Featured groups: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

It’s all about teamwork as players join forces to take on the 7,425-yard, par-72 TPC Louisiana.

Billy Horschel, the 2014 FedExCup champion, and his partner Scott Piercy are back to defend their title, looking to fight off challenges from several potentially strong teams.

Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt will try to recapture the magic that saw them win the Zurich Classic in 2017, while Presidents Cup teammates Jason Day and Adam Scott look like a formidable team on paper. So do Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, who have done everything but win here, and Ryder Cup teammates Henrik Stenson/Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia/Tommy Fleetwood. Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman won the QBE Shootout.

Davis Love III and Dru Love are set to become the first-ever father/son team, while Brooks Koepka and his little brother, Chase, will attempt to improve on their T5 finish in 2017.

Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (FedExCup ranking in parenthesis).

HOW TO FOLLOW

TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Friday, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Friday, 13:00 to 22:30. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00.

RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

FEATURED GROUPS

Patrick Reed (63)/Patrick Cantlay (13) & Henrik Stenson (128)/Graeme McDowell (44)

Cantlay and Reed have finished in the top 15 in each of the first two years of the team format at the Zurich, and Cantlay comes in hot after six top-10 finishes in 11 starts this season, including a T3 at the RBC Heritage. McDowell and Stenson join forces for the first time at the Zurich. McDowell notched his fourth PGA TOUR win at the recent Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, while Stenson looks for his first TOUR win since the 2017 Wyndham Championship.
Thursday, 12:44 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 8:53 a.m. (PGA TOUR LIVE)

Billy Horschel (59)/Scott Piercy (33) & Jonas Blixt (118)/Cameron Smith (60)

The group of champions features 2018 winners Horschel and Piercy, who shot a final-round 67 to edge Jason Dufner and Pat Perez, plus 2017 champions Blixt and Smith, who turned back Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown in a playoff that went four holes and extended into Monday. Smith in particular has a good record in team golf; he and partner Marc Leishman finished second to Team Belgium at the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf earlier this season.
Thursday, 12:57 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 9:04 a.m. (PGA TOUR LIVE)

Jason Day (31)/Adam Scott (32) & Jhonattan Vegas (57)/Abraham Ancer (51)

Australians Day and Scott have made a combined 12 appearances in the Presidents Cup, where they teamed up to halve their Four-ball match against Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson in 2015. Mexico’s Ancer is still hoping to play his way onto his first Presidents Cup team, while partner Vegas of Venezuela gave the Internationals a spark at Liberty National in 2017.
Thursday, 7:39 a.m. (PGA TOUR LIVE); Friday, 1:08 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Sergio Garcia (78)/Tommy Fleetwood (46) & Kyle Stanley (110)/ Tony Finau (25)

Fleetwood notched top-five finishes at The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship, and switches it up this year after finishing T4 with partner Chris Paisley in 2018. Fellow Zurich ambassador Garcia also switches it up after missing the cut with Rafa Cabrera Bello. Finau, who finished sixth with Daniel Summerhays last year, also has a new partner in Kyle Stanley, who finished T29 with Ryan Ruffels in 2017.
Thursday, 7:52 a.m. (PGA TOUR LIVE); Friday, 1:19 p.m. (Golf Channel)