Cantlay, Schauffele top Zurich Classic after record setting first round

AVONDALE – In a deep field with many of the top players in the world, a group of four teams of relative unknowns made themselves botn known and at home Thursday morning in the opening round of the Zurich Classic.

At that point, it appeared the obscure players would rule the day at the TPC of Louisiana.

Then came the afternoon.

Despite a stiff wind blowing, defending FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele calmed the breeze and breezed through a tremendous round of 13 under par 59, a record since the team event format began in 2017, to take the lead after one round of the Zurich Classic in the four ball (best ball) format.

Cantlay was recently the No. 1 player in the world rankings for 55 weeks and he is currently ranked fourth. Cantlay has six PGA Tour wins.

GolfChannel: Patrick Cantlay executes the chip on 17 BEAUTIFULLY. #ZurichClassic

📺: Golf Channel
💻: https://t.co/t2tQwBCqL1 pic.twitter.com/BQ8z7DdeD6 #GolfChannel #GrowTheGame

— MySport101 (@MySport101) April 21, 2022

Schauffele has won four PGA Tour events and he is currently the 12th ranked player in the world.

Up until Cantlay and Schauffele posted the superb score late in the day, it was all about four teams featuring several names casual golf fans are not familiar with ruling the day.

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay set the four-ball competition record at the #ZurichClassic of New Orleans! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/N69z9sbPDn

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) April 21, 2022

Americans Matthew NeSmith and Taylor Moore blistered the course for a 12 under par 60, one shot off the lead.

NeSmith, a non-winner on the PGA Tour and a former South Carolina star, is ranked No. 169 in the world. NeSmith is playing well of late, finishing 12th at the RBC Heritage Classic last week and he was third at the Valspar Championship. NeSmith is 69th in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Moore, a former Arkansas golfer, a non-winner as well, is ranked No. 157 in the world. His best finish this year on tour is a tie for 16th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. Moore is No. 102 in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Aaron Rai of England and American David Lipsky fired a round of 11 under 61, two shots back.

The round was highlighted by an eagle on the eighth hole by Lipsky, who carried the team with six birdies and an eagle. Lipsky birdied the first, second, seventh, 11th, 16th and 18th holes.

Rai finished with three birdies on the third, fifth and sixth holes.

Rai has not won on the PGA Tour but has a pair of wins on the European Tour and six titles total in his career.

Lipsky has not won on the PGA Tour but also has a pair of European Tour victories and four titles total.

Lipsky, who has one top ten finish this year, is 119th in the FedEx Cup rankings and 201st overall in the world rankings while Rai is 98th in the FedEx Cup rankings and he is ranked No. 125 in the world rankings.

It turned out to be a power pairing as Trey Mullinax and Wesley Bryan, paired with Rai and Lipsky, fired a nine-under par 63 to tie for second.

Bryan overcame a three bogeys with five birdies. Bryan has a tour win in 2017 at the RBC Heritage Classic. Bryan is ranked No. 512 in the world.

Mullinax, who played at Alabama, eagled the fifth hole to highlight a bogey-free round. Mullinax is ranked No. 315 in the world. His best finish this season is a tie for 30th.

Also two shots back at 11 under par are Tommy Rainey and Robert Garrigus.

Gainey had a PGA Tour win but that was 10 years ago. He is currently ranked 555th in the world.

Garrigus has a PGA Tour victory but that was 12 years ago. He is currently ranked No. 1,043 in the world.

Another long-shot duo of Doc Redman and Sam Ryder shot 11 under as well.

Redman is a non-winner who is ranked No. 260 in the world.

Ryder has not won on the PGA tour. He is ranked No. 218 in the world.

Sam Burns of LSU and Billy Horschel of Florida teamed up to shoot nine under 63, four shots back and are joined by several other teams at that total, including Harold Varner III and Bubba Watson.

GolfChannel: WOAH 😮@bubbawatson just missed a tree on this shot! #ZurichClassic

📺: Golf Channel
💻: https://t.co/t2tQwBCqL1 pic.twitter.com/N2Bu8jXOAR #GolfChannel #GrowTheGame

— MySport101 (@MySport101) April 21, 2022

Also at nine under par after rounds of 63 are the outstanding duo of Tyrell Hatton and Danny Willett,
Seung-Yul Noh and Michael Kim, the duo of Trey Mullinax and Wesley Bryan, the team of Sung Kang and John Huh, the pair of Hank Leboida and Chase Seiffert, the team of Joel Dahmen and Stephen Jaeger and the team of Cameron Tringale and Wyndham Clark.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer are five shots back after an eight under 64.

Defending champions Cameron Smith and Mark Leishman shot a seven under par 65.

Round two Friday begins at 7 a.m. with the foursomes format of alternate shots, where scores will certainly not go as low as they did today.