on to play another two.
As always, the first and third rounds are Four-ball (or better ball). The lower score among each teammate will be penciled in as the duo’s singular score for the hole. Aggregates in the low 60s are expected. In this format last year, Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo delivered a tournament-record 14-under 58 in the opening round.
The second and fourth rounds will be contested via Foursomes (or alternate shot). One teammate will tee off on the odd-numbered holes, the other on the evens. They will alternate strokes on each hole until holing out. A score in the upper 60s can be competitive if not better than field average. Serious moves are made in Four-ball, however, so the objective will be in position to defend it in the finale.
TPC Louisiana remains unchanged as a stock par 72 measuring 7,425 yards. Three of the four par 3s are on odd-numbered holes (Nos. 3, 9 and 17), while the par 5s are split evenly with the finishing hole tipping at a course-long 585 yards.
Fairways are not overseeded and neither is the Bermudagrass rough, which is up a quarter of an inch to 2¼ inches this year. Meanwhile, the Bermudagrass greens are overseeded as usual and prepped to touch a customary 12½ feet as dialed in by the Stimpmeter.
A handful of first-time participants have prevailed in the team format, the most recent of which Rory McIlroy (with Shane Lowry) in 2024, so arriving sight unseen isn’t a liability. That makes sense given the construct of the competition. The more valuable components that usually define victory are intangibles like the comfort level among the collaborations. This format was designed to be fun first, and based on the series of champions, that element has contributed to the cause.
Spring in the bayou often means that rain and storms have a chance to move through at some point during a four-day tournament. It’ll be the likelihood again this week. After a dry opener, the threat for inclement weather increases every day for the remainder of the stay. The air will warm to at least 80 degrees daily, while the most challenging of the wind will precede the precipitation and push in from a southeasterly direction before it rotates to a truer south.
With Mother Nature’s place in the equation, the champions will have an even stronger sense of victory, which is official for both. It’ll yield exemptions into the PGA Championship and all remaining Signature Events this season. Each winner also will be exempt as such as a member of the PGA TOUR through at least 2028. Each also will bank 400 FedExCup points and $1,372,750, both reflective of the average between first- and second-place rewards. All other points and payouts will follow the formula.
While no Official World Golf Ranking points are at stake due to the format, none of the golfers in the field will take a hit on his divisor, so it’s a free play as it concerns that measurement. Additionally, all teams finishing inside the top five will be eligible for a standard top-10 exemption into the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic on May 7-10. The Zurich Classic also is the last stop of the current phase of the Aon Swing 5 for entry into next week’s Cadillac Championship and the Truist Championship that follows.
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