NEW ORLEANS — Patrick Cantlay, the 2021 FedExCup winner ranked fifth in the world, will pair with 2020 Olympic gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, ranked tenth, to give the 2022 Zurich Classic another team of top-10 players
Cantlay and Schauffele won both matches when they were teamed together in the 2021 Ryder Cup. Cantlay went undefeated in team play, halved his singles match and tied Collin Morikawa for second-most points scored by an American player. Schauffele was 3-1 himself, losing only his singles match on Sunday.
After teaming with Schauffele to a 2-2 record in the 2019 Presidents Cup pairs, Cantlay won his singles match, defeating Joaquin Niemann 3 and 2, and Schauffele won his match against Adam Scott of Australia.
The pair teamed up in last year’s Zurich Classic to finish tied for 11th.
Cantlay won the FedExCup last year and earned the Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA TOUR Player of the Year on the strength of taking four titles in 2020-21: the ZOZO Championship, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship.
He was the only player on the PGA Tour to win more than twice last season and recorded seven total top-10s, making the cut in 19 of 24 starts. He won the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship back-to-back in the FedExCup Playoffs to take the 2021 crown.
His best finish at the Zurich Classic was a tie for seventh in 2018 with Patrick Reed.
At the 2020 Olympics played last year in Tokyo, Schauffele held the outright lead after the second and third rounds before making a par at the 72nd hole to secure a one-stroke victory and the gold medal.
He has won four times since joining the PGA Tour full time in 2017. He won the TOUR Championship his rookie year in 2017 and has since finished no worse than a tie for 7th in the season-ending tournament. He was the first rookie in the FedExCup era to win the TOUR Championship.
He was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2017 and has made the Tour Championship every year since then. In addition to his Olympic gold last year, he posted eight top-10s and three seconds in 22 starts.
He tied for second in the 2019 Masters, and he has never finished worse than tied for seventh in the five U.S. Open tournaments he has played. He also tied for second in the 2018 Open Championship.
The 2022 Zurich Classic field is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever. With the addition of Cantlay and Schauffele, the field now includes six of the top 11 players in the world.
Collin Morikawa, now ranked third in the world, will team with Viktor Hovland, ranked fourth, to form the highest-ranked pair in the history of the team format at the Zurich Classic.
Cameron Smith, who won The Players Championship and vaulted to 6th in the world, will team again with fellow Australian Marc Leishman to defend the title they won last year at the Zurich Classic. Smith is the only two-time team winner of the Zurich Classic.
Sam Burns, whose repeat victory in the Valspar Classic moved him up to 10th in the world rankings, slipped to 11th this week after skipping the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He will play again in the Zurich Classic with Billy Horschel, who is vying to become the first three-time winner in the tournament’s history and himself is ranked 13th in the world.
In 2021, after cancellation of the 2020 tournament, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated an all-time record $2.3 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas.
Because of its popularity, the Best of the Zurich Classic pass will return in 2022, along with expanded suite options at the 17th and 18th holes. A new Walk-On’s Stadium Club venue will also be introduced.
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