2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Odds Favor Rahm & Palmer Entering Final Round
By Chris Amberley in Golf
Updated: March 27, 2020 at 11:42 am EDTPublished:
- Jon Rahm and teammate Ryan Palmer share the 54-hole lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Scott Stallings and Trey Mullinax
- Nine teams are within four shots of the lead heading into the final round
- See the updated live odds entering Sunday for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
It’s a crowded leaderboard after 54 holes at the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Nine teams are within four shots of the lead as the unique team format switches back to alternate shot for the final round.
2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Odds
| Golfer | Position | Score | Rounds | Book 1 Odds | Book 2 Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Rahm / Ryan Palmer | T-1 | -23 | 65, 64, 65 | +175 | +175 |
| Scott Stallings / Trey Mullinax | T-1 | -23 | 61, 70, 62 | +300 | +300 |
| Branden Grace / Justin Harding | 3 | -22 | 65, 68, 61 | +400 | +400 |
| Rory Sabbatini / Brian Gay | T-4 | -20 | 60, 70, 66 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Peter Malnati / Billy Hurley | T-4 | -20 | 63, 67, 66 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Joel Dahmen / Brandon Harkins | T-6 | -19 | 63, 71, 63 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Austin Cook / Andrew Landry | T-6 | -19 | 66, 70, 62 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Hank Lebioda / Curtis Luck | T-6 | -19 | 67, 66, 64 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Sergio Garcia / Tommy Fleetwood | T-6 | -19 | 65, 68, 64 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Russell Knox / Brian Stuard | T-6 | -19 | 62, 69, 66 | +2000 | +2000 |
*Odds taken April 27 at 9pm EST
World number 11 Jon Rahm and teammate Ryan Palmer share the lead with Scott Stallings and Trey Mullinax, and it’s important to note that Rahm and Palmer posted the best score in the field in round 2, when the format was also alternate shot.
Round 3 @Zurich_Classic comes to a close.
T1. Stallings/Mullinax, -23
Rahm/Palmer
3. Grace/Harding, -22
T4. Gay/Sabbatini, -20
Malnati/Hurley III
T6. Dahmen/Harkins, -19
Cook/Landry
Lebioda/Luck
Garcia/Fleetwood
Henley/Blaum
Knox/StuardFull leaderboard: https://t.co/vZk1d8dmgT pic.twitter.com/tcSJpMcAsz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 27, 2019
Top of the Board
The alternate shot format is wildly unpredictable, and teams can go from the first page of the leaderboard to out of contention with just one bad hole.
Alternate shot translation: now it's your problem. 😂 pic.twitter.com/L3XaL57gZQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 26, 2019
As such, it doesn’t make much sense to take a short number on either of the top two teams, especially since all four players are prone to spraying the ball off the tee.
Rahm, Palmer, Stallings and Mullinax all rank outside the top-70 on tour in driving accuracy, and on a course as demanding off the tee as this one, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Despite Rahm and Palmer’s success in round 2, I plan on bypassing the volatile teams up top, and starting my card with the best ball strikers in the field.
Ride With the Ryder Cup Teammates
Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood are both exceptional players off the tee and on approach.
The duo will give each other plenty of good looks at birdie, and if one or both, can get the putter rolling, they can charge up the leaderboard in a hurry.
Our @ZurichNA Ambassadors @TheSergioGarcia & @TommyFleetwood1 finish at -19 and T5 going into R4 at @Zurich_Classic ; bringing it home with Alternate Shot format Sunday. #TeamGolf #TrulyLoveGolf #PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/oWDbqQxGHZ
— Dick Kearns (@dickkearns) April 27, 2019
They have plenty of alternate shot experience thanks to their Ryder Cup appearances, and they have by far the highest pedigree of any team left in the field. They had the second shortest odds when the tournament began, and getting them now at +1200 feels like great value.
Best Live Value Picks at the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- McDowell and Stenson (+3300): The only teammates left in the field who’ve both won a major. The duo will stay out of trouble, and they compliment each other’s game nicely. Stenson is one of the best iron players in the world, and few people hole as many putts as McDowell.
- Lebioda and Luck (+6600): They made seven birdies in the alternate shot format in round 2 to post the second lowest score of the day (66). While they don’t have the same level of success on tour as some of their competitors, they eat up Par 5’s and have been incredibly consistent this week posting only two bogeys.
- Kisner and Brown (+8000): They were a popular pick pre-tournament and although they’ll start six shots back, no one in the field has played more golf together over the years than these two. In 2017, they shot a final round 60 to get into a playoff, and maybe they can rekindle some of that magic on Sunday.
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
