From Ryder Cuppers To A Tour Player And His Caddie's Dad - The 6 Most Intriguing Pairings At The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans

The PGA Tour is set for a change of tempo this week as 80 pairings battle it out for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans title at TPC Louisiana.

It is the only team event on the US circuit's calendar, with a star-studded cast assembled for the 2024 edition.

After becoming a team event in 2017, winners have included Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, and Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, so which duo is set to join this illustrious list of past champions?

As ever, there are some intriguing partnerships on the entry list, and we’ve picked out six of the best below.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry

Rory McIlroy is set to make his debut in this event and has teamed up with his good friend and Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry. The pair know each other well from their amateur days and could form a deadly duo.

It may also present McIlroy with a chance in a more laid-back setting to continue to work on his game ahead of next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Discussing how it all came about, McIlroy told GOLF.com: “I asked him. You know it was actually, we had this really drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup last year, and I said after, ‘You wanna play the Zurich together?’ “And we were like, yeah, let’s do it.”

The Fitzpatrick brothers

Among others, McIlroy and Lowry will be up against Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick. The English brothers were in contention after three rounds last year but stumbled to a T19 finish after a two-over 74 in the Sunday foursomes.

They will be out to improve on that this year and learn from their experience 12 months ago. Matt is coming into the event on the back of four consecutive top-30 finishes, including a solo fifth at the Players Championship, so they could be a good bet to challenge.

Eric Cole and Russ Cochran

On the face of it, this might be a pairing you would quickly skip past. But there’s a good story behind the team of Eric Cole and Russ Cochran.

Cochran, 65, is a former PGA Tour winner and features occasionally now on the Champions Tour. He is also the dad of Cole’s regular caddie, Reed Cochran, so this week is set to be a family affair.

The Hojgaard twins

Continuing on that theme, the Hojgaard twins will be in Louisiana. Nicolai led The Masters briefly on Saturday afternoon before fading and finishing in a tie for 16th and then missed the cut at last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship.

While his twin brother has been busy winning the Ryder Cup and competing with the world’s best on the PGA Tour, Rasmus has been plying his trade on the DP World Tour. A run of three consecutive top-10s at the start of the year offered signs of encouragement but his form has since dipped.

Perhaps this will provide a shot in the arm for the 23-year-olds to kick on for the rest of their respective seasons.

Francesco Molinari and Luke Donald

Another interesting pairing is the one of Francesco Molinari and Luke Donald. Donald, who led Europe to a famous Ryder Cup victory at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome last October, hasn’t played a lot of golf in 2024 and has missed his last three cuts on the PGA Tour.

The situation isn’t a great deal better for Molinari, who was a member of Donald’s backroom staff in Rome. The Italian has only made the weekend three times from eight events in 2024 and is in danger of slipping outside the world’s top 300, having been as high as fifth.

On paper it’s unlikely this duo will trouble the top of the leaderboard, but you never know, this could be the week that sparks a career renaissance.  

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Cantlay and Schauffele won’t be there or thereabouts come Sunday evening. Both are coming into the event on good form and as past champions, having triumphed in 2022.

Cantlay finished in a tie for third at the RBC Heritage last week and has already racked up several top-10s this year, while Schauffele is fresh off a solo eighth at The Masters.