Final-round Foursomes can be a scary, scary place
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Jon Rahm & Ryan Palmer's Round 3 highlights from Zurich Classic
AVONDALE, La. – Jon Rahm and his teammate Ryan Palmer have increased their candy intake this week. For every birdie they make, Rahm’s caddie Adam Hayes feeds them one Skittle – a fun little reward that also has helped keep their sugar level intact during some long days at TPC Louisiana.
The Rahm-Palmer team has made 24 birdies this week, which explains why they share the 54-hole lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with the team of Scott Stallings-Trey Mullinax. Of course, they may also want to avoid stepping on a scale anytime soon.
“We’ve got to keep it going,” Rahm said. “It’s been working out pretty good.”
“It’s only eight or nine Skittles a round,” added Palmer.
The Skittles consumption, though, will likely be reduced Sunday, since the final round uses the Foursomes alternate-shot format. Unlike in Four-balls, in which birdies are plentiful and bogeys are rare, Foursomes produce fewer low rounds and more danger, as teams can easily go off the rails if both players are struggling.
A year ago, the team of Kevin Kisner-Scott Brown entered the final round with the lead before stumbling to a 5-over 77. The two teams tied for second also shot over par. That opened the door for Billy Horschel-Scott Piercy, who carded a 67 – one of just seven rounds in the 60s that Sunday.
In 2017, the first year of the team competition, Foursomes was played in the third round, with just five rounds posted in the 60s.Three of the teams near the top of the standings shot 74 or worse.
“There’s a lot more opportunity for something disastrous to happen in Foursomes,” said Austin Cook, who is tied for sixth with teammate Andrew Landry.
Indeed, while Four-balls is all about aggressiveness, Foursomes can leave players in a defensive posture, not wanting to make a mistake or an errant shot and leave his partner in a bind.
“Stepping a little bit back, getting a little bit more defensive,” said Branden Grace, who is one shot off the pace with South African teammate Justin Harding after they posted 12 birdies in a third-round best 61. Grace-Harding have made 26 birdies this week.
“I don’t think it’s defensive. I just think you’re playing more aware of the situation,” said Stallings. “The last thing you want to do is put your partner in a tough spot.
“I don’t want to hear him be like, ‘Oh, man I didn’t want to hit a bad shot for you.’ We would rather be, ‘Man, I was trying to execute the shot and I didn’t do it.’ That’s a completely different mindset.”
Several teams have no-apology agreements in order to avoid the guilt of a bad shot. One of those teams is Rahm-Palmer, whose second-round 65 is the lowest score in Foursomes in the three years of the Zurich Classic’s team format.
“We were on fire at the right time, and that’s why the score was so low,” Palmer said. “Hopefully tomorrow we can do the same thing.”
Of course, there is a strategic element with Foursomes, with teams having to alternate tee shots. Stallings, for instance, is determined to put driver in the hand of the longer-hitting Mullinax as many times as possible. The difference in their length was so evident on Saturday that Stallings noticed CBS on-course reporter Dottie Pepper laughing.
Experience might also help out. Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood, who are tied for sixth, four shots back, were Ryder Cup teammates in Paris last year, with Fleetwood winning all of his matches with partner Francesco Molinari. Garcia, of course, has been a mainstay on the European team for years.
Asked if they had the experience advantage, Garcia replied: “Maybe a little bit, but at the end of the day, it just comes down to playing. If you play well, (even) if you don’t have experience, if you keep hitting good shots, it’s going to work.”
“It’s very, very different. The rhythm is different,” added Fleetwood. “If you’re not playing that great, it’s tougher to get back into a rhythm. … It’s a more difficult format. There’s less leeway. But I think that suits us.”
Essentially, it’s about staying out of trouble.
“The biggest thing tomorrow is just eliminating bogeys,” Landry said. “Tons of pars, tons of opportunity on every single hole to try to make a birdie. Just give ourselves good looks all day long.”
Rahm-Palmer had seven birdies in Foursomes in the second round, so a low score could still be achieved. But the previous two years at the Zurich Classic have shown that weekend Foursomes can be nearly as eerie as the above-ground tombs that dot the local cemeteries. Best to step carefully and let others wade into the scary parts.