Zurich Classic 2022 Odds, Sleeper Picks: South Africans Headline 3 Longshot Bets

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The PGA TOUR finds its way to New Orleans this week and many bettors will feel as unsteady as someone who has spent the last several hours hanging on Bourbon Street.

That is because the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a major departure from the typical stroke-play event. This marks the lone team event on the PGA TOUR calendar, giving some of the world’s best players a chance to pair up and compete in a new format. Thursday and Saturday will be birdie-filled rounds of best ball, with Friday and Sunday providing the more challenging alternate shot format.

The big-name pairing of Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa is being offered as a heavy favorite, but the unusual style of play should open the door for a pair of dark horses to climb the leaderboard.

Glancing further down the board, these three pairings stand out as teams with a real chance to be battling atop the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.

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Charl Schwartzel & Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6600 (BetMGM)

This event has been a haven for Charl Schwartzel in recent years. He’s had top three finishes twice of late, with a solo second last year and a solo third place in 2019. In both of those events, Schwartzel was paired with his South African countryman Louis Oosthuizen.

With Oosthuizen sidelined due to an injury that caused him to withdraw from the Masters, Schwartzel has turned to another South African whose name would score plenty of points in a game of Scrabble in Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Bezuidenhout could offer the team a key element in this format: a red-hot putter. Over the last two years, according to strokes gained numbers from DataGolf, Bezeuidenhout has been a top-15 player on TOUR with the flatstick.

Add that on to what we’ve seen of late from Schwartzel – a top 10 at Augusta and a made cut last week at Harbour Town – and there’s reason to believe this team could contend in New Orleans this week.

Keith Mitchell & Brandt Snedeker +6500 (DraftKings)

This team proved it can contend at this event, finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Zurich last season. A third-round 64 powered the pair to the top five, just two shots out of the eventual playoff.

They return this year, with Mitchell playing particularly well right now. He has finished in the top 15 in six of his last eight stroke-play events. In the last six months, he ranks third in the world in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, per Data Golf. Mitchell's ability to win with his driver should set up this team for success in both formats.

Snedeker, on the other hand, has not been hot, missing six of seven cuts. When this course hosted an individual event, he played four times and missed all four cuts. Here’s to hoping Mitchell can lead the way and inspire a vintage Snedeker week, especially on the greens.

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Kevin Kisner & Scott Brown +10000 (DraftKings)

It has nearly become cliché to tout Kisner’s success in match play and alternative formats on TOUR, but he continues to back up that hype and build a reputation as a gamer who thrives outside of 72-hole stroke play.

Prior to missing the cut at this event last season, Kisner and his Scott Brown have been one of the most reliable duos at this venue, finishing second in 2017, T15 in '18 and T5 in '19.

Brown is more of an unknown, though he has played some solid golf this season. He’s yo-yo’d between the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour and has made six of his last nine cuts overall.

All of that is absolutely enough to like their chances when offered at 100-1. Other books are more bullish on Kisner and Brown, with FanDuel offering them at just +5500.

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