The top of the field at this week’s Zurich Classic in New Orleans is as good as ever. Among those on the course are the reigning Masters champion, as well as two other teams made up of players currently in the top 12 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer are among the headliners as Scheffler attempts to win his fifth tournament in his last seven starts, which would be truly remarkable considering he entered February winless on the PGA Tour. However, they are not the favourites, as the teams of Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa-Viktor Hovland share that honor.
The team that everyone will have to unseat is the Australian duo of Cameron Smith (who has his own heater) and Marc Leishman. Those two won in a playoff at TPC Louisiana last time, and they’ll try to hold off a remarkably loaded field (especially for this part of the golf season) to do it again.
This week offers something that no other PGA Tour event on the schedule can claim, which is four rounds of team play with Rounds 1 and 3 played as four balls and Rounds 2 and 4 played as alternate shots.
“I would say just because it’s not the regular tournament, [it] it sort of breaks up the monotony of it all,” Cantlay said. “It seems like it’s a little more fun or a little more engaging just because you don’t play alternate shots much the rest of the year. You don’t play the best ball ever. When you get the rare chance to do it, it’s a little more fun because it’s a break from the normal 72-hole stroke-play tournament.”
With so many tremendous teams in the mix and a plethora of interesting individual storylines, combined with a format only seen at big international team events, this week’s event should be must-see television. This is how you can look.
all eastern times; Approximate streaming start times
Round 2 – Friday
The round begins: 8 a.m.
PGA Tour Live (four broadcasts): 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Live PGA Tour
Live television coverage: 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Golf Channel
Live streaming online: 3:30-6:30 pm on fuboTV (Try it free) and GolfChannel.com
Radio: 1-6:30 p.m. on PGA Tour Radio
Round 3 – Saturday
The round begins: 8:45 a.m.
PGA Tour Live (four broadcasts): 8:45 a.m. – 6 p.m. – PGA Tour Live
First television coverage: 1-3 p.m. at Golf Channel
Live television coverage: 3-6 p.m. on CBS
Simultaneous live broadcast: 3-6 p.m. on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app
Radio: 1-6 p.m. on PGA Tour Radio
Round 4 – Sunday
The round begins: 10:30
PGA Tour Live (four broadcasts): 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. – PGA Tour Live
First television coverage: 1-3 p.m. at Golf Channel
Live television coverage: 3-6 p.m. on CBS
Simultaneous live broadcast: 3-6 p.m. on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app
Radio: 1-6 p.m. on PGA Tour Radio