Paulie’s Picks: 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The 2026 Zurich Classic is in one of the worst spots on the schedule, just off the Masters and a PGA Tour signature event and before a run of consecutive signature events and the PGA Championship. It all but assures the top players won’t play, unless you want to play six weeks in a row. That leaves us with a depleted field for this week’s event. 

As a reminder, the Zurich is a two-man team event where 74 teams will play one round of fourball and one round of foursomes (alternate shot) before a cut to the low 33 teams and ties. The same format is repeated over the weekend. Traditionally, the weaker teams in the field can contend in the fourball rounds but get heavily exposed on the foursomes days, when the cream usually rises to the top. So, where does the best value lie for betting purposes in this weak field with an abnormal format? Let’s dig into my favorite bet of the week:

Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry: Top 20, -146

Shane Lowry won this event when he was paired with Rory McIlroy in 2024, but I found it a bit surprising to see him in the field, given the aforementioned schedule. And he’s got a new partner. Perhaps this is a good way to get another win and get rid of some of the demons that have popped up in 2026 in tournaments in Dubai and at the Cognizant, where he had chances to win late. He is the ideal player for this format as he keeps it in play for foursomes and makes enough birdies in fourball. I think we see some Lowry Ryder Cup magic this week.

Brooks Koepka has been playing well lately, with top-20 finishes in four of his last five starts, including a 12th at the Masters. He was the first alternate at last week’s signature event and waited at Harbour Town hoping that someone would withdraw, but to no avail. A high finish here this week would do wonders to help him gain access to signature events, and pairing with Lowry arguably gives them the highest floor of any team. They’re both top 10 players in this field, great ball-strikers, and play well in team formats. I really struggle to see how this team is not in contention this week, especially given that about 20 teams have no chance to win. I also don’t mind a top 10 bet at +166 or to win at +1550.