Freeport-McDermott Classic
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
tournament in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
on the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly played in early to mid-spring.
Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. the group is the world's 98th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011, it ranked 94th i ...
is the main sponsor, and it is organized by the Fore!Kids Foundation. First prize reached five figures in
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
, six figures in and passed the million-dollar mark in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. The winning team in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
split over $2.39 million. In
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, the Zurich Classic became a team event, with eighty pairs. One member of each team is initially chosen via the Tour priority rankings, and his partner must either be a PGA Tour member or earn entry through a sponsor exemption. The stroke play format was alternate shot (foursome) in the first and third rounds and better ball (fourball) for the second and fourth rounds. The cut line is 33 teams, plus ties. The winners earn 400
FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...
points and two-year exemptions, but will not receive Masters invitations and no
world ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...
points are awarded for the event. In
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, the format switched to fourball for the first and third rounds and alternate shot for the second and fourth rounds.


Tournament names and corporate sponsors

* Crescent City Open (1938) * New Orleans Open (1939–1948) * Greater New Orleans Open Invitational (1958–1971) * Greater New Orleans Invitational (1972–1974) * First NBC New Orleans Open (1975–1979) * Greater New Orleans Open (1980) *
USF&G USF&G was an American insurance company that existed from 1896 until 1998. It was originally called the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company. The insurer formed a holding company for its insurance businesses and changed its name to USF&G i ...
New Orleans Open (1981) * USF&G Classic (1982–1991) *
Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's la ...
Golf Classic (1992–1993) * Freeport-McMoRan Classic (1994–1995) * Freeport- McDermott Classic (1996–1998) *
Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology, information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compati ...
Classic of New Orleans (1999–2002) * HP Classic of New Orleans (2003–2004) *
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
Classic of New Orleans (2005–present)


Tournament highlights

* 1966: Frank Beard wins his first New Orleans title by two shots over
Gardner Dickinson Gardner Edward Dickinson, Jr. (September 14, 1927 – April 19, 1998) was an American professional golfer. Born in Dothan, Alabama, Dickinson was a student of Ben Hogan and crafted his swing in the Hogan tradition. He played college golf at Lou ...
. The win by Beard came two years after his being diagnosed with and almost dying of
encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the Human brain, brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, aphasia, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include se ...
shortly after playing in the 1964 Greater New Orleans Open Invitational. * 1972: PGA Tour rookie Rogelio Gonzales was disqualified after it was learned he had changed his scorecard earlier in the tournament. In addition to his disqualification, the PGA Tour lifted Gonzales playing privileges. * 1974:
Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
wins with a bogey-free four rounds, a rare occurrence. * 1975:
Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...
wins for the 51st and ultimately last time on the PGA Tour. He beats
Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (3 May 1948 – 2 May 2024) was an English professional golfer and broadcaster. He played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit ...
by two shots. * 1978:
Lon Hinkle Lon Currey Hinkle (born July 17, 1949) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Hinkle was born in Flint, Michigan. He attended Santana High School in Santee, California, graduating in 1967. ...
earns his first ever PGA Tour title by birdieing the 72nd hole to beat
Fuzzy Zoeller Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (; born November 11, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won ten PGA Tour events including two major championships. He is one of three golfers to have won the Masters Tournament in his first appea ...
and Gibby Gilbert by one shot. The win by Hinkle ends
Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...
's consecutive tournament winning streak at three. * 1984: Mac O'Grady gets into an altercation with a female tournament volunteer. Two years later, he was fined and suspended by Tour Commissioner
Deane Beman } Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994. Early life Beman was born in Washington, D.C.. He attended the University o ...
for conduct unbecoming a professional golfer. * 1990:
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...
beats
Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
by one shot after holing out from a sand trap on the 72nd hole. * 1995: In need of a win to qualify for
The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...
,
Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...
defeats Mike Heinen in a sudden death playoff. * 1999:
Carlos Franco Carlos Daniel Franco (born 24 May 1965) is a Paraguayan professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is the brother of golfer Ángel Franco. Franco was born in Asunción, the Paraguayan capital. He comes from a poor bac ...
becomes the first South American to win on the PGA Tour since
Roberto De Vicenzo Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a professional golfer from Argentina. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the PGA Tour and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. ...
at the 1968 Houston Champions International. Franco wins by two shots over
Steve Flesch Stephen J. Flesch (born May 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, and worked briefly as a TV golf analyst for Fox Sports and Golf Channel before joi ...
and
Harrison Frazar Harrison Frazar (born July 29, 1971) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Amateur career Frazar was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised there an ...
. * 2002:
K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju (; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than thirty professional golf tournamen ...
becomes the first Korean born golfer to win on the PGA Tour. He beats
Dudley Hart Howard Dudley Hart (born August 4, 1968) is an American professional golfer with two PGA Tour wins in an injury-riddled career. Early life Hart was born in Rochester, New York. He attended Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami, Flor ...
and
Geoff Ogilvy Geoff Charles Ogilvy (born 11 June 1977) is an Australian professional golfer. He won the 2006 U.S. Open and has also won three World Golf Championships. Professional career Ogilvy was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to an English-born fat ...
by four shots. * 2004:
Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...
shoots a final round 63 to beat
Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...
and
Joe Ogilvie Norman Joseph Ogilvie (born April 8, 1974) is a retired American professional golfer. Early life Ogilvie was born in Lancaster, Ohio and graduated from Duke University. Professional career He played on the PGA Tour and picked up his only wi ...
by one shot. * 2017: The event switched to a team format.


Courses

From the event's inception through 2004, it was played at a series of courses in New Orleans, starting at the City Park Golf Courses, where it was played through 1962. From 1963 through 1988, the event had a lengthy relationship with Lakewood Country Club before shifting to English Turn Golf and Country Club in 1989 for sixteen editions through 2004. TPC Louisiana in Avondale became the host in 2005, but damage to the course by
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
that August forced the event back to English Turn for a year in 2006. It returned to the TPC in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, its current home.


Course layout

TPC Louisiana in 2016 Source:


Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records''
Sources:Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Winners
- at pgatour.com
Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Past Winners & Highlights


See also

* Southern (Spring) Open, a 1922 PGA Tour event in New Orleans *
Sports in New Orleans New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic (PGA Tour) and horse racing at the Fair ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Coverage on PGA Tour's official siteTPC Louisiana
– official site * – former host (1989–2004, 2006)
Lakewood Golf Club
– former host (1963–1988)
City Park Golf Courses
– former host (1937–1962) {{coord, 29.902, -90.190, display=t, type:event_region:US-LA PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in Louisiana Golf in New Orleans Sports competitions in New Orleans Recurring sporting events established in 1938 1938 establishments in Louisiana