Steve Palmer's Zurich Classic predictions & free golf betting tips: Resurgent Horschel could be set for further glory

When to bet on the Zurich Classic

By 1pm on Thursday

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Where can I watch the Zurich Classic?

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 1pm on Thursday

Steve Palmer's Zurich Classic predictions

Billy Horschel & Tyson Alexander
1.5pts each-way 45-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Sepp Straka & Brice Garnett
1.5pts each-way 33-1 general

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Steve Palmer's Zurich Classic preview

PGA Tour stars are breathing a collective sigh of relief as Scottie Scheffler finally takes a week off and lets the others have a chance of victory. The Masters champion, who boasts form figures of 1-1-2-1-1 after winning the weather-delayed Heritage on Monday, will probably not be seen again until the US PGA Championship on May 16.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele assume Zurich favouritism, teeing up together in this event for a fourth time, with results of 11-1-4 from their previous three spins in tandem. The Californian duo obviously deserve great respect but neither of them has lifted a trophy since the summer of 2022 and the skinny odds can be resisted.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be an inevitably popular pair, joining forces for the first time, but McIlroy is competing for a fourth consecutive week and making his course debut. With wind forecast for both foursomes sessions, focus and discipline will be required but McIlroy may be lacking mental energy.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Billy Horschel & Tyson Alexander 45-1

Billy Horschel is full of beans after winning the Corales Puntacana Championship with a record-breaking 23-under-par total on Sunday and further silverware could be coming for the chirpy Floridian in the Zurich Classic.

Horschel's Corales coup was the culmination of excellent form from the start of March onwards. He was ninth in the Cognizant Classic, then 12th in the Valspar Championship, before seventh place in the Houston Open.

The seven-time PGA Tour champion has worked hard to rediscover his A-game and get his swing in order, and last week his putting stroke looked better than ever. The 37-year put an old Ping putter in his bag at the Players Championship and it came to the boil in spectacular style last week.

Horschel won the Zurich Classic alongside Scott Piercy in 2018, they were 13th on their title defence, then Horschel finished fourth, second and 11th with Sam Burns in the last three Zurichs. Burns is set to become a father so Tyson Alexander has the gig of partnering Horschel this time.

Alexander and Horschel are good friends who played on the same Florida Gators side at college. Alexander's father Buddy coached the team. With wind set to whip across TPC Louisiana from Friday onwards, this tidy Floridian alliance can flourish.

Alexander has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and both of those victories were in typically windy Texas. He was second in the 2022 Houston Open and 14th in the Texas Open at the start of this month. Eighth place in the Bermuda Championship last year is another example of his comfort in a breeze.

Horschel's maiden PGA Tour title came at this week's venue in the 2013 Zurich Classic and he could be parading a trophy in Avondale for a third time on Sunday.

Next best bet

Sepp Straka & Brice Garnett 33-1

The other pairing on offer at value odds appear to be Sepp Straka and Brice Garnett. Straka hinted that he was coming back to form by finishing third for greens in regulation on his way to 16th place in the Players Championship last month, then he finished in the same position in the Masters, before sharing fifth place in the RBC Heritage.

Straka, a Ryder Cup winner on debut last year, finished second in the Open last summer and second in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December. They are two performances which underline the Austrian's ability to handle breeze.

Garnett should prove an excellent support. He has always been accurate off the tee and finding fairways will be difficult this week in the forecast wind. Both of his two PGA Tour victories have come on breezy islands – he won the 2018 Corales Puntacana, then last month he won the Puerto Rico Open.

Garnett has seen his career revived at the age of 40. He was 35th at Sawgrass, 18th at Harbour Town last week, and another healthy cheque could be coming on Sunday.

Course guide for the Zurich Classic

• Course TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana
• Prize money $8.9m ($1,286,050 to the winner)
• Length 7,425 yards
• Par 72 – four par-fives; ten par-fours; four par-threes
• Field 80 teams of two The cut Top 33 teams and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Rory McIlroy (2), Xander Schauffele (3), Wyndham Clark (5), Patrick Cantlay (8), Matt Fitzpatrick (12) 
• Course records (individual strokeplay) - 72 holes 266 Justin Rose (2015) 18 holes 62 Ben Martin (2014)
• Course records (pairs play) - 72 holes 258 Nick Hardy & Davis Riley (2023) 18 holes best-ball 59 Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele (2022); 18 holes alternate-shot 63 Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay (2023), Adam Hadwin & Nick Taylor (2023) 
• Course winners taking part (individual strokeplay) Nick Watney, Jason Dufner, Billy Horschel
• Course winners taking part (as a pairing) Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele, Nick Hardy & Davis Riley
• When to bet By 1pm on Thursday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 1pm on Thursday
• Time difference Louisiana is six hours behind the UK and Ireland
• Last week – RBC Heritage 1 S Scheffler (4-1), 2 S Theegala (35-1), T3 W Clark (30-1), P Cantlay (16-1), T5 J Thomas (50-1), P Rodgers (175-1), JT Poston (60-1), S Straka (70-1); Corales Puntacana Championship 1 B Horschel (20-1), 2 W Bryan (350-1), 3 K Tway (125-1), T4 C Hoffman (80-1), J Lower (50-1), T6 C Kim (50-1), Parker Coody (90-1), A Smalley (300-1)
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview Designed by Pete Dye in 2003, it made its PGA Tour debut in 2005. The Zurich became a pairs event in 2017. The rough is light and birdies are plentiful
• Story of last year Nick Hardy and Davis Riley combined for their first taste of PGA Tour glory, defeating fast-finishing Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor by two shots
• Weather forecast Sunny and pleasant throughout – and relatively calm for day one – but windy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Type of player suited to the challenge Greens in regulation is the theme which runs through the victors at TPC Louisiana, with finding the right sections of heavily undulating greens the key to going low. Strong winds seem set to make the foursomes rounds incredibly difficult. Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and QBE Shootout pairs form should be studied
• Key attribute Accuracy

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