Zurich of New Orleans Classic Betting Preview

The PGA Tour travels to New Orleans on Thursday, April 22, for the Zurich Classic. The tournament will take place at the renowned TPC Louisiana golf course, which has been a part of the PGA Tour's Tournament Players Club network since its second season.

The golf tournament itself has a very rich history, dating back to 1938. The Zurich Classic has been an annual PGA stop ever since 1958 - excluding last year when it got canceled due to COVID-19.

Despite its renown as one of the most exciting golf tournaments of the year, Zurich Classic isn't too big amongst bettors, who weren't too keen on its transition to a pairs competition. That, however, doesn't mean there aren't any solid betting opportunities to look at.

In today's free golf betting preview, we will take a look at three pairs everyone should keep an eye on for the Zurich Classic, as well as a darkhorse pairing that could surprise.

Jon Rahm/ Ryan Palmer

Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are obvious favorites to win, given that they're the defending champions. That said, they're not exactly our favorite pick for this tournament.

That is because Palmer likely hasn't played much since the US Masters, given that he became a father. That might seem like a rather poor excuse for not backing the defending champions; however, at the offered price, there are better pairs to look at.

Cameron Smith/Marc Leishman

The Aussie pair are priced as third-favorites to shine in New Orleans, and you can't really argue with the betting odds. They're both in great form, and from the looks of it, it will take a lot to stop them.

Smith has already won this event back in 2017 with Jonas Blixt when the pair were priced at +11900, which should add further value to this pick.

These two also looked good at Augusta National Golf Course earlier this month. Leishman finished in T5, while Smith managed a T10, and if that doesn't scream good form, nothing does.

Smith and Leishman's biggest strength is the short game. Smith ranks 1st for SG, while Leishman's performances in the last three months rank him 6th.

Bubba Watson/Scottie Scheffler

An interesting pair, featuring the experience Bubba Watson who has years of TPC Louisiana experience, and Scottie Scheffler, who is making his debut at this course.

Watson has already won here in 2011 and has finished inside top-five in 2017, so it's fair to say he knows his way around the course. Sharing some of that experience with Scheffler, however, will be crucial for the pair to succeed.

While it's a mystery how will Scheffler do this week, he has shown good form of late. The 24-year-old has managed a runner-up finish at WGC Dell Match Play and was T18 at Augusta.

Oddly enough, Scheffler is the more-in form golfer out of the two, so perhaps it will be him who will carry most of the burden here. That said, we know all too well how good Watson can look on golf courses he likes.

Danny Willett/Tyrrell Hatton

We're jumping many favorites to look at this pair, and there is a good reason for that. 

Danny Willett has never played here before, while Tyrrell Hatton missed the cut in his only appearance in 2017 - when he played alongside Jamie Donaldson. That said, Hatton has looked good at the WGC Match Play, where he has advanced from the group stage twice and was third in the RBC Heritage in 2020.

While neither of the two come off as bug favorites, they haven't been playing poorly either. Hatton managed 18th in the US Masters, while Willet finished 18th in the RBC Heritage last week - which are good enough results to be optimistic about the pair.

If they click, there is no telling how far they can go, but even with many question marks, they're worth a shot at this price.