The RBC Heritage will be a tough act to follow after watching Matt Fitzpatrick mount a three-hole playoff comeback over defending champion Jordan Spieth. Still, the PGA Tour moves onto the 2023 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, for its next event. Known primarily for its unique scoring format, players will be teamed up throughout the event and will engage in a better ball and alternate shot scoring every other round at Zurich.
Last year, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele set a course record, recording a -29-under-par final scorecard to win by two strokes and never relinquishing a hold on their lead throughout the four rounds played at TPC Louisiana. It’s why they are once again heavy outright betting favorites at +290, followed by Collin Morikawa and Max Homa at +750, while Sungjae Im and Keith Mitchell round out the top three at 13/1 odds. We’re not getting as many prominent names as we did during last week’s designated event; however, there’s still plenty of firepower and talent to go around at a course like TPC Louisiana, which is built for distance and accuracy.
Let’s look at the top-ten betting odds, course layout, and a couple of teams with the experience, skill set, and current form to secure an outright win ahead of Thursday’s opening tee times at the 2023 Zurich Classic.
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Zurich Classic Odds
2023 Zurich Classic Betting Preview
Previous Winners
- 2022 - Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (-29)
- 2021 - Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith(-20)
- 2020 - Cancelled
- 2019 - Ryan Palmer/Jon Rahm (-26)
- 2018 - Scott Piercy/Billy Horschel (-22)
- 2017 - Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith (-27)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
- Greens in Regulation percentage
- Sand Save percentage
- Scrambling
Course Layout
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that stretches north of 7,400 yards that feature overseeded Bermudagrass greens that are on the smaller side in terms of square foot surface area. It’s similar to Harbour Town based on the putting surfaces and the reduced rough, standing at two inches, but there are a few more water hazards and doglegged fairways to enforce the importance of strokes gained off-the-tee. Naturally, approach shots take on a significant role, as the small greens are flanked by plenty of sand bunkers. Longer par 3s but the shorter par 5s balance players’ ability to save par and sink birdies, while the par 4 holes tend to mostly run shy of 450 yards.
The greens are prepared to run up to 12 feet via the Stimpmeter, which is the same surface and pace we saw at Harbour Town last weekend, which has reduced putting velocity in comparison to the lightning-fast Bentgrass greens played at Augusta National during The Masters. Rough stands at a manageable two inches, so errant approach shots have a solid chance of being scrambled with excellent short-game play around the green from many of the teams competing at Zurich this week. Equivalent distribution of four par 3s and four par 5s throughout the front and back nine, including a par 5 on the second hole and 18th hole, creating birdie opportunities early and late in the round.
Top Players to Bet for Outright Zurich Classic Winner
Kim/Kim (+1700) (Bet $100 to collect $1,800) Head over to DraftKings for the best Kim/Kim odds
Two of the PGA Tour’s best iron players are teamed up at Zurich, which emphasizes accuracy off of the tee. At 17/1 odds, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim have formed a South Korean duo that offers plenty of reasons to invest, as Si Woo Kim is ranked seventh in approach shots from 150-200 yards, while Tom Kim is ranked first in approaches from 125-150 yards. As I said, these guys can dial it in perfectly from the fairway. Tom Kim is also ranked as the second-most accurate driver and first in scrambling off of the fringe while standing 16th in strokes gained tee-to-green. You won’t find much more iron accuracy than this team at Zurich, which is why they have the fourth-shortest odds of logging an outright win.
Horschel/Burns (+1700) (Bet $100 to collect $1,800) Go to FanDuel for the best Horschel/Burns odds
Sam Burns returns to his native state for another event that departs from the traditional stroke play format used during individual events. He’ll be joined by Billy Horschel, who has been consistently good at Zurich in previous appearances, including an outright win with Scott Piercy back in 2018 and runner-up behind Cantlay/Schauffele in 2022. Horschel has been cold lately, missing the cut or falling outside of the top 50 in three of his past four events. He managed a T9 finish during the WGC-Dell Tech Match Play event in Austin, Texas, as the only notable finish, which also saw Burns dominate against a loaded field with his first outright win of the season. Both players have performed better outside of traditional stroke play, so at the Zurich Classic, expect them to make noise early and often while seeking an outright win at 17/1 odds, which is too much value for us to pass up.
Kitayama/Montgomery (+2400) (Bet $100 to collect $2,500) The best Kitayama/Montgomery odds at FanDuel
The chemistry between UNLV alumni Kurt Kitayama and Taylor Montgomery should combine into a potent force at TPC Louisiana. Kitayama already has an outright win at Bay Hill, holding off Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in impressive fashion, while Montgomery, a rookie, has collected four T10 finishes while only missing three cuts in 17 events played this season. Kitayama has the irons dialed in pretty well, ranking fourth in approach shots inside of 275 yards, while Montgomery is ranked third in strokes gained putting, relying on the flat stick to get the job done. It shows up in other metrics too, as Montgomery is ranked first in one-putt percentage, putts per round, and overall putting average. Kitayama can lay it up nicely from the fairway, while Montgomery can deliver the closer once they reach the greens. At 24/1, we’re landing solid value here, so you can confidently lay a unit on Kitayama and Montgomery to compete for the outright win at Zurich this weekend.
