We’re gearing up for the lone team event on the 2026 PGA Tour schedule this week at the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Hosted at Pete Dye’s TPC Louisiana course, a par 72 track that runs over 7,400 yards, golfers will pair up to play two different formats.
In Round 1 and Round 3, Four-Ball (Best Ball) will be played, while Foursomes (Alternate Shot) will be enforced in Round 2 and Round 4. A 36-hole cut line will be enforced. Historically, we’ve seen the lowest scores on this course come during Four-Ball rounds, with winning scorecards sitting between -25-under-par and 30-under-par in each of the past three outings at TPC Louisiana.
For DFS purposes, we’re only going to look at DraftKings, as FanDuel doesn’t have any contests posted for this team event. When constructing a roster, you can select either teammate at the same salary, while scoring remains the same, +8 points for eagles, +3 points for birdies, -0.5 points for bogeys, and +0.5 points for par. 1+ points get awarded to teams who make the cut, scaling up to +30 points for the winning tandem.
My PGA DFS Lineup Advice: Top Golfers (2026 RBC Heritage) had a couple of strong performances, but didn’t return value across the entire lineup. In Tier 1, Xander Schauffele carded a T12 finish, while Russell Henley managed a T25 finish, as both top prospects fell short of a top 10 finish at the Signature Event. In Tier 2, Jordan Spieth also failed to make a run, winding up T33, while Ryo Hisatsune had a disappointing T60. Matt McCarty’s T12 finish was the best ROI of the week from Tier 3, while Andrew Putnam’s T42 was pedestrian at best.
Let’s dial up a better week at the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more DFS picks and insight during the 2026 PGA Tour season.
PGA DFS: Top Golfers (2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
DraftKings Salary: $50,000
TIER 1
| Golfer | DK $ |
| Thorbjornsen & Vilips | $9,400 |
| Rai & Theegala | $9,200 |
Let’s start with Michael Thorbjornsen and Karl Vilips. These two will pair up for the second straight season at TPC Louisiana, following a productive T4 finish in 2025.
Thorbjornsen ranks sixth in total driving, including top 20 for driving distance, while also sitting 10th in scrambling and 33rd for proximity. Vilips will boost this tandem with his putting, ranked 11th in putting average and pacing the PGA Tour in one-putt percentage.
Next, we’re targeting Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala. In 2025, this duo carded a T18 finish. Theegala has enjoyed a better 2026 campaign than Rai. However, the Englishman is a pure ball-striker who can set up Theegala for birdie opportunities on the greens.
Theegala ranks sixth in putts per round and 17th for putting average. He’s also 23rd in total strokes gained and 39th in SG: Approach. Rai measures out with 15th for greens in regulation hit, so expect a high-floor with the potential for a high-ceiling out of our second Tier 1 selection.
TIER 2
| Golfer | DK $ |
| Stevens & Bauchou | $8,300 |
| Keefer & Brennan | $8,200 |
Sam Stevens and Zach Bauchou will team up for the first time at this event. Stevens is the standout golfer to me, carding two top 10 finishes in 2026, while ranked top 50 in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, and greens in regulation hit.
Bauchou is a lesser-known name. However, he ranks 55th on par 4 holes and has a top 20 finish at The American Express. Bauchou is coming off a T28 in his last event at the Valero Texas Open.
Stevens has wound up T4-T24 in his previous two outings at TPC Louisiana. Despite playing with a new partner, let’s slot him and Bauchou into our lineups to start Tier 2.
Next up, we’ve got Johnny Keefer and Michael Brennan. Keefer has been playing well during his rookie season on the PGA Tour, while Brennan held a share of the first round lead at Harbour Town with a 65 on Thursday.
Keefer ranks 19th in SG: Off-the-Tee, fourth for greens in regulation hit, and 32nd in proximity. Brennan ranks fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, including third in driving distance, 15th in proximity, and top-10 in approach shots from 200+ yards.
Putting is the weakness for both Keefer and Brennan. However, tee-to-green, few in the field are better at this price point.
TIER 3
| Golfer | DK $ |
| Putnam & Smotherman | $7,500 |
| Horschel & Hoge | $7,100 |
I like Andrew Putnam and Austin Smotherman as a team, especially in this Tier 3 range. Smotherman has had a strong season, carding three top 20 finishes, including two top 10s and a runner-up. Putnam has a recent T5 finish at the Valero Texas Open, while also securing a runner-up finish at The American Express back in January.
This is the first time we’ll see Putnam and Smotherman in a team at the Zurich Classic. Putnam didn’t have much success previously. while Smotherman carded a T23 finish here in his last outing in 2024.
Putnam ranks 37th in SG: Approach, fifth for driving accuracy, fourth in scrambling, and eighth in one-putt percentage. Smotherman is ninth in SG: Approach, 32nd in SG: Off-the-Tee, 12th in driving accuracy, and 13th in proximity.
Let’s finish with a pair of underachieving veterans who have PGA Tour wins on their resumé. It’s Billy Horschel and Tom Hoge, who are available at a low $7,100 salary this week.
Horschel logged a T11 finish with Sam Burns in 2023 at this event. Hoge has not had as much success in comparison at TPC Louisiana. However, Hoge does rank 15th in proximity and 47th on 200+ yard approach shots this season.
Horschel ranks 51st in putting average, which is one of his lone bright spots in 2026. This is a low-risk, high-reward pairing, so let’s deploy Hoge-Horschel for our final team in DFS lineups ahead of Round 1 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros and FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.