The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans Has A Unique Team Format - Here's How It Works

After Masters champion Scottie Scheffler claimed his latest victory at the RBC Heritage, there’s something a little different on the PGA Tour this week. 

Rather than the more familiar 72 holes of strokeplay used at regular PGA Tour events, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has an altogether different format, so what is it?

What Is The Format At The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans?

The TPC Louisiana event is the sole team contest on the PGA Tour. However, that is a relatively recent innovation, and until 2017, the tournament, which was established in 1938, had followed a traditional format. Nowadays, the event comprises a field of 160, which is divided into 80 teams of two.

In the first round, the teams will compete in fourball (best ball), which sees each player use their own ball, with the teammate with the lowest score on each hole providing that team’s score per hole.

There's a change for the second round, with foursomes (alternate shot) the order of the day, as each team member takes alternate shots with the same ball.

After the end of Friday’s action, there is a cut that sees the top 33 teams and ties make it to the weekend. The remaining teams once again play a round of fourball on Saturday before finishing with another round of foursomes, when one of the teams is declared the winner.

In the event of a tie at the end of Sunday's action, a sudden death playoff will be held with the two formats alternating after each hole until a winner is found.

Do Players Pick Teams At The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans?

Teams are formed when each of the stars from the PGA Tour Priority Ranking who have committed to the event chooses a fellow PGA Tour partner or sponsor exemption to partner him.

The 2023 tournament was notable for Matt Fitzpatrick teaming up with his brother, Alex after a text exchange, something they will do again this year. This year’s edition will also see Rory McIlroy compete at the tournament for the first time, alongside 2023 Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry. 

Last month, McIlroy explained the amusing circumstances that led to the pair agreeing to team up. He 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.”

Defending champions Davis Riley and Nick Hardy have once again joined forces to compete, while other notable teams include 2022 winners Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele and two-time Major winner Collin Morikawa, who will play alongside 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Kurt Kitayama.