The PGA Tour, on Monday, announced a change to the format of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans starting with the 2017 edition of the tournament.
The event will now feature two rounds each of foursome and four-ball competition. The announcement of the change has already led to a couple of interesting team confirmations in the form of Henrik Stenson-Justin Rose and Jason Day-Rickie Fowler.
“I’ve loved being a part of team events throughout my amateur, collegiate and now professional career. I’m so excited that the TOUR and Zurich are making this part of our schedule and can’t wait to tee it up with Jason in April,” said Fowler, the 10th ranked golfer in the world.
“As a longtime ambassador, the Zurich Classic is already a special tournament for me,” said Rose, who beat Stenson by two strokes to become the 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist in Rio de Janeiro.
“The addition of a team format adds a new, incredibly exciting element to the event. Henrik and I are very excited to tee it up together in April, and hopefully we can continue our longstanding chemistry and success in team formats.”
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The event will now see the first and the third rounds being played in the Foursomes format(alternate shot) and Four-ball(best ball) in the second and the fourth rounds. The field will consist of 80 teams(160 players).
A 36 hole cut will trim the field to 35 teams and ties after two rounds.
“We are thrilled to bring this new format to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and to introduce an annual team event to the PGA TOUR,” said Andy Pazder, Chief of Operations for the PGA TOUR. “We have seen the growth of popularity with the biennial team competitions like the Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and World Cup and the excitement that they produce. We believe the fans will love to see this sort of competition as a regular part of our season.”
FedEx Cup points and official prize money will be equally shared between players on the basis of a system wherein points and money will be compiled for every two positions. As an example, the winners will split the points and money for the first two positions and so on.
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