Tour’s ‘new’ pairing: New Orleans and team golf

The rebirth of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is nearly 12 years in the making. The rebirth of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a PGA Tour staple dating to 1938, begins in earnest this week.

Stuck in a dead zone between the Masters and The Players on a TPC of Louisiana golf course considered uninspiring, the Zurich Classic had fewer big-name acts than the competing Jazz and Heritage Festival and had become something of an afterthought.

Not anymore. Fat Tuesday, celebrated in the French Quarter like nowhere else, and the 40 days of Lent have come and gone, but for one week the Tour is giving up its traditional 72 holes of stroke play for the first two-man team format in an official regular-season event since 1981. Six of the top nine players in the world have shown up. When the concept was broached at the Tour's Player Advisory Council meeting, it was met with resounding support.

"There were guys looking to pair up on the spot," said Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour's chief tournament and competitions officer.

Both winners will be credited with an official victory, a two-year Tour exemption, 400 FedEx Cup points and invites to The Players and PGA championships this season as well as the Tournament of Champions in Maui in January. However, they will earn neither a Masters invite nor world-ranking points for their achievement.

The Zurich Classic will feature 80 two-man teams, of which the top 35 and ties will play the weekend, using alternate shot in the first and third rounds and best-ball in the second and fourth rounds. The closest the Tour has come to using a foursomes format in an official event was at the 1934 Pinehurst Fall Pro-Pro held at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort’s No. 2 Course and won by Tommy Armour and Bobby Cruickshank.

Team golf has deep roots on Tour, dating to the 1916 Rockland Country Club Four-Ball in Sparkhill, N.Y. All told, the Tour has held 61 official team events, with two pros paired together, using various formats.

The list of winners of Tour-sanctioned team competitions reads like a roll call for the World Golf Hall of Fame. Ben Hogan won eight titles with partners such as Gene Sarazen, Vic Ghezzi and six times with Jimmy Demaret (who won a seventh title with Craig Wood). Sam Snead won five titles. Byron Nelson and Harold “Jug” McSpaden won during Nelson’s 18-win season in 1945. In more recent years, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer teamed to win three times, from 1966 to ’71. The duo also won the World Cup, a non-official two-man team four times in a five-year span, from 1963 to ’67.

The World Cup, won in 2016 by Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen in Melbourne, Australia, matches two-man teams from virtually every land where the game is known. In 1968 in Rome, Lee Trevino, the reigning U.S. Open champion, represented America in his first international competition. He and PGA champ Julius Boros finished second.

"They must think people in America are crazy," Trevino said. "Spain sent two Spaniards, Germany sent two Germans, China sent two Chinese. What did we send? A Mexican and a Hungarian."

In 1978, the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, a two-man, best-ball format for some of the greats of yesteryear – minimum age 50 – gave birth to the Senior Tour. Sam Snead partnered with Gardner Dickinson to win the first one before Roberto De Vicenzo and Boros outlasted Tommy Bolt and Art Wall in a dramatic playoff in ’79.

"Sam winning the first one was all I needed," tournament founder Fred Raphael said. "The next year, we got a six-hole sudden-death playoff. How could it not take off after that?"

It still is going strong as the Bass Pro Shop Legends of Golf. Vijay Singh and Carlos Franco teamed to win the latest edition on Sunday.

This week in New Orleans, the winners will be crowned with the first official team victory since Vance Heafner and Mike Holland won the 1981 Walt Disney World National Team Championship. Golf's “silly season” has included the J.C. Penney Classic, a mixed-team event for PGA Tour and LPGA players. John Daly and Laura Davies won the finale in 1999. Since 1989, Greg Norman has played host to a 54-hole December team event that changes format daily, from scramble to modified-alternate shot to better-ball. It has been renamed the QBE Shootout beginning this year. When Norman had the changes in the Zurich's format explained to him, he didn't exactly give it a ringing endorsement.

"Oh, really?" Norman said. "That's original."

Indeed, something old is new again. Which may explain why Pazder wasn't so quick to take a bow for his role in shaking up the Tour schedule this season.

"If you give me the credit," he said, "make sure you also give me the blame if this thing totally blows up."

Adam Schupak has written about golf since 1997 for the likes of Golfweek, Golf World and The New York Times. He is the author of Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force. Email: golfsdrivingforce@gmail.com; Twitter: @adamschupak

PGA TOUR Team Event Year-By-Year History

Tournament	Winners	Format	Course	City, State
1916 Rockland Country Club Four-Ball	Willie MacFarlane-Fred Pye	Match Play, Four-Ball	Rockland CC	Sparkhill, New York
1916 Great Neck Links Four-Ball	Walter Hagen-Jock Hutchison	Match Play, Four-Ball	Great Neck CC	Waterford, Connecticut
1929 Miami International Four-Ball	Leo Diegel-Walter Hagen	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami CC	Miami, Florida
1930 Miami Four-Ball	Clarence Gamber-Cyril Walker	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami CC	Miami, Florida
1930 Mid-South Open Bestball	Wiffy Cox-Willie MacFarlane	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)	Pinehurst, North Carolina
1931 Miami International Four-Ball	Wiffy Cox-Willie MacFarlane	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami CC	Miami, Florida
1932 Miami Four-Ball	Earl Howell-Eddie Williams	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami CC	Miami, Florida
1933 Miami International Four-Ball	Wilson Crain-Jim Martucci	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1933 Mid-South Pro-Pro	Willie MacFarlane-Paul Runyan	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)	Pinehurst, North Carolina
1934 Miami International Four-Ball	Al Espinosa-Denny Shute	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami CC	Miami, Florida
1934 Pinehurst Fall Pro-Pro	Tommy Armour-Bobby Cruickshank	Scotch Foursomes/Match Play	Pinehurst Resort (No. 2)	Pinehurst, North Carolina
1935 Miami International Four-Ball	Henry Picard-Johnny Revolta	Match Play,Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1935 Inverness Invitational Four-Ball	Henry Picard-Johnny Revolta	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1935 Mid-South Pro-Pro Bestball	Gene Kunes-Dick Metz	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Pinehurst	Pinehurst, North Carolina
1936 Miami International Four-Ball	Henry Picard-Johnny Revolta	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1936 Inverness Invitational Four-Ball	Walter Hagen-Ky Laffoon	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1937 Miami International Four-Ball	Henry Picard-Johnny Revolta	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1937 Inverness Invitational	Harry Cooper-Horton Smith	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1937 Oklahoma Four-Ball	Harry Cooper-Horton Smith	Match Play, Four-Ball	Oklahoma City CC	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1938 Miami International Four-Ball	Ky Laffoon-Dick Metz	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1938 Inverness Invitational	Vic Ghezzi-Sam Snead	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1938 Hershey Four-Ball	Vic Ghezzi-Ben Hogan	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Hershey CC	Hershey, Pennsylvania
1939 Miami-Biltmore Four-Ball	Ralph Guldahl-Sam Snead	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1939 Inverness Invitational Four-Ball	Henry Picard-Johnny Revolta	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1939 Walter Hagen 25th Anniversary	Billy Burke-Ed Dudley	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Midlothian CC	Midlothian, Illinois
1940 Miami-Biltmore Four-Ball	Billy Burke-Craig Wood	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1940 Inverness Invitational	Ralph Guldahl-Sam Snead	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1941 Miami Biltmore Four-Ball	Ben Hogan-Gene Sarazen	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1941 Inverness Invitational	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1942 Miami Biltmore Four-Ball	Chandler Harper-Herman Keiser	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1942 Inverness Invitational	Lawson Little-Lloyd Mangrum	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1943 Golden Valley Invitational	Jimmy Demaret-Craig Wood	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Golden Valley CC	Golden Valley, Minnesota
1944 Minneapolis Four-Ball	Harold McSpaden-Byron Nelson	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Golden Valley CC	Golden Valley, Minnesota
1945 Miami International Four-Ball	Harold McSpaden-Byron Nelson	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Springs GC	Miami Springs, Florida
1946 Miami International Four-Ball	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Springs GC	Miami Springs, Florida
1946 Inverness Invitational	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1947 Miami International Four-Ball	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Springs GC	Miami Springs, Florida
1947 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1948 Miami International Four-Ball	Jim Ferrier-Cary Middlecoff	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1948 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Jimmy Demaret-Ben Hogan	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1949 Miami International Four-Ball	Jim Ferrier-Cary Middlecoff	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Biltmore CC	Miami, Florida
1949 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Bob Hamilton-Chick Harbert	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1950 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Jim Ferrier-Sam Snead	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1950 Miami Four-Ball	Pete Cooper-Claude Harmon	Match Play, Four-Ball	Miami Springs GC	Miami Springs, Florida
1951 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Roberto De Vicenzo-Henry Ransom	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1952 Inverness Round Robin Four-Ball	Jim Ferrier-Sam Snead	Round Robin, Match Play, Four-Ball (+1 for Hole Won, -1 for Hole Lost	Inverness Club	Toledo, Ohio
1954 Miami International Four-Ball	Tommy Bolt-Dick Mayer	Match Play, Four-Ball	Normandy Shores GC	Miami Beach, Florida
1965 PGA National Four-Ball Championship	Butch Baird-Gay Brewer	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	PGA National GC	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
1966 PGA National Team Championship	Jack Nicklaus-Arnold Palmer	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	PGA National GC	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
1968 PGA Team Championship	George Archer-Bobby Nichols	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Quail Creek CC	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1970 National Four-Ball Championship	Jack Nicklaus-Arnold Palmer	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Laurel Valley GC	Ligonier, Pennsylvania
1971 National Four-Ball Championship	Jack Nicklaus-Arnold Palmer	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Laurel Valley GC	Ligonier, Pennsylvania
1972 National Team Championship	Babe Hiskey-Kermit Zarley	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Laurel Valley GC	Ligonier, Pennsylvania
1974 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Hubert Green-Mac McLendon	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1975 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Jim Colbert-Dean Refram	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1976 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Woody Blackburn-Bill Kratzert	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1977 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Gibby Gilbert-Grier Jones	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1978 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Wayne Levi-Bob Mann	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1979 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	George Burns-Ben Crenshaw	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1980 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Danny Edwards-Dave Edwards	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GCLake Buena Vista GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida
1981 Walt Disney World National Team Championship	Vance Heafner-Mike Holland	Four-Ball, Total Strokes	Magnolia GCPalm GCLake Buena Vista GC	Lake Buena Vista, Florida