With nine players among the top-10 teams on the leaderboard through 54 holes seeking their first PGA Tour victories, chances were good for a breakthrough story at the Zurich Classic, and Davis Riley and Nick Hardy, former AJGA All-Americans almost a decade ago, wrote the final chapter in a record-setting win in Avondale, Louisiana.
With a brilliant inward 31 at TPC Louisiana, capped by an unlikely 33-foot birdie putt by Riley from off the green at the par-3 17th hole, the duo shot a seven-under 65 in the modified alternate-shot format and finished at 30-under 258, breaking the tournament record of 259 set a year ago by Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
Riley, who called the victory “surreal” also had a near-ace at the 207-yard par-3 14th hole, his tee shot stopping two inches shy of the cup.
The win took care of some unfinished business from the 2022 event for both players. Riley, 26, was in the hunt last year before he finished T-4 with Will Zalatoris. The 27-year-old Hardy, meanwhile, injured his left wrist on the fourth hole of the final round, and though he managed to finish, he was sidelined for nearly two months on the way to missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The pair collect $US1.242 million each and 400 FedEx Cup points, and each moves into the top 40 in the season-long standings. In addition, they qualify for the PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament.
Davis Riley is clutch!! 🔥@NickHardy8 and @DavisRiley68 extend their lead to two after the birdie on 17 @Zurich_Classic. pic.twitter.com/J4OX6vFEAx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 23, 2023
“This is so special, and to share it with one of my best friends on tour is a dream come true,” Riley, a Mississippi native, said. “Just the progression of playing high school, college golf and now PGA Tour golf now is super special, and to be able to share it with this guy [Hardy] is pretty cool.”
Canada’s Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin closed with a 63, tying the alternate-shot record that Cantlay and Schauffele posted in the second round on Friday, but Taylor missed a five-foot birdie putt at the last and they had to settle for 28-under 260.
Cantlay and Schauffele bogeyed the 72nd hole but still carded 66 – giving them a better alternate-shot total by four strokes than their better-ball scores – to tie for fourth place at 26-under 262.
They were joined by two other pairs. Matthew NeSmith and Valspar winner Taylor Moore shot 69, while Beau Hossler and Wyndham Clark, who held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, came in with 71.
Hossler and Clark were one of four teams bogey-free through 54 holes, but they suffered two late bogeys to shoot themselves out of contention.
No Australians made the cut.
