Avondale, Louisiana — A few weeks ago, as the world’s top players were gearing up for the Masters, Nick Hardy emailed his friend Davis Riley to see if he would partner with him at the Zurich Classic. I was.
The late-night entry for the New Orleans-area tournament departs as the first-ever winner on the PGA Tour. Each has an alligator-skin championship belt, a Mardi Gras-style beaded necklace, and a $1.24 million check.
“This was all sorts of last minute stuff, so we were cracking down,” Riley said. increase.”
Hardy, 27, and Riley, 26, birdied four of the final six holes, highlighted by Riley’s 33-foot birdie putt off the fringe on the par-3 17th hole. .
“I was pretty nervous coming down the stretch,” said Riley. I was just trying to execute the best shot possible.”
They started the final round three strokes behind, finishing 7-under 65 on alternative shot plays and finishing with a tournament-record 30-under 258 total at TPC Louisiana, ahead of 2022 winners Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schaufle. surpassed the 259 posted by Hardy and Riley had him two strokes better than Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor.
Riley’s best result to date came in the 2022 Valspar Championship when he lost in the playoffs to Sam Barnes. Hardy’s best result was a tie for fifth at the Sanderson Farms Championship last fall.
The pair didn’t make a single bogey in the last two rounds, keeping them at an impressive distance until Sunday surged forward with five back-nine birdies.
“I don’t remember either of us getting mad at the shots,” Hardy said. And I think that was the biggest key.”
Winning the only team event on the PGA TOUR will each receive a two-year waiver and qualify for the PGA Championship next month in Oak Hill.
Both talked about the special satisfaction they got from winning alongside a teammate they considered one of their best friends. They’ve known each other since they met at a junior event as teenagers.
What made Riley’s victory even more gratifying was that he grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, less than a two-hour drive from New Orleans.
“It felt like a home game,” said Riley, who played for the University of Alabama. “The audience definitely felt like they were on me and Nick’s side….we could give them something to make a little noise.”
Hadwin and Taylor hit 63, tying the course record for alternate shots set by Cantley and Schaouflé in the second round on Friday.
“I think we are in good company,” Hadwin said. “I was still 9 under over 14, 15, so I actually said to my caddy, ‘I want that record.’ did not.”
The Canadian’s 10th and final birdie of the round on the 13th hole gave him a temporary one-shot lead before the eventual champions took two more birdies before returning to the first-tied clubhouse. went.
Hadwin said, “Round, 9-under, alternate shot.” “That’s the most birdies we’ve made this week, alternating shots.”
Windham Clarke and Bo Hosler each finished the first three rounds at the top of the leaderboard, started the final round one stroke behind, and recorded the first three bogeys of the tournament. 3rd place with 1 under 71, 3 strokes behind.
Cantlay and Schauffele made eight birdies and bogeyed for the second time on the 18th to finish tied for fourth with Matthew Nesmith and Taylor Moore at 26 under.
“I didn’t have the best over the course of the tournament,” Schauffele said.
Alluding to the fact that he and Country played back-to-back at the Masters, RBC Heritage and Zurich respectively, Schauffele said their main goal away from New Orleans was to “try to get as much sleep as possible for the next game. would,” he added. Do not touch the club for several days. ”
Hardy and Riley, on the other hand, were optimistic about turning confidence-building victories into future victories.
“I felt it was only a matter of time before my time came,” Riley said. I feel that the sky is the limit for
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