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The First Look
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Griffin, Novak’s winning highlights from Zurich Classic
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Written by Adam Stanley
It’s once again time to team up.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the lone team event on the PGA TOUR schedule and will feature plenty of the game’s best. This is the ninth year the Zurich Classic has been played in pairs.
Each duo starts the week playing Four-ball (best ball) before switching to Foursomes (alternate shot) for the second round. Saturday’s third round will once again be Four-ball before returning to Foursomes for the final round.
With the RBC Heritage now in the rear-view mirror, it’s also a valuable time to earn key FedExCup points as we inch closer to the Cadillac Championship, with players gunning for spots in the Aon Swing 5 and Aon Next 10.
Here’s everything else you need to know as the TOUR returns to New Orleans.
FIELD NOTES: The Fitzpatrick brothers are coming to New Orleans with a ton of momentum – and some 2026 trophies already. Matt Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage in a playoff on Sunday just a month after winning the Valspar Championship. He’s up to No. 3 in the OWGR, his highest spot ever. Meanwhile, Alex (who is in on a sponsor invite)won his first career DP World Tour title in March at the Hero Indian Open. … Brooks Koepka returns to the Zurich Classic for the first time since 2019 and he’ll be paired with past champion Shane Lowry. Lowry and Rory McIlroy finished T12 a year ago in their title defense. Koepka has finished in the top 20 in four of his last five starts, including a T12 at the Masters. … Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak return to New Orleans looking to become the first team to ever go back-to-back. While last year’s win was both of their first on the PGA TOUR, Griffin would go on to win twice more and earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team in 2025. Novak has two top-20 finishes in his last three starts on TOUR. … Michael Brennan and Johnny Keefer are making their tournament debuts. Brennan, who won on a sponsor invite in Utah last year, and Keefer, who finished No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List in 2025, make up a talented duo of young stars. … There are a handful of International Presidents Cup pairings worth looking out for, including the captain of the squad, Geoff Ogilvy, teeing it up alongside fellow Australian Cam Davis. Other pairings to watch out for are Tom Kim and Kevin Yu, Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes and South Africans Erik van Rooyen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Blades Brown is back in action on TOUR and will tee it up alongside fellow up-and-coming star Luke Clanton. Brown finished third at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year and has two top-three finishes in his last three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, including a runner-up last week in Mexico. … Casey Jarvis will play alongside AJ Ewart in his first non-major PGA TOUR start of the season. Jarvis, of South Africa, won in back-to-back weeks on the DP World Tour earlier this year and earned a spot in the Masters field. Ewart, who earned his card via the Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, has missed just three cuts so far in 2026, with his best result, a T11, coming at the Valspar Championship. … Young Frenchman Martin Couvra will pair up with fellow countryman and past TOUR winner Matthiew Pavon. Couvra was last year’s DP World Tour Rookie of the Year. … Jacob Skov Olesen will tee it up with fellow Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. Olesen made history in 2024, becoming the first Danish golfer to win The Amateur Championship.
SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The next Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Cadillac Championship, with the top 10 FedExCup points earners through this week at the Zurich Classic earning their spot in the field via the Aon Next 10. … Min Woo Lee leads the standings while Jake Knapp is less than 25 points behind the top spot. … With Gary Woodland’s T8 at the RBC Heritage, he moved up from No. 8 to No. 3 in the standings, while Patrick Rodgers also lept from No. 12 to No. 10 after a top-20 result at Harbour Town. … The top five FedExCup points earners in the Puerto Rico Open, Valspar Championship, Texas Children’s Houston Open, Valero Texas Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans will earn spots in the Cadillac Championship via the Aon Swing 5. … Ricky Castillo is tops on that list with David Lipsky, Matt Wallace, Chandler Blanchet and Jordan Smith all inside the magic number. The latter four names are all in the field in New Orleans.
FEDEXCUP: Winners receive 400 FedExCup points.
COURSE: TPC Louisiana, par 72, 7,425 yards. Water hazards are featured prominently on the course but the Pete Dye design (which featured Steve Elkington/Kelly Gibson as consultants) is one of the TOUR’s most scoreable layouts. It stretches over 250 acres of wetlands and features 100 bunkers and is located just 15 minutes from bustling downtown New Orleans.
72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Nick Hardy/Davis Riley (2023)
ALTERNATE SHOT RECORD: 63, Adam Hadwin/Nick Taylor (Final Round, 2023), Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (Round 2, 2023), Chad Ramey/Martin Trainer (Final Round, 2024)
BEST BALL RECORD: 58, Isaiah Salinda/Kevin Velo (Round 1, 2025)
LAST TIME: Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin both won for the first time on the PGA TOUR, as the duo topped the Højgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, by one shot to win in New Orleans. The Højgaards, who shot a 59 in the first round, shot a 4-under 68 Sunday, but it was too little, too late. Novak and Griffin had made all pars on the back nine in the final round before finally making a birdie on the 72nd hole of the championship – the difference maker, in the end, as Griffin rolled in a 35-footer for the win. Novak became the first golfer on TOUR to lose in a playoff and go on to win the next week since Patrick Cantlay in 2022.
Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III finished third alone, two shots back, while there was a four-way tie for fourth.
Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m., Golf ChannelSaturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m., CBS, Paramount+Thursday-Friday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:
Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the courseMarquee group (Stream 2): New “Marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the groupFeatured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groupsBetcast presented by DraftKings (Stream 4): Betting coverage and analysis throughout the weekThursday-Friday: 12-6 p.m.Saturday-Sunday: 1-6 p.m.*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]>
Apr 19, 2026
