2023 ZURICH CLASSIC CHAMPIONS DAVIS RILEY AND NICK HARDY WILL RETURN TO DEFEND THEIR TITLE IN 2024 TOURNAMENT
The pair became the first team to finish with a score of 30-under-par since the tournament started team play in 2017
NEW ORLEANS, LA (March 19, 2024)—Davis Riley and Nick Hardy, who stormed back from three shots behind on Sunday to win the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, will return to defend their title this year, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.
“Nick and Davis showed remarkable consistency all four days of the tournament through both best ball and alternate shot, so we expect that experience to serve them well this year,” said Worthy. “They navigated through a crowded leaderboard on Sunday to claim the title with an outstanding 31 in alternate shot on their final nine holes,” Worthy added.
Hardy and Riley won by two strokes in the PGA Tour’s only team tournament last year, becoming the first duo to shoot 30-under-par since the team format was launched in 2017. Their score broke the 29-under-par record set the year before by 2022 champions Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Hardy and Riley stayed within three strokes of the lead the first three days before posting a 65 in Sunday’s alternate shot format, the second best score of the day.
Last year’s Zurich Classic was the first PGA Tour title for both players.
Riley, a native of Hattiesburg, MS who still lives there, joined the PGA Tour in 2021. He qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in his rookie season and was one of eight rookies to advance to the BMW Championship, finishing 36th in the final FedExCup standings. He recorded six top-10s his first full season on Tour. He lost a playoff for the Valspar Championship to Sam Burns, the former LSU All-American.
That season he tied for fourth at the 2022 Zurich Classic, paired with Will Zalatoris. He also posted a tie for fourth in the Charles Schwab Challenge and held a share of the first round lead at the Memorial Tournament.
He had a storied amateur career as a youth. He won the Mississippi state championship four consecutive years and was named All-USA Boys Golf Player by USA Today. He made the final of the U.S. Junior Amateur two years in a row, joining Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth as the only players to achieve that distinction. He lost the Junior Amateur championship final to Scottie Schleffler in 2013 when he called a penalty on himself on the last hole. He went on the make the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup team that defeated the European team 16-8 in Scotland.
In college, Riley played for the University of Alabama, where he made the 2018 Palmer Cup team and was named third team All-American before turning pro in 2019. He was ranked the best collegiate player in the U.S. entering his junior year.
Nick Hardy enjoyed a breakout season last year with his first victory in New Orleans after joining the PGA Tour in 2022. Starting the season on a minor medical extension, he tied for fifth in the Sanderson Farms Championship and posted a tie for 13th in both the Corales Puntacana Championship and the 3M Open to finish the season ranked 52nd in FedExCup points.
In 2022 he tied for 21st in the Zurich Classic, teamed with Curtis Thompson. Since he started fulltime on the PGA Tour in the 2021-22 season, he has posted 14 top-25 finishes.
He played collegiately at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten player as a freshman, and was a co-champion at the Big Ten Championship. He repeated as All-Big Ten First Team in 2017. That same year he was named to the Palmer Cup team where he won both his singles matches before turning pro the next year.
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 and several charitable golf tournaments.
In 2023, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated a record $2.843 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Charitable contributions have been rising in recent years:
- Over $2.843 Million to charities in 2023
- Over $20 Million to charities in last 10 years
- Over $48 Million to charities since inception
More information at http://www.forekidsfoundation.com.
About the Zurich Classic of New Orleans:
Zurich Insurance has sponsored the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for 20 years, one of the longest title sponsor relationships on the PGA Tour. The Zurich Classic is the only team tournament on the PGA TOUR season. Since launching the team format in 2017, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has drawn some of the highest-ranking fields for any regular-season tournament on the PGA TOUR.
The Zurich Classic has over a $40 million economic impact to the regional economy. With 42 hours of total television coverage on Golf Channel and CBS, a total of 13 million viewers tuned in to watch the tournament.
Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans is available across 148 countries and territories via local broadcast partners, and garners $33 million in positive national and international media exposure for both the city and state throughout the year beyond the days of professional competition.
The tournament will be played April 24-28, 2024, at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. Purse for 2024 totals a record $8.9 million, with each member of the winning team earning $1,286,050 and 400 FedExCup points.
All tickets to the 2024 Zurich Classic will be mobile entry only. Day-specific grounds tickets are only $40. In addition, the Best of the Zurich Class Pass offers a variety of dishes from some of New Orleans most famous restaurants at three locations across the TPC course starting at $175 per day, and the Walk-On’s Stadium Club will offer close-up viewing at the 17th hole in the only two-story, air-conditioned tent on the course. Additional ticket options are available by calling the Tournament Office at 504-342-3000 or online at www.zurichgolfclassic.com