Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour betting tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com's expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and frequent guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network dedicated to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolferand you can read his picks below for the 2026 Zurich Classic, which begins Thursday in New Orleans
It feels like the post-Masters cooldown continues this week on the PGA Tour, allowing everyone to take a breather, before it's back to Aronimink and the PGA Championship in three weeks. Since Augusta, we unloaded last week at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, SC, and now we're turning the volume down even further, ditching the signature status label, and entering a friendly, two-person tournament down in the Big Easy for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
I enjoy the change from the weekly stroke play events. At the same time, the reward for winning the Zurich Classic is high, awarding each member of the winning team 400 FedExCup points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption, entry into the remaining signature events of the season, and a spot in the aforementioned PGA Championship.
On Thursday and Saturday, the teams will play their best football. Each player plays his own ball, and the lower score of the two becomes the team's score for each hole. On Friday and Sunday, it is another very challenging shooting format. Player A hits the ball off the tee, Player B hits the approach shot, and the back-and-forth continues until the ball is holed — in what becomes the team score for each hole. It will be the ninth time the Zurich Classic has been played like this. The winning points of the past eight champions were just a shade below 26-under average. The Westgate SuperBook winning point suggestion bet here in Las Vegas is under/over 260.5, which means a 27.5-under division.
For the second week in a row, we're staying in a Pete Dye design dominated by Bermuda grass. TPC Louisiana is an easy par 72, measuring approximately 7,400 yards with plenty of sand and water holes to make things interesting.
The handicap of any team event is always a twist. We usually try to profile the type of player that would appear to be on time and ready for that week's golf test. This week, you're facing an “individual” team – a single unit made up of two players, and we're trying to figure out how those two players will perform as one. It's less easy and arguably more predictable than a typical week on the Road.
I have had some success here in the past with this challenge. Last season, we got right to Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak. Of course, I look at the stats, especially honing the game, birdie-or-better rates, putts, 450-500 shots on 4 and strokes gained: tee to green. But I also like to have complementary players – players with similar skills or a good combination, and no two players are the same. For example, having one bomb off the tee paired with a short game wizard feels like a powerful one-two punch.
It should also be noted that I prefer to proceed with caution this week in the Tour, reducing the amount of personal risk, due to the unpredictability of the dynamics of two people.
Aroni Rai and Sahith Theegala (20-1)
Here are two guaranteed winners on Tour, a few of the best players in the field, and I like the power that goes with it. Rai is a perfect bowler and very accurate. Theegala has a very good short game. Over the past 24 rounds, Theegala is ranked 11th in the field in swing and has finished in the top 10 in his first five starts.
Haotong Li and Jordan Smith (25-1)
A very interesting pairing between longtime DP World Tour partners and two talented players. Li has struggled, missing the cut in five of his seven starts. He was cruising at the Masters before bogeying the 13th hole on Sunday and shooting an 80 to drop to 38th place. Smith finished third at the Valspar Championship last month and was 16th last week at Harbor Town. Which puts a question mark here as both these players make their grass with the ball and not just on the green. I believe, however, that there is a very high ceiling here for what these two can put together as it could be a very powerful duo tee to green.
Keith Mitchell and Brandt Snedeker (35-1)
Mitchell has entered the tournament twice, before finishing in the top ten. He's one of the best players in the game off the tee, and Snedeker has always been one of the best players in the game. Over the past 24 rounds, Mitchell ranks fifth in the field in birdies-or-better, 15th in SG: approach, and ninth in SG: tee to green. Snedeker is ranked seventh in rushing. Complementary pairings and veteran experience can lead to success for these two this week.
MacKenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith (35-1)
Canadians are friendly on and off the golf course, and I love the combination of skill sets. Pendrith is a banger off the tee, and Hughes is a short game specialist. Both are also winners on the Tour despite not being in the best form of the back. Hughes' best finish here was 30th in 2019. In just two trips to New Orleans, Pendrith finished in the top 15 both times.
Andrew Putnam and Austin Smotherman (50-1)
This looks to be a strong pairing with two players who have recorded second-place finishes and have had good seasons so far. Putnam is a magician in and around the area, ranking fourth on the Tour in scoring. Over the past 24 rounds, Smotherman is ranked eighth in the field at SG: close and fourth on the 450-500-yard par-4s.
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