Zurich Classic of New Orleans - Day One
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It was a record day at the opening around of the 2025 Zurich Classic. Shortly after twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard tied the tournament record at TPC Louisiana with a 13-under 59, PGA Tour rookies Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo clipped them by one posting a first-round 58 in four-ball format to kick off the team event.

Salinda and Velo's 58 not only outdid the 59 courtesy of the Højgaard twins, they also edged Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, who held the prior record thanks to their opening efforts in the 2022 tournament, which the duo went onto win.

"He played great. He made a ton of putts. He one-putted damn near every green it seemed like," Velo said of Salinda. "Very easy to play golf when you have a partner that's stacking it and making a lot of putts. A few really clutch par saves that he had on the back nine, and it was a very, very solid day, but overall, we kind of fed off each other, and I kind of sprinkled in some birdies when we needed to. But pretty much I was on his back the whole day."

The two longtime friends could not have drawn up a better start as Salinda shot out the gates with a pair of early birdies. Velo got in on the action with a birdie on the par-3 3rd, but the morning belonged primarily to his playing partner. The big-hitting Salinda slid in three straight birdies from Nos. 4-6 before the big bird came calling on the par-5 7th. The duo stood at 8 under through its first seven holes, and Velo made sure to keep a good thing going with birdies on Nos. 8-9 to close out a front nine that required only 26 strokes.

Birdies were more difficult to come by on the inward half, but the two did well to add to their total and were 13 under through as many holes before hitting some turbulence. With Velo struggling down the stretch, Salinda kept the team churning in the right direction and added a birdie on No. 16 to reach the 14 under total.

"I think it helps a lot. I honestly think it's more important to play with someone you like and someone you enjoy playing with, one of your friends," Salinda said. "It's really cool. We only get to play this format really once a year, and we've known each other since we were young junior golfers. We've stayed incredibly close friends since, and we've been looking forward to this event for a while."

The two enter Friday commanding a one-stroke lead over the Højgaard twins and a three-stroke edge over the rest of the field. With the competition transitioning to the foursomes format (i.e. alternate shot) on Friday, those behind will do well to make up ground in the more difficult format.

Chief among the duos top of mind is that of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, who opened their title defense with a 64. Standing only a half dozen shots behind, they each had their moments Thursday as Lowry kept the team afloat early before McIlroy made his move with a pair of eagles around the turn.

With some rust now knocked off, they will now look to a format that they acquitted themselves nicely in a year ago and that typically favors the stronger teams given the reliance on both players to perform well.

"Shane got off to a really good start; I didn't do anything," McIlroy said. "Shane joked I could have got a couple extra hours in bed if I wanted to. But yeah, I played a bit better coming in. ... We felt like we left a few shots out there, but we were just saying the two foursomes days on Friday and Sunday here are the important days in this tournament, and it's important for us to obviously post a good score tomorrow."

The leaders

1. Isaiah Salinda & Kevin Velo (-14): Salinda is not one to lack confidence, and there was no shortage of that Thursday. He carded nine birdies of his own to go along with an eagle while Velo kept things in check when needed. The two fed off each other beautifully, but now, things will turn up a notch in the foursomes format where both players will be tested.

"It's definitely going to be harder tomorrow, there's no doubt about it," Salinda said. "But I think we know our games so well that we can kind of, along with our caddies, kind of coach each other up when we need to. We just know our games super well, and I think if we just keep playing solid golf, we'll be just fine. I actually was looking forward more to the alternate shot part of this tournament because we play together all the time."

Other contenders

2. Nicolai Højgaard & Rasmus Højgaard (-13)
T3. Adam Svensson & Cam Davis, Paul Peterson & Thomas Rosenmueller, Antoine Rozner & Kris Ventura, Collin Morikawa & Kurt Kitayama (-11)
T7. Robby Shelton & Trey Mullinax, Takumi Kanaya & Ryo Hisatsune, Andrew Novak & Ben Griffin, Jacob Bridgeman & Chandler Phillips, Matt Wallace & Thorbjørn Olesen (-10)

Perhaps it is a future Ryder Cup partnership, but first the Højgaards need to get through this week. Each find himself outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings nearly four months into the season, and this tournament could serve not only as a launching pad but as a security blanket heading into a long summer of golf. Nicolai hasn't made a cut since the Cognizant Classic, while Rasmus is without a top-20 finish since the WM Phoenix Open. Their form wasn't great coming in, but their familiarity with one another clearly paid off Thursday.

"I think last year we both had high expectations about going out and making a ton of birdies and we didn't do that last year so it was a bit of a wrong mindset to go into it," Rasmus said. "Now, today, we didn't think too much about getting to a certain score or anything. It was more about creating a good vibe and create chances out there, and then we both rolled the putter well."

Rory's return

In his first start since his Masters win, McIlroy looked a hair sluggish out the gate. Picked up by his teammate in the early stages of his round, the grand slam winner eased into his day and contributed more than his fair share. Unfortunately, he and Lowry both found trouble on the par-4 6th carding a rare bogey in the four-ball format. The key Friday will be to keeping the ball in front of them, which shouldn't be too big of an issue given both of their tee-to-green excellence.

"I think sometimes every par you make feels like a bogey on these sorts of days," McIlroy said. "But then again, you have to remember that tomorrow and Sunday are the important days, and if you can shoot good scores on those days, you can move up the board pretty quickly."

2025 Zurich Classic updated odds, picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Rasmus Højgaard & Nicolai Højgaard: 5-1
  • Kurt Kitayama & Collin Morikawa: 5-1
  • Shane Lowry & Rory McIlroy: 7-1
  • Isaiah Salinda & Kevin Velo: 12-1
  • Thorbjørn Olesen & Matt Wallace: 12-1
  • Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak: 14-1

The Novak and Griffin duo was one which caught my eye at the beginning of the week, and they looked great together Thursday. They'll be afforded the easier conditions Friday morning which will be crucial in the foursomes format as the difficulty gets ramped up. Both of these guys are fairly well-rounded and accurate off the tee, so I expect them to make up ground on the leaders and head into the weekend near, if not at, the top of the leaderboard.