⛳️ Preview & Picks: Zurich Classic

Plus: Rory Back On Board, Youtubers Monday Q Scores, and Two Tips.

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Good afternoon. Welcome to Shanks. At some point today, PGA Tour players will find out how much equity they will receive in the new, for-profit, PGA Tour Enterprises. How much do you think their loyalty to the tour was worth?

Here's what we've got for ya today:

  • Preview and Picks: Zurich Classic

  • Rory Back On Board

  • Shots Heard Round The World

  • One Of Golf’s Great Conspiracies

  • Two Golf Tips, One Video

  • Youtubers Monday Q Scores

  • New Drop: TaylorMade Irons

Preview & Picks: Zurich Classic

🚩 Location: TPC Louisiana

💰 Purse: $8.9M - $1.26M to each member of winning team.

👑 Previous Winners: Nick Hardy & Davis Riley

👀 Watch On: CBS, ESPN, Golf Channel

Zurich Classic Preview

No Scottie Scheffler this week.

Now that that’s out of the way…

The Zurich Classic features 80 two-man teams and mixes up the format for some variety on tour: the first and third rounds are played as best ball, while the second and fourth rounds use the more entertaining alternate shot format.

The event is a laid-back team competition that’s tough to predict.

The top 33 teams and any ties advance to the weekend rounds at the Pete Dye-designed TPC Louisiana.

The Zurich Classic Favorites

  • Patrick Cantlay / Xander Schauffele

  • Rory McIlroy / Shane Lowry

  • Will Zalatoris / Sahith Theegala

  • Collin Morikawa / Kurt Kitayama

  • Tom Hoge / Maverick McNealy

  • Matt Fitzpatrick / Alex Fitzpatrick

  • Taylor Pendrith / Corey Conners

  • Rasmus Højgaard / Nicolai Højgaard

  • Taylor Montgomery / Ben Griffin

  • Sepp Straka / Brice Garnett

How To Watch The 2024 Zurich Classic

Thursday, April 25: 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, April 26: 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, April 27: 12:45-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday, April 28: 12:45-2:45 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS)

Previous Winners 

2021 - Marc Leishman & Cam Smith

2022 - Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay

2023 - Nick Hardy & Davis Riley

Weather Report for New Orleans

Weather looks like it should be pretty nice for the entirety of the event, albeit a bit windy.

Shanks Picks

This week, Fanduel has a promo where if you set a gaming tool, you’re automatically entered for a chance to win a free set of clubs. Only 5 days left to participate.

More details below. 

  • Winners: Nick Taylor & Adam Hadwin +2500

  • Winners: The Hojgaard Twins +2500

  • Winners: Tom Hoge & Maverick McNealy +2500

  • Winners: Joel Dahmen & Keith Mitchell +3500

  • Tourney Sepcial: Hoge / Mcnealy + Conners / Pendrith to both finish inside Top 20 +280

  • Make The Cut Parlay: Cantlay Schauffele, McIlroy Lowry, Theegala Zalatoris, Morikawa Kitayama, and Brothers Hojgaard to all make the cut is +262 on FD

All Of Our Betting Promos

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Rory Back On Board

Happy Rory Mcilroy GIF by The Masters

Rory McIlroy is expected to rejoin the PGA Tour's policy board, a decision that could be finalized by a board vote within the week, according to sources who spoke to ESPN and other outlets. His reappointment could influence the ongoing negotiations and future policies regarding the PGA Tour's interactions with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf League.

  • McIlroy had originally taken a strong position against LIV Golf, but has recently moderated his views, advocating for a deal to unify professional golf.

  • He previously resigned from this exact same role in November.

  • His potential return to the board is interestingly timed as the PGA Tour is working on finalizing an agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but negotiations seem to have stalled.

If confirmed, McIlroy will replace Webb Simpson as a player director on the policy board before Simpson's term ends in 2025.

Shots Heard Round The World

One Of Golf’s Great Conspiracies

Did a fan advance Tigers ball?

Two Golf Tips, One Video

Worlds #1 golf coach Pete Cowen gives Danny Maude a golf lesson.

In this golf video you will learn how to strike your irons and hit your driver straight using two very simple golf drills.

Golf swing Tip #1 - "the waiters tray" will help you load your backswing for power.

Golf swing Tip #2 - "side on strike" key to great ball striking.

Youtubers Monday Q Results

The "Q at Myrtle Beach" Monday qualifier for the Myrtle Beach Classic saw a mix of performances from well-known YouTubers.

Held last month, the event featured YouTubers such as Grant Horvat, Peter Finch, Micah Morris, Luke Kwon, Dan Rapaport, Fat Perez, and others.

  • Top Performers: Matt Atkins won the event in a playoff over George Bryan, earning a spot to compete in next month’s TOUR event in South Carolina.

  • Mixed Results: Notable YouTubers displayed varying degrees of success; Tyler Watts and Scott Stevens performed well, while Grant Horvat (+7) and Micah Morris (+14) had disappointing outcomes.

  • Content Creation: The event was also a platform for creating engaging content, with the full results and highlights released on the Play Golf Myrtle Beach YouTube channel above.

The results are pretty much what you’d expect. Matt Atkins is both a Korn Ferry Tour veteran and a frequent guest on George & Wesley Bryan’s Youtube Channel. All three of them have previously competed in tour events, with Wesley coming in 2nd place to Billy Horschel last week.

Biggest Surprise: There were rumors on social media that Dan Rapaport shot 88. He was getting a lot of sh*t talked to him on Twitter about it, but all of the participants were sworn to secrecy about the results for the last month, so he couldn’t defend himself. Yesterday, he was able to dunk on the haters. 

New Drop: TaylorMade P790 Irons

Last week, it was the BRNR Mini Driver in Vintage Copper.

Now it’s the P790 irons.

They are undeniably sleek looking, but we can’t guarantee that they’ll make you a better player.

That’s all folks! See you Saturday Morning.