Zurich Classic 2015: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule, Prize Money
The PGA Tour is back at it again starting Thursday, this time for the 2015 Zurich Classic. Don't let the name fool you; golfers won't be fretting about hitting balls into Lake Zurich in Switzerland. These next four rounds of golf are still stateside.
This tournament takes place in New Orleans, and though it's cycled through a variety of sponsors, this annual PGA Tour stop dates all the way back to at least 1958.
There is money to be made in the Bayou State. The Zurich Classic boasts a total purse of $6.9 million, with a hefty $1.242 million of that going to the eventual winner, per PGATour.com.
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It's not the most star-studded of fields this year, but plenty of formidable golfers will be on hand for the Zurich Classic, which runs from April 23 through April 26.
Masters 2015 winner and golf's resident phenom Jordan Spieth is conspicuously absent from the field, as is Jim Furyk, who's coming off a long-awaited win at the RBC Heritage on April 19.
Here's a look at some of the notable tee times and TV schedule for the tournament.
| Tee Time (CT) | Players |
| 7 a.m. | Marc Leishman, Jerry Kelly, Nicholas Thompson |
| 7:20 a.m. | Brendan Steele, Morgan Hoffmann, Daniel Berger |
| 7:40 a.m. | Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker |
| 7:50 a.m. | Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Ben Crane |
| 8 a.m. | Martin Flores, Greg Chalmers, Erik Compton |
| 8:20 a.m. | Chris DiMarco, Brian Davis, Jamie Donaldson |
| 8:30 a.m. | George McNeill, David Hearn, Carlos Ortiz |
| 8:40 a.m. | Kevin Kisner, Scott Langley, S.J. Park |
| 9 a.m. | Andrew Loupe, Oscar Fraustro, Mark Hubbard |
| 12 p.m | John Huh, Jason Bohn, Chad Campbell |
| 12:10 p.m. | Jonathan Byrd, Bo Van Pelt, David Lingmerth |
| 12:10 p.m. | Brice Garnett, Ryo Ishikawa, Jon Curran |
| 12:20 p.m. | Sean O'Hair, Tim Wilkinson, Jarrod Lyle |
| 12:20 p.m. | Bryce Molder, Brendon de Jonge, Adam Hadwin |
| 12:40 p.m. | Seung-Yul Noh, Harris English, Keegan Bradley |
| 12:40 p.m. | John Senden, Jonas Blixt, Retief Goosen |
| 12:50 p.m. | Billy Horschel, Nick Watney, David Toms |
| 1:10 p.m. | Trevor Immelman, Russell Knox, Hudson Swafford |
| 1:40 p.m. | Max Homa, Steven Alker, Cameron Smith |
| 2 p.m. | Joe Affrunti, Tom Hoge, Jake Narro |
| Thursday, April 23 | 2 p.m.-5 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Friday, April 24 | 2 p.m.-5 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Saturday, April 25 | 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.-5 p.m. | Golf Channel (early coverage), CBS (later coverage) |
| Sunday, April 26 | 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.-5 p.m. | Golf Channel (early coverage), CBS (later coverage) |
Note: A complete list of tee times can be found at PGATour.com.
Seung-Yul Noh returns to TPC Louisiana to defend his win at the 2014 Zurich Classic. Noh shot a 269 in four rounds last year (19 under) edging out the likes of Robert Streb and Andrew Svoboda, who tied for second at 17 under.
Noh may not be in the form to win again this year, but he will almost certainly be looking for a confidence boost from the Zurich Classic, if nothing else. The South Korean is currently ranked No. 108 in the world, has just two top-25 finishes in 12 events on the 2015 PGA Tour and is coming off a missed cut at the RBC Heritage. Needless to say, Noh needs to get his game back on track and quick.
Rickie Fowler draws attention wherever he goes, due in no small part to his bright orange attire, but the young man has had an uneven start to the 2014-15 season.
Fowler finished tied for 12th at the Masters, a strong tourney appearance but far from his electric displays at 2014 majors that made him such a hit on the tour. Fowler has but one top-10 appearance in the season, and it came all the way back in November at the WGC-HSBC Champions (he took third). Fowler seems to perform his best when the spotlight is on, but perhaps he can use a less-heralded tournament to get his game back on track.
One player who looks like a tantalizing pick for the bettors or fantasy golf players among us is 2015 Masters runner-up Justin Rose. A shark surrounded by mostly guppies in this tournament, Rose skipped the RBC Heritage and will hopefully, for his sake at least, still have that sweet Masters swing he displayed earlier in April in Augusta, Georgia. He played this course well last year, finishing tied for eighth at 13 under.
He will likely face a top challenge from world No. 7 Dustin Johnson, who Alec Brzezinski of the Sporting News notes is in fine form this year:
"Has anyone been better in 2015 than DJ? Johnson has five top 10 finishes, including a win and a runner-up after coming back from a six-month leave. He has the length to overpower any course, and is putting better now than at any point in his career. It also appears placing his brother on the bag has helped him stay focused.
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Other players lurking in the field include last year's runner-ups Streb and Svoboda, as well as Jeff Overton, who finished in third place last year at 16 under.
The Zurich Classic sits at something of an awkward spot on the PGA Tour, coming just two weeks after the Masters and right on the heels of the RBC Heritage, a tournament that draws many of the biggest names in golf. PGA golfer Kelly Gibson expressed his thoughts on the scheduling difficulties imposed on this event.
Gibson said, per John Bennett of WTOC.com:
"I think, unfortunately, the PGA Tour has set up a schedule that gives tournaments like New Orleans trouble to recruit the players so I think it's a challenge for the PGA Tour on making sure that the venues, the host committees like the Fore!Kids Foundation and then the sponsors like Zurich are happy.
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While it may not be the most appealing field for casual golf fans, true lovers of the links should get a kick out of the four rounds of action this weekend.
Rankings courtesy of OWGR.com.
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