Five Takeaways From The Opening Round At The Zurich Classic

Assuming a spectator position at a PGA Tour event is a fantastic vantage point from which to view the world’s best golfers.

You hear the sound of a pure iron strike. You pick up the interactions from the caddie. You also get to talk to the marshalls, who, by the end of the day, know their designated hole better than anyone. 

Here are five takeaways from the opening round at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans.

The Fitz Duo Looks Formidable

Alex is here to put on a show, not just stand beside his brother Matt. On his way to five birdies today, he swung it well, holed some good putts, and looked the part alongside some of the best players in the world.

One shot off the lead going into tomorrow, hopefully, the English duo hold it together for foursomes.

His brother might be the U.S. open champion but Alex Fitzpatrick is holding up his end of this team.

The Fitz’s move it to -9 through 16 to be just one back. Now +2000 with DraftKings at the Zurich Classic. pic.twitter.com/SRL7sNKLWa

— Golfbet (@Golfbet) April 20, 2023

‘Homakawa’ Lagging Behind

Not sure who coined the name for the duo of Max Homa and Collin Morikawa, but there it is. We expected World #7 and #13 to be going deep today, but it never came to pass.

A six-under 66 left them mid-table. From what I saw, Collin was scrambling for pars on several holes, and they were very rarely both in the fairway. The ideal in fourballs is two birdie putts, one secures the par, and one drains the birdie – this was definitely not happening today.

John Daly

Despite their poor combined score today, Duval and Daly still had a following. John was still swinging the driver well and was unlucky not to close out with a few birdies. In his cart, he’s playing ready golf – and it still looks effortless when he has a wedge in his hand.

JD is still putting on a performance. I think he had 30 cigarettes today. They also sit in last place, with a +3 round of 75.

Low Scores

I highly doubt any day will bring scores as low as today, but I’ve been wrong before. It was hot, above 80 degrees, and the wind wasn’t too much of a factor. The rest of the week is forecast for rain and lower temperatures.

Leaderboard after Thursday @Zurich_Classic⛳️

T1. Team Clark/Hossler (-11)
T1. Team O’Hair/Matthews
T3. Team Mitchell/Im (-10)
T3. Team Matt/Alex Fitzpatrick
T3. Team Lipsky/Rai
T3. Team Norlander/List
T3. Team Noh/M. Kim

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 21, 2023

Alongside the changing format, I think today’s scores were an exceptionally low start. Luke List played great golf on the back nine to help him and Henrik Norlander to a 62 – Sung Jae Im was on form in everyone’s favorite pairing alongside Keith Mitchell (62), and then Beau Hossler and Wyndham Clark snuck in with a 61.

It felt like there were chip-ins and hole-outs every few minutes in the afternoon, including these back-to-back from Denny McCarthy and Kurt Kitayama!

Perfection for birdie from @_DennyMcCarthy 👏 pic.twitter.com/1VgwO3ys2j

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2023

Six under puts you in the bottom half of the tournament. Maybe some tougher pins tomorrow.

The Zurich Classic Needs To Stay

The format makes for good viewing. I made a point of following a large number of groups, and they all played efficiently. Fourballs and foursomes give the event a matchplay feel, with the ridiculously low scores today unlikely to be matched in the alternate shot event on Friday.

The marshalls and staff are great fun, mostly local to New Orleans, they’re all happy to be there and willing to share some stories. A few errant shots meant some of them were ducking out of sight – but they took it all in their stride.

The course looked great, the sun was shining, and the fans were in good spirits. An ideal opening day.

Cover Image Via TheSportsDaily