This is the week where you find out if you're a betting degenerate or not. The new format of the Zurich Classic, which will now feature 80 two-player teams, has a chance to spark some excitement out of an otherwise stale tournament, but it's also going to make things extremely unpredictable and extremely difficult from a betting perspective.
But if you're brave enough, here's a look at the top of the odds table for TPC Louisiana, courtesy of 5Dimes. You can find the complete field here.
Jason Day & Rickie Fowler: 11/2
Justin Rose & Henrik Stenson: 6/1
Jordan Spieth & Ryan Palmer: 9/1
Daniel Berger & Thomas Pieters: 14/1
Branden Grace & Louis Oosthuizen: 16/1
J.B. Holmes & Bubba Watson: 18/1
Bud Cauley & Justin Thomas: 20/1
Kevin Chappell & Gary Woodland: 22/1
Hideki Matsuyama & Hideto Tanihara: 25/1
Patrick Reed & Patrick Cantlay: 30/1
Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney: 35/1
Keegan Bradley & Brenden Steele: 35/1
Luke Donald & Jamie Lovemark: 35/1
Seung-Yul Noh & Byeong Hun An: 40/1
Tony Finau & Daniel Summerhays: 40/1
Russell Henley & Blayne Barber: 45/1
Jamie Donaldson & Tyrrell Hatton: 50/1
Russell Knox & Kevin Streelman: 50/1
Kevin Kisner & Scott Brown: 50/1
Harris English & Hudson Swafford: 55/1
Robert Garrigus & William McGirt: 60/1
Jerry Kelly & Steve Stricker: 65/1
Brooks Koepka & Chase Koepka: 66/1
Jason Dufner & Patton Kizzire: 66/1
Patrick Rodgers & Cameron Tringale: 66/1
Graham DeLaet & David Hearn: 70/1
Wesley Bryan & Ryan Blaum: 70/1
Sung Kang & Si Woo Kim: 70/1
To be clear here, I'm staying far away from this one. This is the first time in about 36 years an official PGA Tour event has been a team format, so it's almost impossible to know how this thing will shake out. Moreover, outside the top handful of teams, you can find significant flaws in most of the pairings. It should be an entertaining tournament, but it just feels like a big crap-shoot.
Alas, here we are. Though I'm not going to be making any bets this week, I'm still here to help for those who are. So, if you're ready to quell that betting thirst, you can click through the gallery for some of this week's best value picks and sleepers to consider. (Getty)
Daniel Berger & Thomas Pieters
Odds: 14/1
If you want to stick with a upper-tier pick but not go with one of the top favorites, this pairing makes a lot of sense. Berger comes in with both good form (fifth at the Shell Houston Open, T27 at the Masters) and strong course history (T20 and T6 in his two starts here), while Pieters proved during the Masters that he is an elite talent. Actually, he's been proving it all year with Top-10 finishes all over the place, but he made a highly impressive statement at Augusta.
Moreover, this is a really compelling pairing for team format. Both guys have huge upside and often rack up Top-10's, but both are streaky and sometimes miss cuts more than they should. In other words, when they're at their best and they're locked in, they're really, really good. If they can hold steady during the two alternate-shot rounds, they could absolutely lap the field during the best-ball rounds. (Getty)
Hideki Matsuyama & Hideto Tanihara
Odds: 25/1
So, Matsuyama is the No. 1 ranked golfer in this field in the FedEx Cup Standings and No. 2 in the world rankings, yet he has the ninth-shortest odds. I understand it's a team format, but that seems disrespectful to what Matsuyama has done this year.
And that's not to metion the fact that Tanihara is ranked 50th in the world and has been solid in the United States this year, finishing fourth at the WGC-Dell Match Play, 27th at the Sony Open and 39th at the RBC Heritage, with the latter--just like this tournament--being held at a Pete Dye course. At 25-to-1, Team Japan is my favorite pick here. (Getty)
Harris English & Hudson Swafford
Odds: 55/1
Swafford has a win and three Top-10's this season (with two of the Top-10's coming in the last month), and while English hasn't played all that well this year, he proved he was capable in a team event when he won the Franklin Templeton Shootout with Matt Kuchar in December. Moreover, both have captured a Top-12 here (T12 for Swafford in 2015, sixth for English in 2013), and perhaps most importantly, the comfort level will be high, as they played at the University of Georgia together. (Getty)
Brooks Koepka & Chase Koepka
Odds: 66/1
Brooks comes in playing really well, having finished ninth at the WGC-Match Play, 11th at the Masters and second at the Valero Open in his last three starts. He was first in strokes gained tee-to-green last week, and he also finished 21st in his only start at this tournament in 2014. A lot to like here.
And Chase, well, is a golfer. We know that much. The 23-year-old currently plays on the European Challenge Tour and received an exemption to play in this tournament, so there's a lot of unknown here, but at the very least he should be comfortable playing next to his brother.
Are these guys going to win? Probably not, but at 66-to-1 it's worth a very small bet. (Getty)
Sung Kang & Si Woo Kim
Odds: 70/1
Sung Kang just can't stay away from the leaderboard right now. Second at the Shell Houston Open, 11th at the RBC Heritage and now sixth at last week's Valero Texas Open. Kim, on the other hand, is the major question mark in this pairing, as he has missed six cuts and withdrawn four times on the season, but he's coming in with nice form after finishing 22nd last week.
If Kim can just stay afloat, Kang is playing well enough to have this team right in the thick of contention. (Getty)
Lucas Glover & Chez Reavie
Odds: 80/1
I admittedly am not putting as much stock as usual into stats because the team format kind of messes with that, but looking at the numbers, Glover and Reavie are an interesting deep sleeper. Both are accurate off the tee (Reavie: 14th in driving accuracy; Glover: 40th), which is important at a Pete Dye course. Then from the fairway in, they have a nice mix of skills that should play well in the team format. Glover can get it to the green with aplomb (10th in strokes gained tee to green, and 10th in strokes gained approach), while Reavie (65th in strokes gained putting) can help make up for Glover's lack of a putter. (Getty)
Zurich Classic 2017 Odds, Sleeper Picks & Bets for TPC Louisiana