The Five: Stories behind top new teams at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Team golf returns to the PGA TOUR spotlight with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where the intrigue starts with how and why the teams were formed. Some seem obvious, others not so much.

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay – Presidents Cup/Ryder Cup mainstays who won here in 2022 – are running it back, as are defending champions Nick Hardy and Davis Riley. Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari, captain and vice-captain, respectively, for Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph in Rome, also return.

That said, it’s the duos who will be making their Zurich Classic debuts that could define this tournament. The Five this week explores those new teams, but before we start, here’s a quick reminder of the format:

Each two-man team will play Four-ball (best ball) on Thursday and Foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday. After the cut – 33 teams and ties – they will play Four-ball on Saturday and Foursomes on Sunday.

Now, let’s talk teams.

1. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry

The Irish are headed to New Orleans on something of a whim. As the story goes, McIlroy asked Lowry to play the event during a drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup. “I said after, ‘You wanna play the Zurich together?’” McIlroy told GOLF.com. “And we were like, 'Yeah, let’s do it.'”

Several players seemed to hit a wall in the final round of the RBC Heritage, post-Masters fatigue finally catching up to them, and McIlroy (74, T33) and Lowry (75, T64) were among those who seemed to run out of gas. But if the teams at the Zurich Classic are only as strong as they are close, watch out for these two.

McIlroy, 34, and Lowry, 36, go back a long way. They represented Ireland at the 2007 European Amateur Team Championships. McIlroy turned pro later that year, with Lowry two years behind him, and they’ve remained close since – they were teammates again at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.

“We’re probably closer than we’ve ever been now,” Lowry told "Off The Ball" podcast. “We spend a lot of time together, play a lot of golf together, practice together. Our wives are very close. Our kids are similar ages. Play dates and stuff like that is weekly. He’s a great person to have around me as well.

“To see what he does with his time and his game and how he improves day to day… I’m very fortunate to have, in my eyes, one of the greatest players to play the game so close.”

McIlroy echoed a similar sentiment in an interview with the Irish Independent last fall.

“I feel over the last couple of years that Shane's been one of my biggest advocates,” he said. “He's a great person to be around, and a really good influence on me. There's parts of (Lowry) that I really love; I see how he lives his life; I see how he is with his girls, and the relationships he has with the people from home that are still close to him. He enjoys his life and everything he's worked for, and I think spending time with him makes me a better version of myself.”

Maybe that will add up to a victory in NOLA.

2. Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris

It’s a tandem that makes all the sense in the world, statistically. Zalatoris is one of the best tee-to-green players on the PGA TOUR, while Theegala holds that distinction for his short game. They’re hot, too – Theegala just finished second at the RBC Heritage. (Zalatoris struggled in the final round to finish T44.)

They’ve known each other since their junior golf days back in California. Theegala grew up in Chino Hills, Zalatoris in the Bay Area. Although Zalatoris would move to Dallas, Texas, for his high school years, they continued to run into each other in amateur golf circles.

“I’ve known (Theegala) since I was 12 years old, gone up the ranks together,” Zalatoris said. “Just such a good dude. If anything, I was just hoping he already didn’t have a better offer.”

The pairing made sense in other ways, too, as Theegala’s caddie, Carl Smith, and Zalatoris’ caddie, Joel Stock, stay together on the road. Theegala and Zalatoris, who play practice rounds together and are represented by the same management group, talked about it casually at first, and Zalatoris wasn’t sure he could fit it into his schedule with the Dallas-hosted CJ CUP Byron Nelson the following week. Playing this week in New Orleans would mean six straight weeks of golf through the PGA Championship.

“Then finally I realized, we would have a really good chance of winning,” Zalatoris said. “It’s such a fun week and it was just A plus B equals C. I’m looking forward to it.”

3. Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard

This one doesn’t need much explanation, right? It would be weird if this weren’t a pairing.

It will be a special week for the Højgaard twins, only one of whom (Nicolai) earned his PGA TOUR status last year. Rasmus finished just outside the top 10 of the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking.

The two will be reunited for the week in New Orleans, which could be a precursor for what’s to come. Rasmus is playing well again on the DP World Tour and is projected to finish inside the top 10 to earn PGA TOUR status for 2025. Nicolai contended at the Masters Tournament (T16).

They won’t be the only tandem with family ties, nor the only twins (Parker and Pierceson Coody).

4. Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell

Early clubhouse leader for best vibes of the week, Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell’s pairing seemed so obvious that it was shocking that it had never happened before.

Better late than never. "Cashmere Keith" and "Bucket Hat Joel" are taking on New Orleans. Their friendship dates back to their time on the Korn Ferry Tour, where they overlapped in 2016 and 2017, and they’ve remained close on the PGA TOUR, where each has won once.

A solid week would be welcome for both players, as each is comfortably inside the FedExCup top 125, but neither has cracked the pivotal top 50. They may lead the field in fun.

5. Eric Cole and Russ Cochran

It's a curveball here at the end, but one that is well worth it.

Russ Cochran, 65, has been stuck on 599 career PGA TOUR starts for more than a decade. His last PGA TOUR event was the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii (T41). It looked like that landmark 600th start would never come. Cochran accepted that, but then Cole came calling.

Here’s the backstory: Cole’s caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son, and Cole plays with both father and son back in Tequesta, Florida, a suburb of Jupiter. Cole floated the idea to Russ, who was apprehensive at first. Eventually, Cole wore him down.

“I thought it would be pretty cool to get him his 600th,” said Cole, who finished T33 at the RBC Heritage. “Russ was kinda shaky about it, and then I stayed on him pretty hard and he eventually he came around. He’s been getting ready for it.”

Reed will stay on Cole’s bag, while Russ’s other son, Ryan, will caddie for his dad. Russ played last week’s PGA TOUR Champions event, shooting 73-77 to finish T75 but at least knock some of the rust off at the rain-shortened Invited Celebrity Classic.

Cochran’s first PGA TOUR start came 43 years ago, and the 1991 Centel Western is his lone PGA TOUR win. He has five PGA TOUR Champions victories.

“It’s a cool family week, and in New Orleans it will be a cool celebration of Russ,” Cole said.