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Odds Outlook: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry favored to go back-to-back at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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The first and only event using two-man teams on the PGA TOUR returns to TPC Louisiana in the New Orleans suburb of Avondale for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Reigning champions Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy (+360) return to the Big Easy as clear betting favorites to defend their title, as McIlroy makes his first start since winning the Masters.

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The Ryder Cup teammates needed an extra hole to lift the trophy on debut. The first names of the 80 teams on the tee sheet for 2025, the pair have excelled individually in 2025. McIlroy’s wins at Pebble Beach, THE PLAYERS Championship and completing the career Grand Slam in Augusta speak for themselves. Lowry, who finished second to his pal at Pebble Beach, owns six T20 or better results from nine tournaments.

Since 2017, the two-man format has brought players together from their home countries, colleges or neighborhoods. Kurt Kitayama and Collin Morikawa (+1200) both call Las Vegas home and will make their second appearance after finishing T23 in their debut last year. Ranking in the top 15 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, the duo will be in play whether the format is Four-ball (best ball for Rounds 1 and 3) or Foursomes (alternate shot in Rounds 2 and 4). A runner-up twice this season, Morikawa’s only finish outside T17 was T54 last week at RBC Heritage. Kitayama has played the weekend in half of his 10 starts but has not cracked the top 30.

The European pair of Thomas Detry and Robert MacIntyre (+1800) run it back after opening with 62 in 2024 and cashing T8. Detry blew away the field at the WM Phoenix Open in February for his first career victory. MacIntyre ran T6 at TPC Scottsdale before back-to-back weeks of T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and ninth at THE PLAYERS. The ball-striking of the Scot, twice a winner on TOUR, combined with the hot putter of the Belgian, produced 22-under in 2024, just three shots off the winning total.

St. Simons Island, Georgia, residents J.T. Poston and Keith Mitchell (+1800) team up for the first time. Sharing second last week in Puntacana, his best finish of the season, Mitchell rolls into town on a heater of T18-T12-T2. Poston also collected his top finish of the year last week with a T11 at Harbour Town, another Pete Dye design, at the RBC Heritage. Both Southerners excel off the tee and make birdies for fun.

Individually, Taylor Moore and Wyndham Clark (+2200) have been knocking on the door here since 2022. Combining forces for 2025, they look to take the ultimate step. After back-to-back seasons of T4 in 2022 and 2023, Moore missed the cut last season with long-time partner Matt NeSmith. Clark makes his first start since hitting the podium in 2023 with Beau Hossler. Making his first start since missing the cut at Valspar, the site of his only TOUR victory, Moore was a pre-tournament W/D in Houston with a rib injury during the same week Clark, a three-time winner, earned his only top-10 (T5) result of 2025.

The other pair of St. Simons Island neighbors near the top of the odds board, Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin (+2200), are both looking for their first victory on TOUR. Novak had a chance at RBC Heritage to win from 8 feet on the 72nd hole before falling in a playoff to Justin Thomas. His solo second was his third podium finish of the season. Ranking second in Overall Putting Average, he is also 11th in Scrambling. Griffin, who ran T4-T4 in back-to-back appearances in late February and early March, sits 21st in Greens in Regulation and top 15 in Birdies.

Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala (+2500) will play the event for the fourth consecutive season but as partners for the first time. Rai, who shared fourth in 2022, never posted a total worse than 18-under in the two-man format. Theegala, the Californian, takes on his fourth partnership in four years and will look to improve on T23 from 2023. The birdie machine in the 2025 season includes 12 weekends from 13 starts, but T17 is the best payday for Theegala. Rai, the winner last year at Sedgefield Country Club, owns just one top-10 payday, a T-4 at VidantaWorld, in 2025. His strengths, pounding drives and racking up greens in regulations, will give both of their putters chances to pay off.

Recent winners in the field include the 2023 combo of Davis Riley and Nick Hardy (+9000), plus Ryan Palmer (2019) and Billy Horschel (2018), who were on winning teams but are each playing with new partners in 2025. Horschel is the only Zurich Classic winner in both individual stroke play and team formats.

The team of Ryan Fox and Garrick Higgo (+4000) features the winner at Corales Puntacana. Higgo earned his second victory on TOUR as he knocked off Joel Dahmen, Alejandro Tosti, Jeremy Paul and Michael Thorbjornsen, all entered this week, by a shot.

Here’s a look at some other notable odds for the rest of the field via FanDuel, including a pair of Danish identical twins

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Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture

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The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.

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With the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.

Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?

Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.

“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.

Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..

 

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Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.

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Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.

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It’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.

These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.

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Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses

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It looks like LIV Golf is over.

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The Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.

That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.

So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.

But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?

Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.

Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.

 

That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.

 

If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.

But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.

Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.

For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.

Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time

With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.

He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.

DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.

He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.

He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.

He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.

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