FanDuel PGA DFS Lineup Advice: Zurich Classic of New Orleans (2021)

The PGA Tour heads to the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana this weekend in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. American golfer Stewart Cink is coming off of a dominant performance at the RBC Heritage tournament, finishing -18 to win by four strokes over second-place finisher Harold Varner III (-15) thanks to his 64.29 driving accuracy percentage, crushing the tournament average of 55.36%. Will Zalatoris finished T42 (-5) after challenging Hideki Matsuyama as runner-up at Augusta National, revealing just how much momentum and the course matter to determine the top performers.

The Zurich Classic provides the unique opportunity for DFS managers to draft two-player teams as one roster addition into your lineup due to alternating rounds of best-ball and alternate-shot foursomes. This means that each player will get a full round on Thursday and Saturday and take the best score between their two finishes. While on Friday and Sunday, the 80 pairs of golfing duos will engage in foursomes, where each golfer alternates their swing with their teammate on each hole. 33 duos will make the cut after a day of each style, providing an exciting opportunity to deviate from your typical preferred DFS strategy when dealing with individual golfers. Here are a few teams I like to cash in your lineups by the end of The Zurich Classic this upcoming Sunday.

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Previous Winners

2020: Cancelled – COVID-19
2019: Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm (-26)
2018: Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy (-22)
2017: Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith (-27)

Course Preview

TPC Louisiana was designed by famed golf architect Peter Dye with help from Louisiana native Kelly Gibson back in 2004. Roughly 15 miles outside of New Orleans, The Zurich Classic features over 250 acres of wetlands that stretch out along the famed Mississippi River. Cypress and oak trees abound on most of the holes at TPC Louisiana, including frequent water hazards and bunkers surrounding the enormous greens. Driving Accuracy Percentage and Greens In Regulation are two statistics that will benefit teams competing for the purse on Sunday, as the 100+ bunkers and five ponds culminate on the final hole to challenge even the most consistent and accurate golfers. Teams relying on each other to remain under will need to work together and be aggressive to overcome the multitude of hazards at The Zurich Classic this weekend.

Relevant Betting Stats

Greens in Regulation (GIR)
Driving Accuracy Percentage
Birdie Average
Sand Save Percentage

Recommended Plays

Cameron Smith – Marc Leishman ($11,600)

One of the highest-salaried teams to add to your roster at The Zurich Classic is the tandem comprised of one of the tournament’s former winners. Not surprisingly, Australian golfer Cameron Smith is valued highly based on his 2017 first-place finish with Jonas Blixt at an incredible -27. His teammate this time around is Marc Leishman, a 37-year old fellow Aussie who has a great GIR (66.54%) and has an innate ability to operate in the bunkers with a sand-save percentage of 56.45% in 14 events this season. This is a great team to add to the roster based on continuity and Leishman’s skillset in getting out of bad situations and scrambling holes, showcasing a strong mental fortitude that will give the team an advantage at hazard-filled TPC Louisiana.

Brice Garnett – Scott Stallings ($7,700)

Brice Garnett is one of the more undervalued golfers in the tournament, as he has two top-ten finishes in 2021 and ranks ninth in driving accuracy percentage (70.17%), which is arguably the most important skill set to have on a course like TPC Louisiana. His partner, Scott Stallings, is a 36-year old native of Massachusetts who missed the cut last weekend at RBC Heritage while finishing T59 (+1) at the Valero Texas Open earlier this month. Needless to say, Garnett will need to be the one carrying this team if they want to make the cut and advance into Saturday along with the other 32 groups. At such a reduced salary, Garnett and Stallings are a good value and salary saver that will benefit the construction of your lineup.

Louis Oosthuizen – Charl Schwartzel ($9,900)

This South African team is a solid value at just under $10,000 on FanDuel, but Louis Oosthuizen is dominant in several specific areas to conquer The Zurich Classic of New Orleans this weekend. The 38-year old Oosthuizen has a 64.27 DAP% ranking 57th amongst active golfers and averaging 70.195 scoring average to place in the top-20. His counterpart, 36-year old Charl Schwartzel, excels in driving distance averaging 302.5 yards per drive this season, but his driving accuracy percentage is markedly lower at 56.57%, which is slightly concerning when considering the thick cedar and oak-lined fairways. Schwartzel did finish T26 (+1) at The Masters two weeks ago, which shows he has the ability to hit the greens in regulation (GIR – 66.44%) and overcome bad tee shots. Get these two into your lineups with confidence to make the cut and represent South Africa throughout all four days at The Zurich Classic.

Billy Horschel – Sam Burns ($10,500)

Billy Horschel placed 25th (-8) at RBC Heritage last weekend and is also one of the returning champions from the 2018 team he played on alongside Scott Piercy. Heading into the long and hazardous fairways and numerous greens surrounded by sandy bunkers of TPC Louisiana, Horschel can rely on a solid 66.1 DAP% and 65.3 GIR% to fine-tune his drives and second or third swings based on the pond, bunker, or tree on a particular hole. Meanwhile, the young 24-year old American Sam Burns managed a strong finish at RBC Heritage T39 (-6) after missing three straight cuts in his previous tournament invites. Burns does possess the ability to escape sand traps with a 62.5 sand save percentage last weekend in Hilton Head. In addition, he also edged out Horschel at 68.1 GIR% last weekend to end a woeful missed cut streak. This is a fairly high salaried team when factoring in the risk Burns presents in whether the team makes the cut in New Orleans. Still, Horschel’s familiarity with the course from 2018 should help both golfers with their confidence and qualify them as a good addition to your fantasy lineups.

Max Homa – Talor Gooch ($9,500)
A greatly undervalued team entering The Zurich Classic is the one comprised of 30-year old Californian Max Homa and 29-year old Talor Gooch out of Oklahoma. These golfers are aggressive and consistent with getting birdies, which is the most valuable statistic to chase in DFS based on the +3 point payout compared to -1 deductions for bogeys. Homa has a win under his belt this season at The Genesis Invitational (-12) and ranks 35th with a 4.22 birdie average per round, while Gooch also ranks 58th with 3.96 birdies per game. Unfortunately, neither golfer has good GIR or DAP percentages, meaning that they rely on their putting and short game to perform well on courses. With TPC Louisiana hiding long, rolling greens behind challenging fairways with numerous natural hazards, the young American tandem will need to perform better with their tee shots to position themselves for success. Homa and Gooch have the ability to overcome Homa’s recent struggles where he missed the cut at both The Players Championship and The Masters after his victory in March. Available to roster at under $10,000, I like adding these two based on their birdie averages to produce big numbers in lineups this weekend.

Check out the FREE betting guide for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at BettingPros

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