Zurich Classic of New Orleans Power Rankings
By Sam Belden
No. 4: Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen
OWGR – Grace: No. 22, Oosthuizen: No. 31
Neither one of these South African stars has ever played the Zurich Classic of New Orleans before, but details like that are mere afterthoughts when it comes to this group. Grace and Oosthuizen have an incredible chemistry on the golf course, so they’re always worthy of our attention in these formats.
These two established their reputation as team play dominators at the 2015 Presidents Cup, where they went undefeated in the first four sessions to lead the International squad in points. Grace’s profile has only risen since then, and with four major top fives in the last two years, he’s regarded as one of the brightest young stars in the world. Entering this week with back-to-back top 15s to his name, he looks ready for success. Oosthuizen has been playing well enough this year, and his wealth of experience in these formats definitely bodes well for his chances.
The International side hasn’t seen much Presidents Cup success over the past two decades, but the pairing of Oosthuizen and Grace has been a significant bright spot. They should be well-equipped to keep up that level of play at the Zurich Classic — their experience together gives them an enviable edge over the rest of the field.