Cantlay, Schauffele victorious in 2022 Zurich Classic

Jude Papillion, Sports Editor

Despite not heading into a playoff like last year’s tournament, the 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans came down to the wire with teammates Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele narrowly beating the duo of Sam Burns and Billy Horschel by two strokes. Cantlay and Schauffele — the No. 5 and No. 12 golfers in the latest Official World Golf Ranking —  walked off the 18th green at TPC Louisiana as champions after finishing 29-under par. 

The pair opened with an impressive score of 59 in the opening round and never looked back, shooting a 68 on Friday and a 60 on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a 72 on Sunday. Their -29 finish beat the tournament’s record of –27 under previously set by Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown and Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith. Cantlay and Schauffele were also the tournament’s first wire-to-wire champions, standing in first place after each round of the tournament. 

Burns and Horschel finished in second place at 27-under par after 72 holes. Despite not winning, Louisianan Burns advanced to second place in the FedExCup standings, passing last year’s Zurich champion Smith. Doc Redman and Sam Ryder followed behind to claim third place after shooting 24-under overall in the tournament.

2022 Masters Tournament champion Scottie Scheffler, along with his partner Ryan Palmer finished tied for 18th place at -18 under. Though Scheffler, the world No. 1, is currently the hottest player in golf, the Zurich Classic is different from other PGA Tour events and requires solid teamwork to win.

One hundred and sixty players formed the 80 two-man teams that competed in tournament action. Teams competed in four-ball — best ball — for the tournament’s first and third rounds and played in alternate shot foursomes in rounds two and four. 

With the win, defending FedExCup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year Cantlay collected his seventh career win and his first since collecting $15 million after winning the Tour Championship last September.

Schauffele’s win is his first this year and first since winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2019.

Leave a Comment