Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com expert prognosticator Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular 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, letting everyone take a breather before getting right back up for Aronimink and the PGA Championship in three weeks. From Augusta, we took a load last week to Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, SC, and now we turn the volume down even further, ditching the signature status tag and kicking off a friendly, two-person, team race in the Big Easy for the New Orleans Zurich Classic.
I love the transition from individual stroke play events week to week. At the same time, the prize money for winning the Zurich Classic rises, giving each member of the winning team with 400 FedExCup points, a two-year exemption from the PGA Tour, 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 best ball. Each player plays his own ball and the lowest score of the two becomes a team’s score on each hole. On Friday and Sunday, it’s the very challenging alternate shooting format. Player A hits a ball, Player B then hits an approach shot and the backswing continues until the ball is holed – for what becomes the team score on each hole. This will be the ninth time that the Zurich Classic has been played as such. The winning score for the last eight champions has averaged just under 26 points. The winning odds proposition in the Westgate SuperBook here in Las Vegas is under/over 260.5, which means 27.5-under par.
For the second week in a row, we land a Pete Dye design dominated by Bermuda grass. TPC Louisiana is a relatively easy par 72 measuring approximately 7,400 yards with plenty of sand bunkers and water holes to make things interesting.
The handicap of any team event is always a turn. Normally we are trying to profile a type of individual player who would appear to be fit and proper for that particular test of golf that week. This week, you’re dealing with an “individual” team – a unit made up of two players, and we’re trying to figure out how those two players will perform as one. Not easy and probably more guesswork than in a typical week on Tour.
I have had some success here in the past with this challenge. Last season, we landed right on Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak. Of course, I look at stats, mostly improving approach game, best ranking, putts, 450-500 yard par-4 scoring and strokes gained: tee to green. But I also really like having complementary players – players whose skill sets are a good match or mix, and not necessarily two players who are identical. For example, having a bomber off the tee alongside a short game wizard feels like a solid one-two punch.
It should also be noted that I prefer to proceed with caution this week on Tour, eliminating one’s risk, due to the unpredictability of a two-person dynamic.
Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala (20-1)
Here are two proven Tour winners, some of the best players in the field, and I like their complementary strengths. Rai is the consummate ball striker and is very accurate off the tee. Theegala has an excellent short game. Over the last 24 rounds, Theegala ranks 11th in the field for races and has finished in the top 10 in two of his last five starts.
Haotong Li and Jordan Smith (25-1)
A very interesting pairing between fellow DP World Tour and two very talented players. Li has been struggling, losing 5 of his last seven starts. He was going swimmingly at the Masters before unraveling on the 13th hole Sunday and shooting an 80 to drop to 38th. Smith finished third at the Valspar Championship a month ago and was 16th last week at Harbor Town. Putting is the question here as both of these players make their grass with the ball hit and not necessarily on and around the green. However, I believe there is a very high ceiling here for what these two can put together, as they could be the strongest duo up to the green.
Keith Mitchell and Brandt Snedeker (35-1)
Mitchell has played twice in this tournament before finishing in the top 10. He is one of the best 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 is fifth in the field in birdie wins—or rather, 15th for SG: approach and ninth for SG: tee to green. Snedeker ranks seventh in scrimmage. Complementary pairings and veteran knowledge could lead to success for these two this week.
MacKenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith (35-1)
Canadians are friends on and off the golf course, and I like the mix of skill sets. Pendrith is very nice and Hughes is a short game specialist. They are also both winners on Tour, despite not being in the best form of late. Hughes’ best finish here was 30th in 2019. In just two trips to New Orleans, Pendrith has finished in the top 15 both times.
Andrew Putnam and Austin Smotherman (50-1)
This looks to be a very strong pairing with two players who have each scored a runner-up finish and have had good seasons so far. Putnam is the wizard on and around the green, ranking fourth on Tour in hitting. Over the past 24 rounds, Smotherman ranks eighth in the field for SG: approach and is fourth in par-4s 450-500 yards.
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