The PGA Tour switches from individual to team play when the 2024 Zurich Classic begins on Thursday at TPC Louisiana. A total of 80 two-man teams compete in the event that will feature a best ball format in the first and third rounds, while the second and fourth rounds will be played with an alternate shot arrangement. Nick Hardy and Davis Riley will defend their crown after finishing a tournament-record 30-under par last year to finish two strokes ahead of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. However, Hardy and Riley are 80-1 longshots to repeat according to the latest 2024 Zurich Classic odds.
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, who won the event in 2022, are 5-1 favorites, while the duo of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are 8-1. They are followed by Will Zalatoris/Sahith Theegala (11-1) and Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama (16-1). Before locking in any 2024 Zurich Classic picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad.
Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He’s had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets, as well as in betting head-to-head matchups. He also has been solid with his head-to-head matchups since last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, going 40-27-3 and returning 9.14 units over that span. That’s a $914 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.
Nejad also nailed 75-1 longshot Wyndham Clark as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2023, SportsLine debuted The Early Wedge, and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.
Now, Nejad has focused his attention on the 2024 Zurich Classic field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See who they are at SportsLine.
Top 2024 Zurich Classic expert picks
One surprise: Nejad is fading the team of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, even though they are one of the favorites at +800. McIlroy is ranked No. 2 in the world despite finishing in the top 15 just once in eight events this season. The 34-year-old Irishman began this month with a third-place finish at the Valero Texas Open but has struggled since, tying for 22nd at the Masters and 33rd at last weekend’s RBC Heritage.
Lowry has been slightly better this year, as he tied for fourth at the Cognizant Classic in early March and finished third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational the following weekend. The 37-year-old, who also hails from Northern Ireland, tied for 19th at The Players Championship but failed to finish in the top 40 in his last two tournaments. Lowry teamed up with Ian Poulter in the 2022 Zurich Classic, and the duo finished 13th.
However, Nejad is high on the chances of Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala, who are listed at 10-1. The 27-year-old Zalatoris tied for 44th place at the RBC Heritage but has posted three top-10 finishes in nine tournaments this year. After sharing runner-up honors with Luke List at the Genesis Invitational in February, Zalatoris tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the following weekend and ninth at the Masters two weeks ago.
Zalatoris had a great showing in this event in 2022, as he and Davis Riley shared fourth place with five other teams at 23-under. Meanwhile, Theegala is coming off his third top-five finish and fifth top-10 as he was runner-up at the RBC Heritage. The 26-year-old also began the season with a runner-up result in the Sentry, finishing one stroke behind Chris Kirk. See which other teams to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 Zurich Classic picks
Nejad has locked in his best bets for the 2024 Zurich Classic and is backing several longshot teams, including one that is priced at more than +3000. This team has a member who “may be coming into form” and is a longshot that could surprise. You can see Nejad’s PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine.
So which teams should you target or avoid for the 2024 Zurich Classic, and which team in the Zurich Classic 2024 field could bring a huge payday at more than +3000? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad’s top picks for the 2024 Zurich Classic, all from the expert who is 39-27-2 on his last 68 head-to-head picks.
2024 Zurich Classic odds, field
See Nejad’s picks, best bets and predictions here.
Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele +500
Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry +800
Will Zalatoris/Sahith Theegala +1100
Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama +1600
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500
Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick +2500
Taylor Pendrith/Corey Conners +3500
Rasmus Hojgaard/Nicolai Hojgaard +3500
Taylor Montgomery/Ben Griffin +4000
Sepp Straka/Brice Garnett +4000
Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin +4000
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000
Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre +4500
Doug Ghim/Chan Kim +4500
Davis Thompson/Andrew Novak +4500
Daniel Berger/Victor Perez +4500
Kevin Yu/C.T. Pan +5000
Billy Horschel/Tyson Alexander +5000
Beau Hossler/Sam Ryder +5000
Andrew Putnam/Joe Highsmith +5000
Aaron Rai/David Lipsky +5000
Thorbjorn Olesen/Matt Wallace +6500
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500
K.H. Lee/Michael Kim +6500
Greyson Sigg/Chesson Hadley +6500
Gary Woodland/Lee Hodges +6500
Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox +6500
Austin Eckroat/Chris Gotterup +6500
Steve Stricker/Matt Kuchar +8000
Nate Lashley/Rafael Campos +8000
Luke List/Henrik Norlander +8000
Kevin Streelman/Martin Laird +8000
Dylan Wu/Justin Lower +8000
Davis Riley/Nick Hardy +8000
Chandler Phillips/Jacob Bridgeman +8000
Carson Young/Ben Martin +8000
Ben Silverman/Kevin Dougherty +8000
Zach Johnson/Ryan Palmer +10000
Vincent Norrman/Jorge Campillo +10000
Nico Echavarria/Max Greyserman +10000
Alex Smalley/Matti Schmid +10000
Thriston Lawrence/Aldrich Potgieter +13000
Ryan Brehm/Mark Hubbard +13000
Justin Suh/Rico Hoey +13000
Jhonattan Vegas/Bronson Burgoon +13000
J.J. Spaun/Hayden Buckley +13000
Erik Barnes/Harrison Endycott +13000
Chad Ramey/Martin Trainer +13000
Carl Yuan/Zecheng Dou +13000
Sam Stevens/Paul Barjon +15000
Peter Malnati/Russell Knox +15000
