Zurich Classic One And Done Pick Strategy (2024)

Golf One And Done pool pick strategy for the 2024 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, the only team event on this year's PGA calendar.

Do you pick Kurt Kitayama in the Zurich if you can pair him with Collin Morikawa? (Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire)

The Zurich Classic is this week on the PGA Tour. This is an unusual team event, the only one on the calendar, where golfers pair up and play in a fourball (best ball) and foursomes (alternating shot) format.

The initial field is 160 golfers on 80 teams, with a cut after the first two rounds, and winning teams split the winnings. (The top team takes home the 1st and 2nd place prize purse, divided by two, for example.)

Many golf One And Done pools do not use this event because of its unusual format, but some do. Since our Data Grid does not currently support this tournament format, this article will serve as our One And Done pick advice for this week.

Last Week’s One And Done Pick Results

• Scottie Scheffler did it again, winning for the fourth time in five starts. He has now won the last four big prize events.
• Scheffler was not a popular selection (under 2% picked in most OAD pools) as many entries have already used him, and those that hadn’t yet picked him largely didn’t take him after his Masters win.
• Sahith Theegala finished second, garnering the most winnings ($2,160,000) in the non-Scheffler division. Theegala had about 2% pick popularity across OAD pools.
• Patrick Cantlay (10-15% pick popularity in most pools) was the most popular golfer who finished highly, finishing in a tie for 3rd with Wyndham Clark.
• Tommy Fleetwood was the other most popular OAD pick, but finished well back of the pack, earning just under $50,000.

Zurich Classic One And Done Pick Strategy: Purse Info

The Zurich Classic total purse is $8.9 million in 2024. That puts it on par with past 2024 events like the Farmers Insurance Open, the Cognizant Classic, and the Phoenix Open in total purse size.

However, because the winning pair splits the first and second place amounts (resulting in each getting $1,286,050), the first place winner is worth less than every other event, other than opposite field events like the Corales Puntacana Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic.

So you should really think about your future value planning and not use golfers you will want in bigger purse events.

For example, if you are in a pool that uses every event from now through the BMW Championship, and makes one pick per tournament, you should be looking at golfers who are outside approximately your top 17 remaining golfers.

2024 Zurich Classic Overview For One And Done Pools

Here are some notable highlights for the 2024 Zurich Classic field:

• The highest ranked team, and the favorite to win, is the pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, the only pairing that features two golfers in our Top 15 in the rankings.
• Other top golfers in our rankings who are in this competition include Rory McIlroy (with Shane Lowry), Collin Morikawa (with Kurt Kitayama), and Sahith Theegala (with Will Zalatoris).
• There are several brother pairings in this competition, including the Fitzpatricks (Matt and Alex), the Hojgaards (Nicolai and Rasmus), and the Coodys (Pierceson and Parker).

One And Done Pick Advice For the 2024 Zurich Classic