EUROPEAN RYDER CUPPPERS TOMMY FLEETWOOD AND SERGIO GARCIA WILL PAIR UP IN 2019 ZURICH CLASSIC
NEW ORLEANS, LA (March 12, 2019)—Teammates on last year’s victorious European Ryder Cup squad, Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia will pair in the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.
“These two European stars chose to pair this year for the Zurich Classic, which shows the continued appeal of team golf by those with international team experience,” said Worthy.
Last year, in his first appearance in New Orleans, Fleetwood teamed with non-exempt European Tour player Chris Paisley to tie for fourth in the 2018 Zurich Classic. Garcia, playing with Rafa Cabrera Bello, missed the cut last year by only one stroke after firing a 67 in the first day of competition.
Fleetwood has won six times internationally and tied for seventh in this season’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions on the PGA TOUR. Last season he finished second in the U.S. Open, fourth in the Honda Classic and posted three other top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR.
He is currently ranked 13th in the Official World Golf Rankings after he tied for third in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
Since turning pro in 2010, Fleetwood has competed all over the world on the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Japan Golf Tour, the Southern Africa Tour and the Asian PGA.
As an amateur, he won the English Amateur title and played for the European team in the 2009 Walker Cup. Later as a professional he represented England in the 2013 Seve Trophy.
In his inaugural Ryder Cup competition last year, he won all four of his team matches for the Europeans.
Garcia has won 10 times on the PGA TOUR and 23 times internationally, including 14 European Tour titles. He broke through with his first major title at the 2017 Masters when he birdied the first playoff hole to beat Justin Rose, the 2015 Zurich Classic winner.
This season his best finishes have been a tie for sixth in the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and a tie for ninth in The Honda Classic. He ranks 26th in the world.
He has won more than $48 million on the PGA TOUR, placing him ninth all time.
He has played on nine Ryder Cup European teams and twice each on Seve Trophy and Dunhill Cup teams. He also represented Spain in the 2016 Olympics, when Rose won the gold medal. His all-time Ryder Cup record is 22-12-7 after finishing 3-1 for the victorious European team in 2018.
Garcia set the European Tour record as the youngest player to made the cut at age 14, and he won his first professional tournament, the Catalonian Open, at 17. In 1999 at age 19, he was named the European Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
The Zurich Classic is the only team tournament on the PGA TOUR season. Since launching the team format two years ago, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has drawn some of the highest ranking fields for any regular-season tournament on the PGA TOUR. In 2018, the tournament field included six of the top ten players in the world; all four reigning major champions; the U.S. Ryder Cup captain and six members of the U.S. team along with the European Ryder Cup captain with four of his co-captains and six players on the victorious European team.
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 Holiday Auction Fore!Kids and several charitable golf tournaments. As a 501(c)(3) corporation, Fore!Kids has helped to raise more than $37 million to date for children’s charities in metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge. More information at http://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 22-28, 2019 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. Purse for 2019 totals $7.3 million, with each member of the winning team earning $1,051,200.
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.