Apr 22, 2025

Expert Picks: Zurich Classic of New Orleans

2 Min Read

Expert Picks

Golfbet Roundtable: Picks for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Written by Staff

Editor's note: Billy Horschel withdrew from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Wednesday afternoon. Tom Hoge will now partner with first alternate Kevin Chappell.

With a new season comes a new evolution for Expert Picks. Below are picks and analysis for both betting and fantasy, as fans have a new version of the PGA TOUR Fantasy Game presented by PGA TOUR Superstore for 2025. Each week, our panel of experts will offer picks and analysis for the fantasy game, including insight on who will captain their roster for extra points. Users can submit their rosters via PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, with the current segment running through the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Due to the unique format, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is not a part of Segment 2 and is not featured in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, so our Golfbet experts will provide insight for potential winners, contenders and other notables.

Our Golfbet experts will also share betting picks, both for the outright winner of the tournament and which prop markets have caught their eye.

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore. Each lineup consists of four starters, including a captain, and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four segments.

Aside from the expert insight below, Golfbet's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field in this week's Power Rankings and offers Fantasy-specific advice in this week's Fantasy Insider.

Betting picks

WILL GRAY (Lead, Fantasy & Betting)

Winners

Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (+2200): The "almost men" of the PGA TOUR in 2025. Novak narrowly missed out on his first win last week at Harbour Town and has been in the final group three times, while Griffin missed out on the Masters by the thinnest of margins. Combining forces might get it done.
Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (+2500): Any Zurich Classic analysis must include consideration for Horschel, the only person to win here in both individual and team formats. Hoge can get hot at a moment’s notice, and his iron play will be an asset in Foursomes.

Props

Justin Lower/Chad Ramey, Top 10 (+650): Intriguing combo here, with Lower a feast-or-famine option who has popped at some mid-tier events in recent months playing alongside Ramey, who comes in with some form and made a playoff here last year with a different partner.
Harry Higgs/Joel Dahmen, Top 20 (+230): Riding the vibes. Dahmen looks to rebound off the near-miss at Puntacana and has had some success at TPC Louisiana. The fit with the easygoing Higgs has a high ceiling.

CHRIS BREECE (Senior content manager, Golfbet)

Winners

Kurt Kitayama/Collin Morikawa (+1200): This is the Rory McIlroy approach from last year. He couldn’t figure out a way to win until he came here with Shane Lowry. Morikawa is in the same boat this season, statistically having a great year. He just needs his partner to pick him up in the right spots.
Doug Ghim/Chan Kim (+5500): Kim is on a heater right now with back-to-back top 10s. Both players are highly motivated looking for their first victory.

Props

Michael Thorbjornsen/Karl Vilips, Top 20 (+150): The former teammates at Stanford are both playing at a high level early in their career. Vilips was a winner at the Puerto Rico Open. Thorbjornsen was T2 last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship. Both want to keep proving themselves on TOUR.
Max Greyserman/Nico Echavarria, Top 10 (+300): I think this pairing will help Greyserman take his game to the next level. He has shown glimpses of greatness this year but hasn’t been able to keep it consistent. A proven winner and usually sold competitor in Echavarria will only help.

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, April 22. For live odds, visit BetMGM.

Want to see how to set up your PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf lineup? Scroll below.

EXPERT	WINNER	CONTENDERS	COMMENT
Brett Jungles	Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre	Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala; Rasmus Højgaard/Nicolai Højgaard	Could this be an early preview of things to come at Bethpage this fall? Both Detry and MacIntyre have their eyes set on making the European Team. Four top-10s and eight top-25 finishes combined between these two under-the-radar players.
Mike Glasscott	Keith Mitchell/J.T. Poston	Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala; Max Greyserman/Nico Echavarria	All the attention will be on McIlroy/Lowry, but the St. Simons Island pair are both hungry to return to the winner's circle. Both players had their best results of 2025 last week and are in form.
Rob Bolton	Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry	Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge; Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre	With McIlroy taking titles regularly, the defending champs present as "Shake and Bake" upon arrival, but Lowry would like to be the "Magic Man." McIlroy can still share in the victory, too.
Paul Hodowanic	Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry	Nico Echavarria/Max Greyserman; Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge	Plenty of attention will be spent on the Irishmen, but there’s no reason not to expect the duo to contend and repeat. They are the only pairing two top-15 players in the OWGR. Go with the talent and ignore the distractions.
Christian Skaret	Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry	Jake Knapp/Frankie Capan III	As we learned last season, the Irish duo knows how to celebrate a victory. But do they know how to defend? As Rory basks in his accomplishment from 11 short days ago, I believe these two firends will be playing loose and having fun in New Orleans, which goes a long way in team golf.

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