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Zurich Classic’s Team Format a Perfectly Timed Experiment

By Brandon Raper

May 2, 2016; Avondale, LA, USA; Brian Stuard prepares to putt on the green at the ninth hole during the continuation of the third round of the 2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. The tournament has been shortened to 54 holes due to weather delays throughout the week. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2016; Avondale, LA, USA; Brian Stuard prepares to putt on the green at the ninth hole during the continuation of the third round of the 2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. The tournament has been shortened to 54 holes due to weather delays throughout the week. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Zurich Classic’s Transition to Team Format an Exciting Change

The Zurich Classic is flying in the face of an axiomatic truth: Golf is supposed to be the ultimate individual test. With everything on the line, there’s nothing else besides you, the club, and a little white ball. Only you control your fate.

Except, that is, at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where the PGA TOUR is bringing back team golf for the first time in over 30 years. And the timing couldn’t be any better.

Golf, you see, is rumored to have been in a tailspin over the last few years. Tiger Woods has been irrelevant at best since 2013, viewership is down and the sport still struggles to attract new players. And while the likes of Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and a host of first-time winners have certainly pumped up golf’s die-hard followers, a new approach can’t possibly hurt.

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Enter the Zurich Classic. In November, the PGA TOUR announced that the nearly 80-year-old event would change to a team format. This is the first time a team event has had official TOUR status since 1981, the last year the Walt Disney World tournament was played in pairs.

Excitement Abounds for Players, Fans

If you want to find an exciting format that brings even the most casual fans into the sport, look no further than the Ryder Cup. I was at Hazeltine last fall, and the energy was insane – admittedly, often a little too much so. However, that’s something you don’t see from week to week on the PGA TOUR, and there’s no denying it was a huge draw.

This week, the nationalistic pride won’t be as invasive, but you will see plenty of team pride showing through. Fans will still be treated to something a bit more relatable than the week-to-week individual grind of the PGA TOUR.

Zurich Classic
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Better yet, plenty of golf’s biggest names are not only playing, but legitimately excited to be part of this year’s Zurich Classic.

Jason Day and Rickie Fowler committed immediately. Justin Rose, the 2016 Olympic gold medal winner and Masters runner-up, will partner with Ryder Cup teammate and Olympic silver medalist Henrik Stenson.

In the “brotherly love” department, Brooks Koepka will be partnering with his younger brother, Chase, who will be making his first ever PGA TOUR start on a sponsor’s exemption. How’s that going to go? According to Brooks, “by the second hole we could kill each other – or it could be an awesome week.” Sounds about right.

Those are just a few of the great team examples we’ll see at TPC Louisiana this week. This fact is undeniable – when so many players actually want to be at the event, that adds to the energy of the entire week.

The Zurich Classic has Perfect Placement on the PGA Tour Calendar

With all the excitement the Zurich is generating this year, there’s only one thing that could have gone wrong.

What if nobody wanted to play? Thankfully, we won’t have to worry about that this year.

Zurich Classic
Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports /

We know that Day, Fowler, Rose and Stenson were in from the start. Jordan Spieth will be playing alongside fellow Texan Ryan Palmer, a matchup decided when Palmer’s caddie actually beat Spieth in a match last November.

Ryder Cup lightning rod Patrick Reed will bring his unique fire to the event. So will Bubba Watson, paired with fellow bomber J.B. Holmes.

This all works thanks in large part to the PGA TOUR’s calendar. It’s been three weeks since the Masters, more than enough time for the game’s top players to enjoy some much-needed time off. There’s still two weeks to The PLAYERS Championship, and seven until the U.S. Open. Even with the unique format, there’s basically no way it could throw off a player’s major preparation.

Eyes on The Prize

Better yet? The Tour will still be awarding FedEx Cup points to every team that makes the cut, and the winners will receive full benefits, including a two-year TOUR exemption and invitations to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, The PLAYERS Championship, and the PGA Championship. Think Ian Poulter, playing for his TOUR card one more time, might be a little fired up this week?

Next: Zurich Classic Team Power Rankings

This experiment is perfectly timed by the PGA TOUR, and if it works, we could be seeing the birth of one of the more popular events on the TOUR for years to come. Sit back, maybe pick up some beignets and coffee in the true New Orleans spirit, and enjoy the show.

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