Better in alternate shot than best ball? Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay with a Zurich Classic first

Conventional wisdom suggests that Four-ball (best ball) lends itself to better scoring than the Zurich Classic of New Orleans’ companion format of Foursomes (alternate shot). Statistics through the years share that sentiment.

Most rules, though, eventually yield an exception. Enter Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay

This week, the duo of Schauffele and Cantlay authored a bit of logic-defying history at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The defending champions finished in a respectable tie for fourth at 26 under, four strokes off the winning pace of Davis Riley and Nick Hardy. The intrigue of the Schauffele/Cantlay showing? The duo finished 15 under (63-66) across two rounds of Foursomes play, in contrast to an 11-under total across two rounds of Four-ball (67-66).

It’s the first time in Zurich Classic history that a duo has made the cut and posted a better two-day total in Foursomes than in Four-ball. The format was established in 2017.

When a team has just one ball in play, instead of two chances for the best score, the scoring tends to rise. This year was no different. The field averaged 65.563 in Thursday Four-ball, 70.188 in Friday Foursomes, 64.971 in Saturday Four-ball and 70.971 in Sunday Foursomes.

Cantlay/Schauffele gained 12.159 strokes on the field in Foursomes across two rounds but lost 2.466 strokes in Four-ball across the two days. The result was perhaps bittersweet, sensing what could have been.

“Best ball wasn’t our best format this year, compared to last year,” said Cantlay on Sunday afternoon. “We both had some opportunities to save some pars and make some putts that we didn’t make this year … we didn’t necessarily hit all the great shots when we needed to.”

“It had potential,” added Schauffele. “I think we were pretty close … We never really picked each other up when we needed to throughout the week, and it kind of dragged out. Obviously, we’re both playing pretty close.”

The runner-up, all-Canadian duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin nearly joined Cantlay/Schauffele in this unique area of Zurich Classic history. Taylor/Hadwin played each format in a combined 14 under, posting 66-64 in Four-ball and 67-63 in Foursomes. The duo finished 28 under, two back of Riley/Hardy.