Zurich Classic of New Orleans Round 1

Date & Time
Thu 23rd April 2026 7:00am Local
Thu 23rd April 2026 12:00pm UTC

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League
PGA Tour

Season
2026

Round
17

Status

Location
TPC Louisiana

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Description

The PGA Tour shifts to the beautifully scenic yet treacherous terrain of TPC Louisiana for the unique team-format challenge of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The primary obstacle for the 80 elite duos is adapting to the fourball (best ball) format in the opening round, where capitalizing on aggressive birdie opportunities while covering a partner's mistakes is absolutely paramount. The objective for premium pairings—including the English brother duo of Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick, along with defending champions Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak—is to go low early on the Pete Dye design to establish a comfortable cushion before the alternate-shot formats take over. Strategically, the goal of this opening fourball round is to exploit the layout's vulnerable par-five holes and generous fairways to maximize scoring potential. The tactical focus for aggressive ball-strikers centers on attacking reachable pins with precise wedge play to give their partnership multiple realistic looks at birdie or eagle on every green. Concurrently, the mission for newly formed partnerships is to establish a comfortable alternate roles system on the course, ensuring at least one ball is safely in play on every hole while the other hunts the flagstick. Facing a wide-open leaderboard, every tandem on the first tee is targeting an ultra-aggressive blueprint to kickstart their tournament run.

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Result List

Result Description

The powerhouse pairing of Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer put on an absolute ball-striking clinic at TPC Louisiana, tearing up the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to command the early lead. Showcasing spectacular synergy, the American duo combined for a mind-boggling, low-scoring round of 14-under par 58 to secure the top spot on the scoreboard in the premier team event. The pairing established their aggressive intent almost immediately, picking up birdies at will before Springer unleashed a phenomenal eagle blast on the par-five second hole to electrify their card. They weren't alone in their assault on the par-fives, as the dynamic tandem of Austin Eckroat and Davis Thompson matched their firing power by carding a pristine 59 to sit just one single stroke back in second place. Right behind the blazing front-runners, the stellar pairings of Eric Cole and Hank Lebioda alongside Tom Hoge and Billy Horschel executed a series of brilliant approach shots to card matching rounds of 60, firmly embedding themselves in the chasing pack. Meanwhile, the English brother tandem of Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick kept themselves within striking distance of the leaders, navigating their opening lap cleanly to sign for a highly respectable 64.

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