Zurich Classic Power Rankings: Picking the top ten teams in New Orleans
Both on paper, and in my esteemed opinion, this is the team to beat.
Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson go way back having competed together on three European Ryder Cup teams together. As a pair, they were 4-2 in the Ryder Cup and 3-0 in Europe’s win in 2014.
The two missed the cut by just one shot at last year’s Zurich Classic, but a Friday 66 in best ball was encouraging. Europeans have a reputation for being stronger in alternate shot than their American counterparts, so I expect for them to fare better than last year’s even-par 72.
"“Obviously Henrik and I get along really, really well,” Rose said before the 2017 Zurich Classic. “We’ve lived across the street from one another at Lake Nona for a couple of years, and our caddies obviously get on incredibly well, but going back to Gleneagles Henrik and I paired up beautifully there, we had an awesome time on the golf course and a record-setting time on the golf course, too, so we had a couple of really hot days and have enjoyed each other’s company.”"
The pair of world top-15 players combine as the highest-ranked team in this week’s field.
Rose has three top-10s and a T12 at the Masters and has not missed a cut since August 2017. Stenson’s finished in the top-10 three straight weeks, including a T5 at the Masters, and has five such finishes in 2018.
Both will be fresh for this event after taking two weeks off after Augusta.
These two are some of the best ball strikers in the field and will have plenty of looks at birdie.
Neither have a reputation as elite putters, though Rose has been impressive on the greens. He’s improved from 123rd strokes gained putting (-.06) last season to 10th (.698) now.