New world number one Scottie Scheffler will team with former Zurich Classic winner Ryan Palmer

NEW ORLEANS — New world number-one ranked Scottie Scheffler will pair with fellow Texan and former Zurich Classic champion Ryan Palmer in the 2022 event, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

“Our field now includes seven of the top 11 players in the world,” said Worthy. “We congratulate Scottie on his latest victory and top ranking, as he returns to our tournament with his new partner, former Zurich champion Ryan Palmer,” Worthy added.

“Jon Rahm, who won with Palmer in 2019, developed a scheduling conflict that prevents him from playing our tournament this year, but he has told me he has every intention to return in the future,” Worthy added.

Scheffler vaulted to the top of the world golf rankings with his victory over Kevin Kisner in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament this week in only his third full season on the PGA Tour. He has won three times in five weeks after coming close with two runner-up finishes in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open and the Hero World Challenge.

He broke through for his first win earlier this season in the WM Phoenix Open, defeating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. He went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational 21 days later for his second PGA Tour victory.

So far this season, he has three wins, two seconds, a fourth and a seventh in 13 tournaments. In addition to leading the world rankings, he is also first in FedExCup points. He is the only player on the PGA Tour to win three times this season.

Last season, he battled Billy Horschel down to the penultimate hole in the finals of the WCG-Dell Technologies Match Play, losing 2 and 1. He has also picked up a third in the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, a fifth at the WGC-Workday Championship and a tie for seventh at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Teamed with Bubba Watson, he finished eighth in the 2021 Zurich Classic.

In the major tournaments last year, he scored top-10 finishes in the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

He made the 2021 Ryder Cup team and posted a record of 2-0-1, defeating Jon Rahm in his singles match.

Last year, only his second full season on the PGA Tour, he rolled up 8 top-10 finishes in just 29 starts. The year before, he was named 2020 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after finishing fifth in FedExCup points that season.

He was one of only two rookies to advance to the Tour Championship that year and took fifth in the tournament. He also finished third twice in his debut season and tied for fourth in consecutive tournaments at the PGA Championship and The Northern Trust.

In his short career on the PGA Tour, he has scored 39 top-25 and 21 top-10 finishes in only 75 starts.

Born and raised in Dallas, he won three straight individual state high school titles, only the second player after Jordan Spieth to accomplish that feat.

He played collegiately for the University of Texas on a team that included three other future PGA Tour golfers, Beau Hossler, Kramer Hickok and Doug Ghim. He was low amateur at the 2017 U.S. Open with his sister Carrie, who played for Texas A&M, carrying his bag.

He also made the 2017 Walker Cup team that included Texas teammate Ghim, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Champ, Doc Redman and Will Zalatoris, all of whom now play on the PGA Tour. The U.S. team that year won by a score of 19-7.

Ryan Palmer has won four times on the PGA TOUR, including his victory with Rahm at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

His win at the 2019 Zurich Classic capped one of his most successful years on the PGA Tour. He scored six top ten finishes, including a tie for third in the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges tournament, when he recorded seven consecutive birdies to close out one of his rounds. He also tied for fourth in the Honda Classic and tied for sixth in the Charles Schwab Challenge.

In the shortened 2020 season, he finished second to his Zurich partner Rahm in the Memorial Tournament, when they were paired in the final round. He also tied for fourth in the Sony Open and tied for eighth in the Northern Trust in that season. He qualified for the FedExCup playoffs for the 12th time in his career and advanced to the Tour Championship for the third time.

Last season he tied for second in the Farmers Insurance Open, took a solo fourth in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and tied for fourth in the Zozo Championship.

Palmer also tied for fourth in the 2012 Zurich Classic and again in the 2017 event teamed with Jordan Spieth. He took tenth in the 2011 Masters and tied for fifth in the 2014 PGA Championship.

He missed the fall portion of the 2016-17 season while his wife, Jennifer, underwent chemotherapy to treat Stage 2 breast cancer that was diagnosed in the summer of 2016. Upon his return to the PGA TOUR in 2018, he almost won the Farmers Insurance Open, losing in a playoff eventually won by Jason Day.

The 2022 Zurich Classic field is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever. With the addition of Scheffler, the field now includes seven of the top 11 players in the world.

· Collin Morikawa, now ranked third in the world, will team with Viktor Hovland, ranked fourth, to form the highest ranked pair in the history of the team format at the Zurich Classic.

· Patrick Cantlay, the 2021 FedExCup winner ranked fifth in the world, will pair with 2020 Olympic gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, ranked tenth.

· Cameron Smith, who won The Players Championship and vaulted to 6th in the world, will team again with fellow Australian Marc Leishman to defend the title they won last year at the Zurich Classic. Smith is the only two-time team winner of the Zurich Classic.

· Sam Burns, whose repeat victory in the Valspar Classic moved him up to 10th in the world rankings, slipped to 11th this week after skipping the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. He will play again in the Zurich Classic with Billy Horschel, who is vying to become the first three-time winner in the tournament’s history and himself is ranked 13th in the world.

In 2021, after cancellation of the 2020 tournament, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated an all-time record $2.3 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas.

Because of its popularity, the Best of the Zurich Classic pass will return in 2022, along with expanded suite options at the 17th and 18th holes. A new Walk-On’s Stadium Club venue will also be introduced.

About Fore!Kids Foundation:

Since 1958, the Fore!Kids Foundation has raised money to fund children’s service organizations through golf events like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, The Holiday Auction Fore!Kids and several charitable golf tournaments. As a 501(c)(3) corporation, Fore!Kids has distributed more than $42 million since inception, providing healthcare, education and hope for over 200,000 children each year. More information at http://www.forekidsfoundation.com.

About the Zurich Classic of New Orleans:

Televised in more than 224 countries and territories, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans generates a significant economic impact on the city of New Orleans and the entire state of Louisiana. Independent research has shown that the tournament generates spending of more than $40 million within the local economy and garners $33 million in positive national and international media exposure for both the city and state throughout the year beyond the four days of competition.

The tournament will be played April 18-24, 2022 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. Purse for 2022 totals a record $8.3 million, with each member of the winning team earning $1,199,350.

Day-specific grounds tickets are only $40. In addition, the Best of the Zurich Class Pass offers a variety of dishes from some of New Orleans most famous restaurants at three locations across the TPC course starting at $175 per day. Additional ticket options are available by calling the Tournament Office at 504-342-3000 or online at www.zurichgolfclassic.com.