NEW ORLEANS, LA (March 22, 2018)—Two Patricks—Reed and Cantlay—are returning as a team to the 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans after finishing 14th last year, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.
Tony Finau and Daniel Summerhays will also renew their pairing from last year’s tournament, the first played under the new team format, announced Worthy.
“Patrick Reed is known for his remarkable record and intensity in team golf, and has been a US Ryder Cup hero,” said Worthy. “He and his partner Patrick Cantlay successfully put their team play experience to good use in last year’s Zurich Classic and they should be a very tough team,” Worthy added.
Reed is currently ranked 23rd in the world. In the 2016 Ryder Cup, he went head-to-head with Rory McIlroy in one of the most thrilling matches in Ryder Cup history, eventually making birdie on 18 for a 1-up victory. Reed’s overall record in his two Ryder Cup events is 6-1-2. He and Jordan Spieth were the only Americans to play all five matches in 2016 at Hazeltine.
Reed won two Louisiana high school state championships at University High of Baton Rouge, then two NCAA championships at Augusta State when he went 6-0 in match play in his two years.
Reed has won five times on the PGA TOUR, joining Spieth (21) and Rory McIlroy (23) as youngest winners with five TOUR titles in the last 10 years. His best finishes this season have been a tie for second at the Valspar Championship and a tie for seventh at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
In his first year on the PGA TOUR, as a Monday qualifier he finished 24th in the 2011 Zurich Classic.
Cantlay, who missed all of 2016 due to injury, earned his PGA TOUR card in 2017 with a second place in the Valspar Championship and picked up his first victory on the PGA TOUR at the 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In addition to his maiden win, he also rang up a tie for fourth in this season’s Genesis Open, where he held the 18-and 36-hole lead. He currently ranks 13th in FedExCup points and 34th in the world.
He posted a storied amateur career highlighted by being named the winner of the Fred Haskins Award in 2011 as the nation's top collegiate player as well as the Jack Nicklaus Award as the Division I Player of the Year—as a freshman. He was also that year named an All-American at UCLA plus PAC-10 Golfer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
He played on the 2011 Walker Cup team, where he went 2-1-1. Later that year he posted a round of 10-under-par 60 in the Traveler’s Championship, becoming the first amateur in the history of the PGA TOUR to score 60 or better.
Finau and Summerhays are both natives and residents of Utah and return as a team to the 2018 Zurich Classic.
Finau is ranked 33rd in the world on the strength of a second place in the Safeway and Genesis Opens and a tie for sixth in the Farmers Insurance Open this season.
He has one PGA TOUR victory on his record, the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. He turned professional right out of high school at 17, and since he joined the PGA TOUR fulltime in 2015 has never earned less than $1.8 million in any season. Last year he recorded eight top 10 finishes to hit his personal best earnings of $2.8 million.
Summerhays comes from a golf family. His older brother Boyd is a past PGA TOUR member, his uncle Bruce Summerhays plays on the Champions Tour and his cousin Carrie Roberts is a former LPGA player who is now the head women's golf coach at BYU.
His best finish at the Zurich Classic was a tie for 21st in 2014.
The Zurich Classic is the only team tournament on the PGA TOUR season. This year’s 72-hole stroke team play format will feature Four-Ball (best ball) during the first and third rounds and Foursomes (alternate shot) during the second and fourth rounds. The starting field will consist of 80 teams. Following the conclusion of the second round, the field will be cut to the low 35 teams and ties. In case of a tie after 72 holes, there will be a sudden-death playoff using the Four-Ball format.
About Fore!Kids Foundation:
Since 1958, the Fore!Kids Foundation has raised money to fund children's service organizations through golf events like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Taste of the Tournament gala and several charitable golf tournaments. As a 501(c)(3) corporation, Fore!Kids has helped to raise more than $34 million to date for children’s charities in metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge. More information at www.forekidsfoundation.com.
About the Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Televised in more than 224 countries and territories, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans generates a significant economic impact on the city of New Orleans and the entire state of Louisiana. Independent research has shown that the tournament generates spending of more than $40 million within the local economy and garners $33 million in positive national and international media exposure for both the city and state throughout the year beyond the four days of competition.
The tournament will be played April 23-29, 2018 at TPC Louisiana in Westwego. Purse for 2018 totals $7.2 million, with each member of the winning team earning $1,036,800.
Single-day grounds tickets are only $35 and weekly passes are $85. Single day tickets for the two most popular hospitality venues on the PGA TOUR start at $85 for Acme Oyster House and $185 for The Champions Club. Other choices of suite and specialty venue options are available by calling the Tournament Office at 504-342-3000 or online at www.zurichgolfclassic.com.
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Media Contact:
Tom Long
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