You don’t really need another reason to root for the duo of Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The pair who famously, or perhaps infamously depending on who you ask, removed their shirts at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to raucous applause a few years back would be welcomed into this week’s winner’s circle with open arms. Especially after Dahmen’s crushing defeat and eye-opening post-round interview last week in Punta Cana.
But our expert panel is giving you another reason to pull for the boys – backing them financially. At 80-1, they are a very attractive longshot selection down in Nawlins. If there was ever a week to bet small to win big, it’s this one.
The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of a tour coach reporting anonymously from the grounds of TPC Louisiana, Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Brandon Gdula of numberFire/FanDuel, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line. Stewart, our newest member of the panel, is our new betting content partner as well.
Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Anonymous Swing Coach of the week: Sepp Straka/Brice Garnett (35-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — Not many are hitting the ball better than Sepp Straka this year, and he has an incredibly solid partner in Brice Garnett, who knows how to handle the pressure of winning on the PGA Tour. Straka is coming off a disappointing Masters and RBC Heritage, but this is the perfect event to stay loose and get back to playing the golf we have been seeing all year. Both guys work with John Tillery and will have a great week contending.
Brandon Gdula, FanDuel/numberFire managing editor: Aaron Rai & Sahith Theegala (25-1, FanDuel) — This is a top-12 team by strokes-gained/tee-to-green over everyone in the field’s past 50 rounds, and Theagala’s putting with Rai’s T2G should lead to birdie looks. They also balance each other out with distance (Sahith) and accuracy (Rai).
Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Keith Mitchell/JT Poston (20-1, BetRivers) — These guys can score early and often. Keith Mitchell has been incredible in opening rounds this season (first on tour) and can’t quite close on Sunday afternoons. JT Poston knows how to pace himself for four rounds and will keep Keith calm in the final round. After all, in alternate shot, Mitchell won’t have to make every putt down the stretch. Keith’s killer ball-striking alongside Poston’s ability to deliver with the putter make these two a perfect scoring combination.
Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (25-1, FanDuel) — Hoge has been playing great golf, and perhaps most importantly, putting the lights out. He’s got finishes of T-3, T-5, T-14 and T-18 in his last four starts, where he’s gained over three strokes/putting per event. His approach play is 11th in this field over the past 36 rounds, per RickRunGood.com, so he’ll pair nicely with Horschel who thrives in this setting and on this course.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Karl Vilips/Michael Thorbjornsen (50-1, BetRivers) — Golf is the ultimate bet small, win big sport, and that’s about as true as ever this week. There’s not much sense in trying to find a winner at the top of the board at short odds considering this might be the most wide-open event on the schedule. You could make a case for just about any tandem. My case for Vilips and Thor – two young Stanford studs with extremely high ceilings, and one of them, Vilips, has already won on the PGA Tour this year. As for Thor, he had two top 10s in the Fall and a runner-up finish last July, plus another runner-up last week at Corales.
Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Keith Mitchell/JT Poston (20-1, BetRivers) — My numbers strongly favor Keith Mitchell and JT Poston as the most well-rounded team competing this week, and their complimentary skill-sets should play beautifully at TPC Louisiana. Both players are in strong form with Mitchell coming off a runner-up finish at Corales, and Poston coming off a top-15 finish at the RBC Heritage.
Past results: We have ANOTHER winner! Brandon Gdula cashes his first outright of 2025 by correctly predicting Justin Thomas’ Harbour Town victory at 20-1. This comes just one week after our anonymous swing coach nailed Rory McIlroy yet again at the Masters (+650) after picking him at the Players (12-1), too. The panel now has picked six winners in the first 16 events of 2025.
Tour coach: Harry Higgs/Joel Dahmen (80-1, BetMGM) — Worth taking a shot on this fun pairing with great odds in a watered-down field. Joel let the win slip away last week, but I think being open and honest about it after and being paired with a great buddy in Harry will help him get past that in a hurry. The crowd will most certainly get behind these boys.
Gdula: Ryan Gerard/Danny Walker (55-1, FanDuel) — We’ve seen some high-upside weeks from Gerard and Walker recently, and they’re one of four teams to rank top-20 in both average SG/tee-to-green and SG/putting over everyone’s last 50 rounds.
Stewart: Sam Ryder/Rico Hoey (50-1, Caesars Sportsbook) — Getting off to a hot start is important in this event. Every team that made the 36-hole cut shot 66 or better in the opening round. Sam Ryder (third) and Rico Hoey (25th) are both inside the top 25 on the PGA Tour in Round 1 scoring. These two love to light it up on Thursdays, and I believe that gives them an edge. Follow it up with two guys who are in the top quarter of this field for BoB%, and they can keep that scoring going through the weekend. If a longshot wins this week, they need to go nuclear on the leader board. Hoey and Ryder can do just that.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Harry Higgs/Joel Dahmen (80-1, BetMGM) — I’m tailing our tour coach on this one. The vibes should be incredible in this group with Joel refocused paired with his buddy. It’ll be must-watch TV if they’re contending on Sunday.
Powers, Golf Digest: Henrik Norlander/Luke List (90-1, Bet365) — With List’s driving prowess and Norlander’s iron prowess, this could be a formidable duo. Norlander has gained strokes on approach in seven consecutive starts, including five strokes at Valero, where he finished inside the top 16 for the second time in his last three events. List has missed five out of six cuts but still gains strokes off the tee basically every time he tees it up. If these two play to their strengths, there could be fireworks.
Lack: Doug Ghim/Chan Kim (50-1, FanDuel) — The tandem of Chan Kim and Doug Ghim possess a ton of ball-striking upside, and both players are in solid form. Kim is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Valero Texas Open and Corales Punta Cana, and all three of Ghim’s top-25 finishes this year have come on over-seeded Bermuda golf courses that have a lot in common with TPC Louisiana.
Tour coach: Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (18-1, BetRivers) — This seems like a great team to fade with lower odds, but Moore doesn’t have better than a T-33 in his last four starts, and besides playing well in Houston and early in the week in Harbour Town, Clark isn’t playing near his peak.
Gdula: Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (22-1, FanDuel) — This team’s irons just don’t stack up with the other favorites, and getting tons of birdie looks will be vital as always.
Stewart: Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama (12-1, FanDuel) — This week is all about team scoring. While Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama are a better ball-striking team than even Rory and Shane, they need to find a way to score. Morikawa and Kitayama are both outside the top 90 in strokes gained/putting for this field. The winner will be 25 under par, and I just don’t see how these two get there. If the conditions were like a U.S. Open, then they would be the favorites. Put them in a birdiefest, and they need too much help on the greens for my greenbacks to get involved.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (18-1, BetRivers) — These two can get scorching hot, which makes them dangerous here, but both of their floors feel too low to be consistent in foursomes.
Powers, Golf Digest: Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre (18-1, FanDuel) — Detry hasn’t exactly impressed since his WMPO victory, failing to finish inside the top 20 in seven starts since. As for Bob Mac, a MC at the Masters, where everyone was quite high on him, followed by a 66th place finish in Harbour Town, a 72-man field, tells me he’s not very sharp right now. Not sure how these guys are third favorite based on recent form.
Lack: Robert MacIntyre/Thomas Detry (18-1, FanDuel) — I understand that some team needs to be there, but this would not be my choice for the third favorite on the odds board. While both Detry and MacIntyre do possess some pedigree, this is their first Zurich Classic as a tandem, and neither are even in strong form. Both players finished outside of the top-30 last week in Hilton Head after missing the cut at the Masters.
Tour coach: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (-111) over Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (Bet365) — We know Billy thrives in a team environment—based on his success in this event and his TGL performances. He’s a great “ra-ra” guy. Billy’s paired with a great ball-striker who’s playing well in Hoge. I love them in this matchup and as a bet to win the event.
Gdula: Akshay Bhatia/Carson Young (-115) over Michael Thorbjornsen/Karl Vilips (FanDuel) — Bhatia is—by far—the best golfer in this matchup over the last 50 rounds, and that helps power Bhatia and Young to rate out as a head-to-head favorite in my model.
Stewart: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (-111) over Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (Bet365) — Both Taylor Moore and Wyndham Clark have been good in this event. Although I like Clark’s form, Moore has not played well since Phoenix in February. Not to mention, this is his first start in five weeks. Tom Hoge is coming off four straight top 20s, including the Masters and RBC Heritage. Billy Horschel has been equally good in 2025 and super at the Zurich winning in 2018 and earning three more top 11s in the past four years.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (-111) over Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore (Bet365) — Taking my pick to win over my fade here.
Powers, Golf Digest: JT Poston/Keith Mitchell (-120) over Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre (Bet365) — These two pairs are the same outright odds yet they couldn’t be going in more different directions right now. As I explained in the fade section, Detry/MacIntyre are not in peak form, while Mitchell and Poston are coming off a T-2 (Mitchell at Corales) and a T-11 (Poston at Harbour Town).
Lack: Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin (-105) over Jesper Svensson/Niklas Norgaard (BetOnline) — This is an easy one, as I am getting a seasoned pairing with prior success in this event in Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin at even money against a largely unproven random in Jesper Svensson and Niklas Norgaard. Neither Svensson or Norgaard are in peak form either.
Matchup Results from the RBC Heritage: Tour coach: 1 for 1 (Harman (+100) over Bhatia); Lack: 1 for 1 (Straka (-125) over MacIntyre); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Hisatsune (-105) over Highsmith); Powers: 0 for 1; Hennessey: 0 for 1; Gdula: 0 for 1; Stewart: 0 for 1
Matchup Results from this season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Swing coach: 9-2-2 (up 5.85 units); Powers: 10-6-0 (up 4.12 units); Hennessey: 9-6-1 (up 2.39 units); Lack: 7-8-1 (down 0.99 units); Gdula: 6-9-1 (down 3.82 units); Stewart: 6-10-0 (down 4.02 units); Mayo: 5-11-0 (down 6.05 units)
Tour coach: Keith Mitchell/JT Poston (+190, DraftKings) — Two great players who are hot right now with Mitchell T-2 last weekend T-12 the week before that, playing with his Sea Island buddy fresh off a T-11 last week. I think in this field, this is a near lock of a top-10 bet.
Gdula: Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (+270, FanDuel) — It’ll take upside to finish top 10 this week, and this tandem has it by way of Hoge’s irons and their combined putting splits (both top 50 over the last 50 rounds).
Stewart: Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (+250, BetRivers) — Andrew Novak has finished third and runner-up in his past two starts. His ball-striking has been impeccable, and he’s definitely felt the heat of contending. Ben Griffin is a sub-par scoring machine who will benefit greatly from Novak’s ball-striking. Griffin will be given so many great birdie chances in alternate shot, and with his putter these two will score. With 10 places, there’s plenty of room for Novak and Griffin to get the job done down in the bayou.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Michael Thorbjornsen/Karl Vilips (+360, DraftKings) — So much talent in this group. Vilips already has a win in 2025, and Thorbjornsen came close last week in Punta Cana. These Stanford teammates should play well and be on the top of the board.
Powers, Golf Digest: Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin (+330, DraftKings) — Team Canada has finished 10th and runner-up in last two Zurich appearances. If my first top-10 cash doesn’t happen with these two, I might as well quit on this prop for the year now.
Lack: Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin (+330, DraftKings) — The all Canadian duo of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin were my pick to win this event last year, and while they fell short with a 10th-place finish, I have no reason to believe they won’t be a threat in New Orleans once again. This tandem also finished runner-up at this event in 2023 and possess significant course and comp course experience.
Top-10 results from the RBC Heritage: Lack: 1 for 1 (Si Woo Kim +550); Everybody else: 0 for 1
Top-10 results from this season: Swing coach: 5 for 13 (up 16.8 units); Gdula: 7 for 16 (up 15 units); Mayo: 3 for 16 (up 6.33 units); Lack: 6 for 16 (up 11.5 units); Stewart: 4 for 16 (down 3.15 units); Hennessey: 1 for 16 (down 11.4 units); Powers: 0 for 16 (down 16 units)
Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME.
Brandon Gdula, managing editor and analyst for numberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 FSWA Golf Writer of the Year. Gdula also co-hosts the DFS Heat Check podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @gdula13.
Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor for Golf Digest and founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the LPGA and PGA TOUR. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter here and raise your golf betting acumen. Keith’s winning content can also be found on Sports Grid, Bleacher Report and The Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports
