Palmer, Rahm team up for victory
American, Spaniard pair up in 3-shot win
AVONDALE, La. – From the Bahamas to the Bayou, Jon Rahm just keeps winning.
It’s a feeling Ryan Palmer hadn’t known in nearly a decade until he and Rahm got it done Sunday in the team-format Zurich Classic, where Palmer earned a two-year exemption and his first victory since the 2010 Sony Open.
The TPC Louisiana triumph was Rahm’s seventh international victory and first since the 2018 Hero World Challenge in December.
Rahm and Palmer finished at 26-under-par 262 for the week due to another strong alternate-shot showing in the final round. The duo set a tournament record in that format with a 7-under 65 in Round 2 and closed with a 69 Sunday.
Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia finished second at 23 under, while Matt Every qualified for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship thanks to a T-3 finish with K.H. Lee.
Palmer played with Jordan Spieth a year ago and needed a new partner with Spieth sitting out. Rahm’s 2018 partner and good friend Wesley Bryan was also a no-go, and thus a winning team was born in the Big Easy.
Watching the teammate dominoes fall is a huge part of the Zurich Classic’s appeal in the days and weeks leading up. Dissecting the pairings and eventually their chosen walk-up music might be more intriguing than the actual golf.
International Presidents Cup team captain Ernie Els even introduced the idea of treating it as a chance to prep for the December matches at Royal Melbourne in Australia, with international players staying at the same hotel and bonding after-hours. Jason Day and Adam Scott played together for the first time, but that experiment ended early in a missed cut.
There’s also something to be said for simply breaking up the weekly PGA Tour “Groundhog Day” routine with the two-man teams, rotating rounds of best-ball and alternate-shot, and little touches like the first-tee music. The decision to switch it up in 2017 had its critics, but does anyone really think that one more 72-hole stroke-play tournament each year is what’s missing in golf?
Billy Horschel returned with partner Scott Piercy after they won the 2018 Zurich Classic and always has a good time with the locals. He also likes mixing it up with the Waste Management Phoenix Open ne’er-do-wells and believes events that go slightly against the Tour grain are good for the sport.
“I think in golf now, we need to look at ways to make it not look so stuffy,” said Horschel, who tied for 13th.
The Zurich Classic is a lot of things. It’s unpredictable, especially in secondand final-round alternate shot. It’s loud on the weekends and draws a diverse group of fans who arrive in jean shorts and fancy slacks alike. And it’s actually about 25 minutes southwest of New Orleans’ French Quarter, where it’s not uncommon to spot players walking to and from various restaurants and taverns throughout the week.
The overall vibe is decidedly unstuffy, and it should come as no surprise that the party lasted long after Rahm and Palmer walked off the 18th green.
This town has a reputation, after all, and slowly but surely the Zurich Classic is building one all of its own.