The next stop on the PGA Tour happens to be this week as the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is set to take place. What sets this tournament apart from others is the fact that it has been a team event since 2017. While most golfers have to rely on their own selves for success, they’re going to need to focus on a partner pulling their weight this week.
The event will begin on Thursday, April 22 and conclude on Sunday, April 25. As usual, it will take place at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale, LA.
Last year’s Zurich Classic was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, things look to be back on track this year. That means that sports bettors can once again get in on the action.
As it stands, the team of Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer is one of the duos favored to win the tournament, according to BetOnline. Both them and the team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay share +750 to win the Zurich Classic.
For Rahm and Palmer, they’ve already been to this dance before at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. They won the tournament together back in 2019, defeating Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia by three strokes for the championship.
On the other hand, you can’t count Schauffele and Cantlay. One of them has been playing pretty decent golf as of late. Schauffele just finished T-3rd at the Masters Tournament two weeks ago. On the other hand, Cantlay has been cut in three of his last four tournaments. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see how the team fairs at the Zurich Classic without a lot of top-level competition.
Odds to Win 2021 Zurich Classic
Odds via BetOnline as of Wednesday, April 21
- Rahm/Palmer (+750)
- Schauffele/Cantlay (+750)
- Smith/Leishman (+1000)
- Watson/Scheffler (+1400)
- Finau/Champ (+2000)
- Horschel/Burns (+2200)
- Morikawa/Wolff (+2200)
- Kirk/Todd (+2500)
- Homa/Gooch (+2800)
- Willett/Hatton (+2800)
For the full odds list, visit BetOnline.ag.
Can Smith and Leishman Get It Done?
At +1000 odds, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have the third-best shot at winning this year’s Zurich Classic. Smith’s quietly been putting together a decent PGA Tour. While he’s yet to win a tournament this season, he has finished in the top-25 in 10 out of the 14 events he’s competed in. Over the last two weeks, Smith has finished T-10th and T-9th at the Masters and RBC Heritage respectfully, so he’s on somewhat of a hot streak.
Meanwhile, Leishman has yet to win a tournament in 2021 too, however, he’s had decent finishes as of late too. He had his first top-5 finish in January at the Masters, coming in T-5th. Without most of the world’s top golfers at the Zurich Classic, Smith and Leishman could realistically win this week.
Watson, Scheffler Looking to Win Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Someone who could really use a victory in Avondale this week is Bubba Watson. He’s been having an up and down PGA Tour, having yet to win a single event while having four top-25 finishes in 11 appearances. In fact, you have to go all the way back to the 2018 Travelers Championship to find the last tournament that Watson has won. He also competed at the 2019 Zurich Classic with J.B. Holmes, but the duo finished T-34th.
This year, Watson will team up with Scottie Scheffler to win the 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Back in March, Scheffler finished 2nd at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and has finished T-54th and T-18th in the tournaments since then. Watson will hope that type of play will help their team to a strong finish this week, as their odds of winning the Zurich Classic sit at +1400.
