The American duo split the top-prize of $2,398,700 ($1,199,350 each) after they cruised to the first wire-to-wire win in the history of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, beating Billy Horschel and Sam Burns by two shots at TPC Louisiana. Horschel and Burns will take home $489,700 for their efforts, with the third-place team of Sam Ryder and Doc Redman earning $320,588.
Check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
WEDGES:Titleist Vokey Design SM7 (46, 52 degrees), SM9 (56 degrees bent to 57), SM8 (60 degrees bent to 61), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 shafts
[afflinkbutton text=”$179 each – GlobalGolf” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/x9q1jv”]
FAIRWAY WOODS: Epic Speed (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Kai’li White 70 TX shaft, Mavrik Sub Zero (20 degrees), with Mitsubishi Kai’li White 80 TX shaft
The American duo is the first to win the Zurich wire-to-wire.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele entered the final round of the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a five-shot lead and never gave it up.
The pair ham-and-egged their way around TPC Louisiana on Sunday in the alternate shot format to sign for an even-par 72 to finish at 29 under for a two-shot win over Billy Horschel and Sam Burns. The win is the seventh of Cantlay’s PGA Tour career and fifth of Schauffele’s. The American duo also became the first to win the event wire-to-wire.
Horschel and Burns finished tied for fourth last year and improved to runner-up this year, followed by the team of Doc Redman and Sam Ryder, who finished third at 24 under.
Can’t really laugh at them, I make these all the time.
AVONDALE, La. — Golf is hard, even for the professionals. This is one of those instances.
Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, best buddies from Aiken, South Carolina, are playing in this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Their best finish at this event came back in 2017 when Kisner chipped in on 18 to force a playoff. They would go on to lose to Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith.
Today, the Aiken boys ran into quite the problem at the par-3 9th at TPC Louisiana. It started when Brown found the water off the tee. After taking a drop, Kisner also found the water. Then, after another drop, Brown chunked a wedge into the water again.
Kisner would find the green with his second attempt and leave Brown with a 13-foot putt for an 8 which he made to save the team from having to write three times the par on their scorecard.
“It’s the third quarter. We finished a really good three quarters here and we have one more to go.”
Threes were wild on the scorecard for Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele at TPC Louisiana on Saturday.
The American duo only had four threes marked on the scorecard on the first nine holes of their third round at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but one of them was an eagle by Cantlay. He was just getting started as he poured in five back-nine birdies in the best-ball format for a total of 11 3’s on the card. It added up to 12-under 60 and a 54-hole tournament scoring record of 29-under 187 that shattered the previous record by six strokes and helped them open up a five-stroke lead over the South African pair of Branden Grace and Garrick Higgo.
“In a format like today you’re just trying to birdie every single hole,” Cantlay said, and they nearly did just that on the back nine, settling for eight birdies and a lone par at the par-3 14th.
Cantlay and Schauffele arrived at the first tee to the walk-up music of The Animals hit song, “House of the Rising Sun,” but got off to a sluggish start and were only 2 under through their first six holes thanks to a Schauffele birdie at the second and Cantlay getting on the board at the fifth. But Cantlay heated up quickly, canning a 19-foot eagle at 7.
The back nine was an absolute clinic as they alternated birdies with Schauffele making putts on Nos. 10 and 12 (an 18-footer) and Cantlay at Nos. 11, 13 (from 20 feet) and ramming in a 14-foot birdie putt at 15 that hit the back of the cup. Cantlay broke the even-odd string with a 10-foot birdie putt at 16 and wasn’t done yet, holing a 12-footer at 17.
“It’s a little reminiscent of the way he putted at the BMW when he got on that hot little run,” said PGA Tour Sirius/XM Radio’s Dennis Paulson, referring to Cantlay’s record-setting performance at the BMW Championship en route to the FedEx Cup title. “They haven’t been as long, but they’re going in the middle.”
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele fist bump on the 17th hole during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Schauffele complained at the start of the week that his game hasn’t been up to snuff this season, but he was smiling after a birdie at 18 (even hole so it was his turn) as the duo shot 59 on Thursday and 60 on Saturday in the best-ball format. After the round, Schauffele was asked if he had turned a corner. “Yeah, I did the right thing and I found a really good partner. So yeah, I feel great right now.”
The South African pairing of Grace and Higgo, who weren’t even planning on playing this week, shot 63 with an eagle at 7 but also made a costly bogey at 12.
“The morning after Bourbon Street feels worse than a bogey in this format,” CBS’s Colt Knost said.
Grace was going to sit this week out to be home for his son’s birthday, but he ended up suggesting to Higgo that they both had been playing better than their scores indicated and perhaps they could find something. So far, so good.
Three teams are tied for third a shot farther back, including Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.
“We haven’t played a clean round yet this week, and I think if we do that tomorrow, we give ourselves a chance,” Horschel said.
On Sunday, the format switches back to alternate shot, which is a much tougher format than best-ball, and it could be even tougher if gusting winds expected to reach 25 miles per hour have anything to do with it.
“That’s even more conducive to having a chance to make up those (six) shots a little bit easier,” Horschel said.
Jason Day plays his shot from the 17th tee during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
But Jason Day, who is playing with fellow Aussie Jason Scrivener and tied for third, knows they are trying to chase down two of the best players in the game and best buds who are very comfortable playing together.
“Patrick and Xander, they’re playing some phenomenal golf, so they’re going to be very difficult to catch and to pass tomorrow,” Day said.
Schauffele, No. 11 in the world, won the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf in August, but his last official PGA Tour victory is the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions in January of that year in Hawaii. He would love nothing more than to hold a trophy again on Sunday.
Cantlay, World No. 4, hasn’t endured much of a drought, having won the Tour Championship in August, but he’s twice been a hard-luck playoff loser this season: at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and the RBC Heritage last week. He’d like to get out of his recent rut of being close but no cigar.
Given how well Cantlay and Schauffele have teamed so far, it’s not surprising that the game plan for Sunday is simple.
“We’re going to try and do exactly what we did on Friday, which is sort of plot along, play our games, leave each other in good spots, and try and hole some putts,” Cantlay said.
The Team of Cantlay and Schauffele are on target to shatter the tournament 72-hole scoring record as well as aiming to become the event’s first team to win in wire-to-wire fashion. Moreover, their five-stroke margin is the largest after 54 holes in tournament history. But Schauffele, who is winless when holding the 54-hole lead on Tour in four previous attempts, isn’t looking ahead to trying on the winner’s silver belts.
“It’s the third quarter,” he said. “We finished a really good three quarters here and we have one more to go.”
The PGA Tour’s lone team event heads to the final round at TPC Louisiana.
The 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana heads to the final round.
The lone team event on the PGA Tour schedule had pretty much all the big name groups make the cut. The event started with 80 teams and the low 33 teams and ties made the weekend (39 in all).
Five teams went out early Saturday morning and were able to move up the leaderboard with 9-under 63s, but it may have been too late as the lead, currently held by Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, is five shots after they shot 12-under 60, the low round of the day.
The fourth-round format is Foursomes, otherwise known as alternate shot.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the final round of the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. All times Eastern.
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Saturday is for the … wait for it … wait for it … the walk-up music.
It’s Saturday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which means it is finally time for a tournament tradition unlike any other.
Players have feasted on beignets, chargrilled oysters, jambalaya and all the other delicacies that make Nawlins a non-stop party.
But Saturday is for the … wait for it … wait for it … the walk-up music.
New Orleans is a city with its own soundtrack – the tournament usually coincides with the Jazz Festival, but it starts a week later this year – and you don’t have to go very far to hear live jazz in the French Quarter. Sometimes, all you have to do is stand on Bourbon Street.
We think first tee tunes should be a more regular thing – maybe not at the staid British Open but who doesn’t love hearing a little diddy when a batter steps into the batter’s box at a baseball game? For now, we’ll settle for this one-hit wonder at the Zurich and appreciate the time and thought the players gave to what apparently can be a challenging exercise – just ask Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa. (This list was curated before the cut was made on Friday night.)
Here are a few of our favorites with the entire list at the bottom:
The PGA Tour’s lone team event heads to the weekend at TPC Louisiana.
The 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana heads to the weekend.
The lone team event on the PGA Tour schedule had pretty much all the big name groups make the cut. The event started with 80 teams and the low 33 teams and ties made the weekend.
Among the notables to miss the cut is the team of Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood.
The third-round format is Four-balls while the final round will be Foursomes.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. All times Eastern.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
Jay Haas, 68, is the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour, edging past Sam Snead, who did it in 1979.
All Bill Haas wanted to do was cozy his 47-foot birdie putt into tap-in range at the 18th hole at TPC Louisiana so Team Haas could have a stress-free finish to the second round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. So much for best-laid plans.
Bill’s putt stalled 4 ½ feet short meaning his dad, Jay, would have to sweat over a par putt in the alternate-shot format to make the cut of the PGA Tour’s lone two-man team event as part of the FedEx Cup season.
For Jay, 68, he’d been in this spot too many times and he delivered as he had on so many Fridays before.
“That was probably as nervous as I’ve ever been over a putt of that length certainly,” he said. “It sounds silly just to have a chance to make the cut. However, there’s a lot of circumstances here that it kind of made it doubly important in my mind.”
That included becoming the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour, edging past Sam Snead, who made the cut at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic at 67 years, 2 months and 23 days.
“I don’t think it should (count) because Sam Snead did it on his own and all that, but anything that I’m even remotely close to Sam Snead on would be very special,” said Haas, of Snead, who was in the field when he made his Tour debut at the 1973 Wyndham Championship.
Haas is making his 799th Tour start, second on the all-time list behind Mark Brooks (803). Among his other achievements he counts leading the record books with 591 made cuts. And Jay, who captained the 2015 U.S. Presidents Cup team, was no slouch in his prime, winning nine times on Tour and another 18 times on PGA Tour Champions, where he remains active.
Jay Haas and Bill Haas react on the ninth green during the first round of the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. (Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
On Thursday, young guns Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland were asked if they could imagine making 800 Tour starts.
“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Hovland said.
“No, I can’t imagine that,” Morikawa added.
“That’s cool. He must have seen some stuff,” Hovland said. “He must have some pretty good stories. That’s a lot of events.”
Team Haas opened with 7-under 65 at the Pete Dye-designed layout matching the best-ball score of Morikawa and Hovland, ranked second and fifth in the world respectively, and defending champions Cameron Smith (No. 4) and Marc Leishman.
On Friday, Team Haas signed for 1-under 71 and made the cut on the number, tying at 8-under 136 with World No. 1 and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and his partner Ryan Palmer.
“I was getting stretched this morning,” Bill said, “and Charley Hoffman was raving about how good (my dad) played yesterday, and I just kind of said, ‘Well, I see it all the time at home. This isn’t anything new.’ ”
Father and son got off to an auspicious start with birdies at the first two holes. Bill rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the first and his old man stuck a wedge to 4 feet at the par-5 second. A bogey at the third only slowed their progress momentarily as they continued to make hay on the par 5s, adding birdies at Nos. 7 and 11. That improved their score to 10 under and comfortably inside the cut line. But the trip to the house was shaky from there with bogeys at Nos. 14 and 17.
“I was grinding,” Bill said. “At 14, he hit an unbelievable hybrid in there on that par-3 and I ran it by five feet and we three-putted, and then the next hole he hit a beautiful 6-iron and I left that three feet short.”
Bill added: “It’s just hard when you’re trying so hard. It’s one of the hardest things to do in golf is to let that go and quit trying so hard and just execute.”
Bill, 39, won the FedEx Cup in 2011 and six Tour titles but none since 2015. He has struggled in recent years to keep his card and this season is using a one-time exemption for being top-25 on the all-time Tour money list. He entered the week at No. 168 in FedEx Cup point standings.
Father and son earned a chance to enjoy two more rounds together, and already have clinched the feel-good story of the week.
“To somehow shake that putt in on the last hole was something I’ll never forget,” Jay said. “But just the whole week, playing with Bill, getting texts from all my kids, it’s just been a real charge.”
Mito Pereira, the reigning Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, was unable to play citing a back injury.
The champions of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans will not hail from Chile. This much we know.
That’s because the Chilean team of Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira withdrew from the two-man team event prior to the start of the second round at TPC Louisiana. Pereira, the reigning Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, was unable to play citing a back injury.
Niemann and Pereira opened with a best ball score of 5-under 67 in the opening round, and were scheduled to tee off at 9:18 a.m. local time in the second round, which is being contested in alternate shot format.
Pereira, 27, was making his 17th start of the season and had made five cuts in his last six starts. His best result this season is a third-place finish at the Fortinet Championship, his lone top 10. Niemann, 23, won the Genesis Invitational in February. The two Chilean natives grew up playing together in Santiago, share the same coach, and are longtime friends.
The team of Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira withdrew from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans prior to the start of round two, due to a Pereira back injury.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 22, 2022
