The third round of the 2026 Zurich Classic gets underway Saturday at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans.
Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer, at 16-under par, lead the Zurich Classic after the second round and hold a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field. But, of course, the tournament remains wide open with two days still remaining.
Here are my picks and Zurich Classic Round 3 best bets.
Zurich Classic Round 3 Best Bets
John Parry / Dan Brown Top-20 (-130 at DraftKings)
John Parry and Dan Brown soared up the leaderboard with another impressive performance on Friday and entered the third round T16 at 11-under par. At -130, it's worth backing them to stay inside the top 20 over the weekend.
Last year, Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak won this tournament on the greens with excellent putting as a duo. If history is to repeat itself, that bodes well for Parry and Brown.
Parry is playing the best golf of his career, mainly due to the flat stick. He's gained true strokes putting in each of the past two tournaments, the latest of which resulted in a T14 finish at the Valero Texas Open.
Meanwhile, Brown is also playing the best golf of his career. Like Parry, this success has come on the greens as he has gained true strokes on the green in eight of his past 11 tournaments.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju / Ryan Gerard Top-20 (-128 at DraftKings)
Another team worth targeting in this market is the Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Ryan Gerard tandem. They outperformed the Fitzpatrick brothers in Thursday’s opening round, finishing T3 at 12-under par.
They are just one shot away from joining Parry and Brown in the top 20 as they enter Saturday T26 at 10-under par.
Success on the greens at TPC Louisiana is often supported by strong approach play, and the wide fairways also help players consistently find the short grass.
As a result, greens in regulation percentage from the fairway is a key metric to monitor this weekend. And that makes Gerard a must-play, as he ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in that category.
At the same time, Yellamaraju also ranks above the PGA Tour average in greens in regulation percentage from the fairway. His iron play has been incredible this season, which has resulted in three top 20 finishes over his past four tournaments.
