The 2021 Zurich Classic of New Orleans format remains unchanged from 2018, the second year the tournament went from an individual event to a two-man team competition.
The Zurich Classic field is 160 players as 80 teams of two. The top 80 players in the PGA Tour's priority ranking that committed to the field got to pick their partner, so long as they had some kind of PGA Tour status or garnered a sponsor exemption.
Zurich Classic of New Orleans format
The Zurich Classic format is still a 72-hole event. The first and third rounds will be played as best ball (fourballs) at TPC Louisiana. The second and final rounds will play under alternate shot (foursomes) rules. A 36-hole cut will be made down to the top 33 teams and ties (down from the top 35 and ties in 2019). A sudden-death playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under rules with format alternating on each hole (fourball to start, foursomes next, and so forth). This format changed from 2017, where fourballs were played in the second and fourth rounds, while alternate shot was the game for the first and third rounds.
The players on the winning team will each get a two-year PGA Tour exemption and spots in the PGA Championship, The Players, the Tournament of Champions and other invitational events. The team members will split the FedEx Cup points normally distributed for individual events, meaning the winning team will split the 500 points for first place and 300 points for second place -- or 400 points per player.
In the case of a winning player who has no status on the PGA Tour, a win would mean that player earns PGA Tour membership. A win in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans goes in the record book as an official PGA Tour win.
