The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans this week for the lone team event on the calendar. The 2022 Zurich Classic features 80 two-man teams that will compete over the course of four days at TPC Louisiana. 

The teams will compete in fourballs (best ball) in Rounds 1 and 3, and in foursomes (alternate shot) in Rounds 2 and 4.

Cam Smith and Marc Leishman won this event last year at the short price of +1400, but it was longshots Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings that set the pace after the first round.

Most folks who bet golf year-round will tell you that, because of this tournament’s unique format, it is one of the toughest events of the year to handicap. That doesn’t mean we can’t try, though.

Here are four teams to target with first-round leader bets at TPC Louisiana. All odds are provided by BetMGM Sportsbook.

Alex Noren has quietly been trending up all year. The 39-year-old Swede has made eight straight cuts and has finished inside the top-20 in four of his last eight starts on TOUR, including a T5 and a T6. It’s a different story for Henrik Norlander, who has missed seven cuts in his last eight events, but the silver lining is that he’s shot a pair of 68’s on two of his last three opening rounds. 

With a win and a runner-up finish in January and February Tom Hoge started 2022 on fire. Like the rest of his game, Hoge’s Round 1 scoring average has taken a dip over the past few events, but he’s shot 66 or lower four times in his last 10 first rounds. Barjon’s game has been a mess lately, but he’s decent enough off the tee that he can contribute and put his team in decent spots in the best-ball format on Thursday. And despite the fact that Barjon is from France and Hoge is from Fargo, North Dakota, these two should have some chemistry going back to their college days at TCU. 

Harry Higgs in New Orleans could make for an interesting time, but he could be the type of player that embraces this event and should be playing loose with his former SMU teammate Austin Smotherman. Of the two, Smotherman has been in better form and his ability off the tee and on approach could blend well with Higgs’ positive putting. This is unlikely to win, but it’s never, not fun to have a few bucks on Harry Higgs at events like this.

Speaking of fun bets, how about a punt on Kiradech Aphibarnrat? The native of Thailand has only played nine events on TOUR in 2021/22, but he ranks T15 in Round 1 scoring average on the season and is a combined 11-under par in his last three opening rounds. Aphibarnrat’s partner, Kurt Kitayama, has missed back-to-back cuts, but he was the first-round leader at the Honda Classic in February and finished third that weekend, so he’s shown the ability to go low.