2022 Zurich Classic Odds & First Round Leader Picks: 3 Longshots Who Can Thrive on Thursday

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It has to be acknowledged that this week's first round leader market at the Zurich Classic is a bit difficult to parse out, considering the format.

With the teams playing "best ball," I believe it opens up the betting market to the entire field, ever more so than usual. If you give a team of professional golfers two chances at making birdie or better, there are going to be some incredibly low scores.

Friday and Sunday's alternate shot format will be much more challenging and cause the cream of the field to rise to the top, but Thursday should be an absolute free-for-all.

With that in mind, it seems prudent to limit exposure in the FRL market this week and target longshots who are just as capable as top guys of going low in this format.

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Zurich Classic First Round Leader Selections

Scott Stallings and Brice Garnett (+8000)

The pairing of Stallings and Garnett shared the first-round lead in last year's Zurich Classic with Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura and may be primed to start hot once again in 2022.

The scorching round of 62 in 2021 should provide some positive vibes going into the event and shows that the team is well suited for the "best ball" format. In addition to last year's strong performance, Stallings finished 11th at the Zurich Classic back in 2016 when it was a solo event. He also has two top sixteen finishes in his past three starts so is riding some decent form coming into the tournament.

Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk (+9000)

Tyler Duncan is fresh off of a six-under 65 in last Sunday's final round at the RBC Heritage, and I believe he'll be able to carry that momentum into the first round of the Zurich Classic. The 32-year-old has thrived at shorter Bermuda tracks in his career and players similar to him have thrived at TPC Louisiana in the past.

Schenk doesn't come into the week with the form that Duncan is currently in, but he should be a good partner for Duncan in this format.

Peter Uihlein and Richy Werenski (+9000)

I can't promise you that there is no bias here being a Massachusetts native with this pair being the only team in the field representing the state, but there's more to it than that. The Uihlein/Werenski duo has been excellent in this team format in the past and should have a ton of confidence this week.

Last year at this event, Uihlein and Werenski were the only team to shoot all four rounds in the 60s en route to an impressive third-place finish. Werenski isn't in the best of form, but Uihlein got into contention recently at a Korn Ferry Tour event, finishing second at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open.

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