USA TODAY International Edition
Cantlay, Schauffele make Zurich history
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele marched into New Orleans with a chip on their shoulders and waltzed out of the Big Easy as winners for the first time this season at the only two- man team format event on the PGA Tour.
They combined to shoot even- par 72 Sunday at TPC Louisiana in the alternate- shot format used in the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and shattered the tournament’s 72- hole scoring record with a total of 29- under 259, two strokes ahead of the team of Sam Burns and Billy Horschel.
“We definitely bring out the best in each other and we really enjoy being out here together, and in a format like this,” Cantlay said, “it’s the best.”
Cantlay, the reigning FedExCup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year, lost two sudden- death playoffs this year, including last week at the RBC Heritage. The 30- year- old Cantlay picked up his seventh career PGA Tour title and became the first player to follow a playoff loss with a win the following week since Dustin Johnson in 2020 at the Tour Championship.
Schauffele, 28, who notched his fifth Tour title, had claimed the Olympic gold medal in August but had gone more than 1,000 days since his last official Tour event win, the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, and had recorded eight runner- up finishes during that span.
The duo went wire- to- wire, starting with a tournament record 13- under 59 in the best- ball format Thursday.
In the final round, Cantlay and Schauffele opened with six straight pars until Cantlay drilled his second shot at the par- 5 seventh from 254 yards to 8 feet and Schauffele’s putt circled the hole for eagle. The partners knocked knuckles, but after Cantlay lipped out a birdie putt at eight that could have stretched the lead to six strokes, the dynamic duo let much of their lead slip away. They made bogeys at the ninth and 10th holes, which amounted to one more bogey than they had made in the first 62 holes. Their commanding lead was trimmed to one stroke because Burns and Horschel combined for five birdies in their first 11 holes. But the birdies dried up for the eventual runners- up, who settled for shooting 68.
A short birdie putt at the par- 5 11th extended the lead for Cantlay and Schauffele back to two as they improved to 30 under. When Burns and Horschel made bogey at the 17th, the lead grew to three and allowed Cantlay and Schauffele to afford a bogey at the last in claiming the title and the silver belt buckles awarded to the champs.
As the friendship of Cantlay and Schauffele has grown, so has their place as two of the top U. S. pros ( Cantlay is No. 4 in the world and Schauffele 12). They have paired successfully in the last Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup and proved again they could be a tandem in international competition for the next decade. Cantlay said it helps to jell with your partner and it doesn’t hurt that they excelled in foursomes, a format where Americans traditionally have struggled.
“It feels like every shot you hit is more important because it is,” Cantlay said of the alternate- shot format. “So, I think foursomes is a lot more emotional in that way, and the fact that Xander and I are really good friends, and so I know he’s trying as hard as he possibly can, and if he hits a bad shot, it’s just – that’s golf.”
Doc Redman and Sam Ryder shot 5under 67 to finish third. Davis Riley and Will Zalatoris combined for the low round of the day, a 6- under 66, to finish in a tie for fourth place.
For Cantlay and Schauffele, returning to the winner’s circle felt overdue after many close calls. Did it feel any different to win as a team?
“I felt like I did half as much work as a usual win,” Cantlay said. “I probably won’t be as tired tomorrow. Xander played great all week. I think anytime you can share success, I think that makes it just a little sweeter.”