Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Avondale, LA
For the first time since the tournament’s beginning in 1938, the Zurich Classic was played as a team event featuring 80 2-man teams playing two rounds of Foursomes (alternate shot) and two rounds of Four-Ball (best ball).
The new 72-hole stroke-play format showcased Foursomes in Rounds 1 and 3 and Four-Ball in Rounds 2 and 4.
The Zurich is the first official PGA TOUR team event since the 1981 Walt Disney World National Team Championship in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The Zurich awarded FedExCup (FEC) points and official money, and counted as an official victory for members of the winning team. However, no Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points were distributed.
The Winners:
Second- and third-round leaders Jonas Blixt (World No. 252) and teammate Cameron Smith (World No. 112) fired a bogey-free 8-under-par 34-30=64 in Sunday Four-Ball action to match Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown on 27-under 261, and then won with a Smith birdie on the fourth hole of sudden death, the 588-yard par-5 18th, in an unscheduled Monday finish.
For Smith, the 23-year-old Aussie wins his first TOUR title in 53 career starts. His previous best was T4 at the 2015 U.S. Open. For Blixt, 33, the Swede bags his third TOUR victory in 133 career events, last winning 95 starts ago at the 2013 Greenbrier Classic.
Both players earn 2-year TOUR exemptions (through 2018-19) and invites to the 2017 PGA Championship and 2018 SBS Tournament of Champions. Smith adds THE PLAYERS to his schedule in two weeks.
Sunday:
The two teams battled to a draw on Sunday out of the final group, but not before a 6-hour, 22-minute weather delay.
After kicking off in 67-62-68, the Florida residents led two teams by four shots, including Kisner/Brown. They relinquished their lead after just four holes, opening with four straight pars, while Kisner/Brown birdied their first four, eventually carding eight straight.
Blixt broke the ice with a 45'5" bomb for birdie-3 at five and Smith circled the par-5 seventh to turn 2-under, now two behind Kisner/Brown.
Smith went on a 3-birdie run on holes 10-12, the latter from 33'11", and they took birdie-turns at 16 and 17, Smith at the par-3 17th to take a 1-shot lead to the par-5 18th.
It was Smith again at the 72nd hole, pitching from 57 yards away to 18 inches for a tap-in 4 and a sure win, but Kisner did him one better, improbably pitching in from 94'6" away for eagle-3, his third hole out of the round, forcing extra time.
Monday:
The dramatic finish on Sunday ended in near-darkness at 7:51 pm CT, pushing the Zurich to a Monday playoff for a second year in a row, which commenced at 8:00 am.
The sudden-death format was 18-18-9 (par 3) and 18, with each of the first three holes halved in pars.
All four players, both individually and collectively, had several chances to win prior to the end result, with Smith brushing in the eventual winner after hitting his third from 59 yards out to 3’4”.
The internationals played the entire event (and the playoff) blemish-free, dispatching the Americans, who erased a 4-shot deficit in R4 with a day- and week-tying-low 60.
Blixt/Smith won in their first playoff appearances.
Smith is the TOUR-leader in SG: Around-the-Green (.657). He led the field in SGATG at last week’s Valero Texas Open (10.565) en route to a T6 finish. Blixt stated afterwards that he felt he could hit the ball anywhere and Smith would get us up and down.
Blixt/Smith Position by Round:
R1: T3
R2: 1st
R3: 1st
R4: T1
The duo split the first- and second-place money as well as FEC points, so each earned $1,022,400 and 400.00 FEC points.
Blixt vaults 113 spots to 40th in the FEC standings, while Smith jumps 47 places to a career-high 20th.
Since this was a team event, no individual stats were compiled.
Field Scoring Average:
This was the 69th playing of the Zurich Classic, 12th at the 7,425-yard par-72 (36-36) TPC Louisiana.
R1 (Foursomes): 71.338
R2 (Four-Ball): 65.825
R3 (Foursomes): 72.476
R4 (Four-Ball): 64.944
Total: 68.718
Note: R4 (and Monday’s playoff) were played with lift, clean and place in effect.
Blixt/Smith, pre-tourney 80/1 outrights, posted rounds of 67-62-68-64.
Low Rounds:
R1 (alternate shot): Jordan Spieth/Ryan Palmer; Kyle Stanley/Ryan Ruffels (66)
R2 (best ball): Tyrone Van Aswegen/Retief Goosen (60)
R3 (alternate shot): Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (67)
R4 (best ball): Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (60) *Lift, clean & place
Draw:
A total of 42 teams from a field of 80 teams made the 36-hole cut of 7-under 137:
21 (of 40) EARLY/late
21 (of 40) LATE/early
Note: Since more than 40 teams made the 36-hole cut, a second cut of low 35 teams (and ties) came after 54 holes. 36 teams made the 54-hole cut of 6-under 210.
10 teams (20 players) finished in the top 5 with SIX of those LATE/early, including the champions.
LATE/early: Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith (P1), Jordan Spieth/Ryan Palmer (4th), Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes (T5), Angel Cabrera/Julian Etulain (T5), Justin Thomas/Bud Cauley* (T5), Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney (T5)
EARLY/late: Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown (P2), Kelly Kraft/Kevin Tway (3rd), Jason Dufner/Patton Kizzire (T5), Brooks Koepka/Chase Koepka (T5)
*Cauley records his third top-10 finish in as many weeks, all three out of the LATE/early draw.
Runners-Up:
Sunday:
After opening in 70-64 and a day-low 67, the Aiken, South Carolina, residents began T2 on 15-under, four back.
It took them all of four holes to erase the deficit, opening with four straight birdies. Brown got them started with birdie-3 at the first, and Kisner kicked in with a hat-trick on holes 2-4. Kisner was far from done, connecting three more at 5-7 for six in a row on his own ball.
Brown circled the eighth, the duo now 8-under thru eight before a par 3 at nine to turn in 28, now two clear of Blixt/Smith.
Brown circled 3 at 10 and Kisner birdied 11, but the pair went flat with six straight pars. Brown saved their last par at 17 and they were one down coming to the par-5 18th.
Competitor Smith stuck his third to 18 inches for birdie, meaning Kisner/Brown needed eagle to tie, and Kisner answered with the dramatic pitch in, capping a 12-under-par 28-32=60.
Monday:
As mentioned, the pairing had posted the low rounds of the day in both Rounds 3 and 4, erasing a 5-shot deficit to Blixt/Smith at the midpoint.
Seemingly with all the momentum on their side, they just couldn’t get a putt to drop in sudden death. The duo squandered several winning opportunities, most notably Kisner from 7’6” at the second playing of the par-5 18th.
This is Kisner’s sixth career runner-up finish in 145 events, second this season in 13 starts, joining T2 at Bay Hill, where he was a 54-hole co-leader. He drops to 0-4 in playoffs.
It’s Brown’s second career runner-up in 147 career events, second this season in 15 starts (T2, Genesis Open). This was his first playoff appearance.
They split 3rd- and 4th-place paychecks ($411,800 each) and FEC points (162.50 each).
Third Place:
In best-ball action in the final round, Kelly Kraft and Kevin Tway spun a bogey-free 11-under-par 31-30=61 for a 72-hole tally of 23-under 265, up three places to solo 3rd, four shy of the playoff.
For Tway, this was his second straight 3rd-place finish in as many weeks (T3/Valero), matching a career best (45th start).
For Kraft, it’s his second top 10 of the season in 16 starts, both top 3s (2nd, AT&T Pro-Am). He rammed home a 22-footer for eagle-3 at the 72nd hole to secure the podium finish.
The 28-year-olds posted round of 71 (alternate shot), 63 (best ball), 70 (alternate) and 61 (best ball), and each earn $269,800 and 105.00 FEC points.
First-timers and/or Rookies:
First-timers: 30
Top-5 finishes: 2
In Four-Ball action in the final round, World No. 1460 Chase Koepka and older brother Brooks Koepka, the world’s 19th-ranked player, styled a 10-under-par 28-34=62 to conclude on 19-under 269, up 14 spots to T5, eight back of the playoff.
Chase, 23, was making his PGA TOUR debut. Because he has no status on TOUR, he gained entry via a sponsor invite.
The top 5 teams and ties (10 players and ties) total, earn an exemption into next week’s Wells Fargo (if not already exempt), and Chase accepted the invite.
Brooks, three years older, was making his 75th career TOUR start and arrived off a season-best solo 2nd at the Valero.
The brothers posted round of 69 (alternate shot), 65 (best ball), 73 (alternate) and 62 (best ball), with Brooks carding 7 birdies in the finale and Chase one birdie and a hole-out eagle-3 at the seventh (from 50’8”), their 16th hole of the round.
TOUR Rookies: 19
Top-5 finishes: 1
Julian Etulain: Making his tourney debut, the 28-year-old teamed up with fellow Argentine and 2-time major winner Angel Cabrera. The duo finished T5 with rounds of 70-63-71-65. Etulain, who lives in Miami, records his first top 10 in 13 career starts (11th as a member). His previous best was T17 at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open.
For the 47-year-old Cabrera, this was his first top-10 finish on TOUR since the last of his three TOUR titles at the 2014 Greenbrier 55 starts ago. It also earns him an exemption into next week’s Wells Fargo.
Top 10 in FEC standings (points):
1. Dustin Johnson (1,903)
2. Justin Thomas (1,852); UP one
3. Hideki Matsuyama (1,826); DOWN one
4. Jon Rahm (1,361)
5. Adam Hadwin (1,201)
6. Jordan Spieth (1,192)
7. Pat Perez (1,096)
8. Rickie Fowler (1,096)
9. Justin Rose (980)
10. Brendan Steele (964)
Top 10 in OWGR (this week’s finishes):
Note: No world-ranking points were awarded at Zurich
1. Dustin Johnson (idle)
2. Rory McIlroy (idle)
3. Jason Day (CUT)
4. Hideki Matsuyama (T32)
5. Jordan Spieth (4th)
6. Henrik Stenson (CUT)
7. Sergio Garcia (idle)
8. Justin Rose (CUT)
9. Rickie Fowler (CUT)
10. Justin Thomas (T5); UP one
Note: Adam Scott (idle) dropped from No. 10 to No. 11
Season Trends:
11 of the last 12 winners on TOUR had at least one week off prior to the win. Blixt had one week off while Smith arrived off T6 last week in San Antonio.
15 of 26 winners (25 tournaments) were in their 20s (Smith: age: 23)
8 were in their 30s (Blixt: age: 33)
3 were in their 40s
19 of the 24 winners (minus Match Play) have emerged out of the FINAL group on Sunday, including Blixt/Smith. The five outliers:
Wesley Bryan (Heritage): Third-to-last twosome: erased 4-shot deficit w/ 4-under 67; won by 1.
Marc Leishman (API): Penultimate twosome: erased 3-shot deficit w/ 3-under 69; won by 1.
Hideki Matsuyama (WMPO): Penultimate threesome: erased 4-shot deficit w/ 5-under 66; won in playoff.
Jon Rahm (Farmers): Fifth-to-last threesome: erased 3-shot deficit w/ 7-under 65; won by 3.
Brendan Steele (Safeway): Third-to-last threesome: erased 4-shot deficit w/ 7-under 65; won by 1.
54-hole leaders/co-leaders are now 11-for-24 converting:
Converted: Hideki Matsuyama (WGC-HSBC), Mackenzie Hughes (RSM Classic), Justin Thomas x2 (SBS TOC and Sony), Jordan Spieth (AT&T Pro-Am), Dustin Johnson (Genesis), Rickie Fowler (Honda), Adam Hadwin (Valspar), Sergio Garcia (Masters), Kevin Chappell (VTO), Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith (Zurich)
Failed: Patton Kizzire (Safeway), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Luke List, Chris Kirk (Sanderson Farms), Lucas Glover (Shriners), Gary Woodland (OHL), Adam Hadwin (CareerBuilder), Patrick Rodgers, Brandt Snedeker (FIO), Byeong Hun An (WMPO), Justin Thomas (WGC-Mexico), Kevin Kisner, Charley Hoffman (API), Chris Stroud (PRO), Sung Kang (SHO), Justin Rose (co-Masters), Jason Dufner (Heritage)
Consecutive top 10s on TOUR:
Brian Gay (T6-T6)
Bud Cauley (T5-T10-T9)
Dustin Johnson (1st-1st-1st-3rd)
Paul Casey (6th-T9)
Brooks Koepka (T5-2nd)
Ryan Palmer (4th-T6)
Kevin Tway (3rd-T3)
Cameron Smith (P1-T6)
Consecutive top-10 streaks ended:
Kevin Chappell (CUT-1st-T7)
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to the Wilmington, North Carolina, for the 15th edition of the Wells Fargo Championship with James Hahn defending.
This is the first time the WFC will not be contested at the 7,575-yard par-72 Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
With the playing of the 99th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this August, the WFC will move to the Tom Fazio-designed Eagle Point Golf Club (7,396 yards/par 72).
In last year’s final round, Hahn erased a 2-shot deficit with 2-under 70 to match Roberto Castro (71) on 9-under 279, and then won his second TOUR title (both playoff wins) with par on the first hole of sudden death.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and analysis as the TOUR readies for its 26th tournament of the season (of 47).
