Inside Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele’s record 59 at Zurich Classic
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Patrick Cantlay chips in for birdie at Zurich Classic
NEW ORLEANS – FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay and Olympic Gold Medalist Xander Schauffele lived up to their star billing in the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, combining for a tournament record 13-under 59 at TPC Louisiana in Four-ball action.
Currently in its fifth year as a team competition, Cantlay and Schauffele combined for 11 birdies and an eagle in the best ball format, besting the previous record of 60 held by six teams, including Matthew NeSmith and Taylor Moore who set the morning pace on Thursday.
While the effort won’t officially join the ranks of the 12 sub-60 rounds in the PGA TOUR stroke play record books, it was still a scintillating performance from the two friends who have groomed the partnership over the 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup.
Here is a quick breakdown of their efforts.
• The team went out in 7-under 29 before coming home in 6-under 30.
• The duo shared responsibility with Schauffele credited for six birdies and Cantlay adding five plus the eagle.
• The team only failed to break par on six holes, three of those being par-3s.
• They were 7-under on the par-4s, 5-under on the par 5s and 1-under on the par-3s.
• Schauffele made birdie putts from 12’7”, 9’5”, 6’7”, 7’7”, 14’0”, and 2’7”.
• Cantlay made eagle from 27’1” and birdies from 12’0”, 18’3”, 21’3”, 38’11” (a chip in from off the green) and iced the sub-60 round with a 2’11” birdie on the last after coming up short with an eagle attempt for a 58.
• Fairways Hit: Cantlay 10/14, Schauffele 8/14.
• Greens In Regulation: Cantlay 11/18; Schauffele 9/18.
What They Said
Xander Schauffele: “It counts for me. I haven't done it before. I don't think Pat has either. I'll count it in my book.”
Patrick Cantlay: “We played really well, made a lot of putts today on a day that was a little tricky with the wind and didn't birdie a lot of the same holes. When you do that in this format, that's really the key. (But) it's just the first quarter. So the buffer, we're only one shot ahead, but we are going into a format on Friday that we really like. I think Xander and I really like alternate shot. It's one of our strengths for the week, and we're really looking forward to it.”