Tour Guide: Team Golf SZN

Apologies for the slight delay in the Tour Guide this week, although we’re not exactly sure how many people are counting down to the Zurich Classic anyway. That said, we have some fun stuff in store.

In addition to Joseph and Will’s pieces here, we’d highly recommend listening to Wednesday’s Shotgun Start, which includes Brendan’s lookback to 1983 and how the modern structure of the PGA Tour came to be. It’s a fascinating listen and includes former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beaman’s idea at the time to separate the Tour into two leagues. Take a listen and also check out this article from Mike Purkey in Sports Illustrated when you have a moment.

TRUE TEAM GOLF

By Joseph LaMagna

Welcome to Zurich Classic week!

The Zurich is the PGA Tour’s only two-player team event, and with the dismantling of the Dell Match Play, it’s one of the last tournaments remaining on the schedule not consisting of 72 holes of stroke play.

On Thursday and Saturday, teams play fourballs (best ball). On Friday and Sunday, the foursomes (alternate shot) format is used. Given the format and the identity this event has established, the Zurich is sort of a funky, laid-back week on the PGA Tour. However, it does distribute FedEx Cup points, the ultimate symbol of legitimacy in professional golf. Ok, I kid. About the legitimacy, that is, not about the FedEx Cup points. It really does distribute FedEx Cup points. It’s a grievance I’ll take with me to my deathbed.

Anyway, year after year, I remain astonished at how many golfers don’t prioritize picking a partner who has a complementary skill set or a game that fits the golf course, and instead elect to play with a friend or a caddie’s father. Your career is on the line! Be strategic with your partner selection! Different strokes for different folks, I suppose…

The Zurich is a sneaky fun week to watch game plans unfold. Some players invest time and effort into understanding savvy strategy for weeks like this, while other players dismiss the importance of strategy entirely. I like to imagine the following conversation taking place between Ryan Palmer and his partner Zach Johnson.

RP: “Zach, how should we do this? Do you want to hit the tee shots on the odds or the evens?”

ZJ: “Oh, who the hell cares?”

Measuring over 7,400 yards, TPC Louisiana is a fairly long golf course. Three of the four par 3s fall on odd-numbered holes. The 16th hole is often set up to be drivable. In part due to how the par 3s are stacked, whichever golfer tees off on the odd-numbered holes in foursomes will hit more approach shots than his partner, many of which will be long irons. The golfer who tees off on the even-numbered holes will hit more drivers, including pivotal tee shots like the tee shot on the 16th hole.

In theory, each team would like to have an elite iron player tee off on the odd-numbered holes to take advantage of the disparity in approach shot counts, and his partner would be a strong driver who keeps the ball in play.

I’m particularly interested in watching the Sahith Theegala/Will Zalatoris team this week. I’d like to see Sahith tee off on the even-numbered holes to let Will Zalatoris show off his iron play. As long as Theegala can keep the ball in play off the tee, that duo should have plenty of birdie looks and could be a serious threat to win this tournament.

ONE SHOT FROM LAST WEEK

By Will Knights

Scottie this, Scottie that. Let’s talk about someone else today.

Beauty from the bunker 😍@AkshayBhatia_1 moves up 21 spots to T12 after his fourth straight birdie @RBC_Heritage. pic.twitter.com/3NGFIZhui7

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 21, 2024

What this shot from Akshay really shows is how the best players in the world use their hands AND their speed around the greens, something a lot of amateurs are afraid to do. In order to get this ball to come down at a steep enough angle to land softly and stay around the hole (or go in), Akshay brought a serious amount of speed into the ball. Look at how fast his arms and the clubhead are moving at the bottom of this swing! This allows the ball to be moved by the momentum of the club interacting with the sand, landing in the right spot without a ton of forward momentum. It’s also exactly the type of shot that a great short-game player has on command.