The Zurich may be an off week for the casuals, but, as that famous soccer (or futbol?) meme states, "We will be there no matter what."
Sure, the field is not exactly strong and the odds at the top of the board are hardly juicy, but the volatile team format certainly widens the pool of potential winners, and allows you to go fishing for some longshots.
The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.
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Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 Zurich Classic:
Zurich Classic picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Ryan Gerard/Sudarshan Yellamaraju (17-1, DraftKings) — God blessed us with this last second swap from Ford to Sudar McGavin. Gotta bet it now.
Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala (22-1, FanDuel) — Looking for a breakout team? Pair a scorer with an extremely consistent ball striker. Aaron Rai works for the highway commission. The man paints straight lines with his golf shots. Precise, consistent, and calm. Sahith Theegala is a pure scorer. Together, they have eight appearances in the Zurich Classic and six top-25 finishes. I love Rai to keep Theegala out of trouble, and Sahith to help Aaron convert on the greens.
Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick (12-1, FanDuel) — Matt is arguably the hottest player in the world right now, and little brother, Alex, has three straight T-14 or better finishes on the DP World Tour, including a win last time out in India. This is a natural bye week on the schedule for Matt, sandwiched between signature events with the PGA Championship coming quickly, so the fact that he's even here means he's serious about getting this win with Alex.
Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Michael Brennan/Johnny Keefer (22-1, DraftKings) — Two of the most talented young studs in pro golf are partnering up, so people are betting this team—moving from their opening number to 22-1. I’m still willing to bet on the insane distance advantage they’ll have as both players are in the top 20 on tour this year. Both players have been inconsistent, but I think the vibes will be strong and they can feed off each other to move to the top of the board.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Michael Thorbjornsen/Karl Vilips (20-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — If not for a brutal double bogey on the par-3 17th a year ago, these two may have won this thing already. Would be stunned if they aren’t at least in the mix again to avenge that run. Thor’s problem this year has been closing on Sundays. This week, he’s got a partner—one who has two top-20 finishes on tour this year—to help alleviate some of that pressure.
Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Matt McCarty/Mac Meissner (27-1, DraftKings) — The Matt McCarty and Mac Meissner team is my pick to win this week as both players have been playing some really solid golf of late. McCarty is coming off back-to-back top-25s at the Masters and Heritage, and Meissner has back-to-back top-30 finishes in his own right.
Past results: We have our SECOND winner of 2026, with Ryan Noonan hitting his first-ever outright as a member of the panel, correctly predicting Nico Echavarria’s win at the Cognizant Classic at 60-1. That makes two 60-1 hits for our panel this year, with Stephen Hennessey nailing Justin Rose’s Farmers win at 60-1, too.
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Zurich Classic picks 2026: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win
Mayo: Jacob Skov Olesen/Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (45-1, Bet365) — Another pair of Danes took home a silver medal last year in this event. Why can’t another contend as well? Especially the two that grew up playing together.
Stewart: Chad Ramey/Justin Lower (72-1, DraftKings) — In his last three Zurich starts, Chad Ramey has finished ninth, second, and eighth. Justin Lower has two more top 10s in his last four starts in New Orleans. Neither guy is an elite player on the PGA Tour, but when it comes to this team competition, they get it done. Ramey’s consistent ball striking and Lower’s ability to go low pair perfectly. With the reduced strength of the field, maybe two guys can break through as Griffin and Novak did one year ago.
Noonan: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (70-1, DraftKings) — Neither golfer is trending particularly well, but they’re streaky and good course fits for TPC Louisiana. Horschel has had a lot of success here in the past, winning this event as a solo back in 2013 and as a member of a duo with Scott Piercy in 2018.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Tony Finau/Max Greyserman (45-1, BetMGM) — I love this pairing—they have similar games, and they should have plenty of birdie chances with their off-the-tee advantage. Greyserman is one of the best players to not have won yet on tour, and he’ll have a veteran presence like Finau, who will be hungry for his first victory in over 1,000 days, which will certainly help.
Powers, Golf Digest: Chris Kirk/Patton Kizzire (80-1, Bet365) — Kirk handles all the tee-to-green stuff. Kizzire handles the chipping and putting. Profit.