Blixt and Smith win Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Jonas Blixt of Sweden and Australia’s Cameron Smith came through a Monday playoff against Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Kevin Kisner chipped in for eagle on the 72nd hole of regulation play in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to push he and partner Scott Brown into a tie with Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith and force a Monday playoff.

When the four players returned to decide the fate of the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, being played with a new-look pairs format, it took four holes for Blixt and Smith to come out on top.

On the first extra hole – the 18th at TPC Louisiana – all four had a chance of birdie on the par-5 but none were able to convert. Four pars were recorded the next time down and then four more when they moved across to the par-3 9th. On their third trip down the 18th, the fourth extra hole, Smith played a great shot into the green and was left with a two-foot putt for birdie. After the other three missed their birdie chances, the 23-year-old Australian was left to roll the ball home and claim his first PGA Tour victory.

3 Talking points from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans

1 – This was a first PGA Tour victory for Cameron Smith and a third for Jonas Blixt. It’s been a great season for Smith who has made 12 of 15 cuts and secured two top-10 finishes. It had been a less impressive year to this point from Blixt; the Swede had missed seven cuts and only secured one top-20 placing.

2 – Kevin Kisner secured his sixth runner’s up placing in the last three seasons. The South Carolinian has lost all four of the playoffs he’s contested on the PGA Tour.

3 – Brothers Brooks and Chase Koepka finished in a tie for fifth, they shot a 62 on Sunday. “It was a good experience. I feel like I have a little bit to improve on if I want to be out here week-in and week-out with these guys,” said Chase who was playing as a non PGA Tour member. “I really played well the first 50 holes of the golf tournament. Today was a little bit of a struggle, but luckily Brooks played fantastic for the last 12 holes.”

Zurich Classic of New Orleans TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana April 27 – May 1 Purse: $6,200,000 Par: 72

1    Jonas Blixt (Swe)        67    62    68    64    261 Cameron Smith (Aus) 2    Kevin Kisner (USA)    70    64    67    60    261 Scott Brown (USA) 3    Kelly Kraft (USA)        71    63    70    61    265  Kevin Tway (USA) 4    Jordan Spieth (USA)    66    66    70    64    266  Ryan Palmer (USA) T5    Jason Dufner (USA)    69    64    73    63    269 Patton Kizzire (USA) T5    Brooks Koepka (USA)    69    65    73    62    269 Chase Koepka (USA) T5    Bubba Watson (USA)    73    64    68    64    269 J.B. Holmes (USA) T5    Angel Cabrera (Arg)    70    63    71    65    269 Julian Etulain (Arg) T5    Justin Thomas (USA)    70    64    74    61    269  Bud Cauley (USA) T5    Charley Hoffman (USA)    67    65    69    68    269 Nick Watney (USA)  

Note: Player name in bold signifies Titleist ball usage